How to Research a Government Contract Before You Bid: 7 Things Smart Contractors Should Check

A new federal RFP lands on SAM.gov. The contract value looks attractive. The scope looks familiar. Your team has done similar work before. 

So you open the PWS. 

That may be the wrong place to start. 

When researching a federal contract opportunity, the first question should not be “Can we do this work?” It should be: “What can we learn about this contract before we decide to spend money pursuing it?” 

Federal acquisition rules require agencies to conduct appropriate market research. The FAR Part 10 market research guidance makes that explicit. 

The U.S. Small Business Administration's guidance on assessing your business points contractors toward FPDS and USAspending to understand who agencies buy from, what they buy and broader purchasing trends. 

At GovCon360, we believe contract research should go beyond finding the current solicitation. You need to understand the history behind it. Here are seven things smart contractors should check before committing proposal resources. 

This is where we start. 

Look at the incumbent's procurement footprint using USAspending and historical federal contract data. Who holds the contract? How long have they held it? Was the contract modified repeatedly? Were option years exercised? Was the contract terminated early? Did the contract value change significantly? 

The difference between a surface level search and a real contract analysis can be enormous. 

Imagine a five year contract that was expected to run through four option years but is coming back to market much earlier. That deserves investigation. 

It could indicate a change in requirements, funding problems, performance concerns or a decision not to continue with the incumbent. 

Likewise, a contract that started at $5 million and eventually grew to $12 million through modifications tells you something important. The government's actual requirement may have evolved considerably from the original scope. 

Do not just ask who won the contract. Ask what happened during the contract. 

The original award value is only part of the story. 

Look at modifications, obligations and changes over the life of the contract. 

Ask: Did the government add significant work? Did funding increase or decrease? Were option years exercised? Were there repeated changes to labor or performance requirements? Did the contract experience unusual modifications? 

SBA recommends using FPDS and USAspending to identify government purchasing trends and understand which agencies buy particular products and services. 

For a capture team, however, the data can reveal more than purchasing trends. It can reveal behavior. 

A contract that continually changes may indicate an evolving mission. A contract with substantial funding adjustments may point to changing priorities. An early termination may deserve a much closer look. 

The point is not to assume what happened. It is to find the questions worth investigating. 

The name on the prime contract is not necessarily the company doing most of the operational work. 

Look underneath it. 

Who are the subcontractors? Which companies appear repeatedly around the opportunity? Who supplies specialized labor? Where do the key technical people actually work? 

For small businesses, this research can uncover an entirely different path into the opportunity. 

You may discover that competing directly against a large prime is unrealistic, but that the prime depends heavily on a smaller company for cybersecurity, engineering, staffing or another specialized capability. 

That changes the question from “Can we beat the incumbent?” to “Can we become part of the winning team?” 

SBA recognizes subcontracting as one route for small businesses to enter the federal marketplace. 

This is one of the most valuable pieces of federal contract research, and it is often overlooked. 

Go backwards. 

Find the earlier Sources Sought notice, RFI or draft solicitation and compare it with the final RFP. 

Ask what changed. Did the final solicitation introduce a new cybersecurity requirement? Did staffing requirements become more specific? Did an SLA become stricter? Did a particular technical capability suddenly receive significant evaluation weight? 

Those changes can provide clues about what happened during the market research period. 

The final RFP tells you what the government is asking for. The evolution from RFI to RFP can help you understand why. 

And that distinction matters. 

Most contractors read the PWS first. Smart contractors also spend serious time in Section M, where the evaluation factors tell you how the government intends to judge proposals. 

Look at what receives the most attention. Look at page limits. Look at evaluation subfactors. Look at the balance between technical approach, staffing, past performance, management and price. 

If the RFP gives a large portion of the proposal to transition, staffing continuity and knowledge transfer, that is telling you something. The agency may have experienced problems with continuity before. 

If past performance receives significant weight, relevance may matter more than simply having impressive corporate credentials. 

The PWS tells you what the contractor must do. Section M tells you what can influence whether the government believes you can do it. 

That distinction should shape your entire bid strategy. 

A long list of companies interested in an RFP does not equal a competitive analysis. 

The real question is: Who can actually win? 

Look for companies with relevant federal past performance, experience with the same agency or program office, access to the required contract vehicle, required security clearances, existing relationships and institutional knowledge, relevant incumbent personnel, and similar contract size and scope. 

Use historical procurement information to understand who repeatedly wins similar work. 

Then ask what those companies have that you do not. 

This is where opportunity research becomes bid qualification. You are no longer asking, “Can we perform?” You are asking, “What is our credible reason to win?” 

If you cannot answer that question, the opportunity deserves serious scrutiny before you spend proposal money. 

Finally, turn the research inward. 

A contract can be an excellent opportunity and still be the wrong opportunity for your company. 

Past performance: Do you have relevant examples of similar size, scope and complexity? 

People: Can you actually staff the requirement? Are key personnel available? 

Compliance: Are your registrations, certifications, clearances and other mandatory requirements in place? 

Financial capacity: Can you support payroll and operating costs while the contract ramps up? 

Contract vehicle: Can you legally and practically compete for the opportunity? 

Small business status: If it is a set aside, do you meet the applicable size and program requirements? 

SBA guidance also covers federal contracting readiness, including SAM registration, NAICS and size standards. 

Do this research before your proposal team starts writing. That is the important part. 

Before authorizing proposal expenditure, ask seven questions: 

If several answers are red, do not let the contract value seduce you. A $10 million opportunity is not a $10 million opportunity for your company if you have no credible path to winning it. 

The biggest mistake in federal contracting is treating the RFP as the beginning of the opportunity. 

It isn't. 

By the time the solicitation reaches SAM.gov, months of market research, agency planning, incumbent performance and competitor positioning may already sit behind it. 

That is why the earlier GovCon360 article Why Most Small Businesses Lose Government Contracts Before They Even Submit a Proposal focuses on what happens before proposal writing. And Stop Chasing Every RFP: How Smart Contractors Qualify Opportunities They Can Actually Win takes the next step by turning that thinking into a bid/no bid discipline. 

The lesson across the series is simple: 

Do not confuse an attractive RFP with a qualified opportunity. 

Research the contract. Research the customer. Research the competitors. Then research yourself. 

Only after that should you decide whether the opportunity deserves your proposal budget. 

Because great GovCon teams do not simply find more contracts to bid. 

They find the contracts they have a credible reason to win.