Glossary of terms you will come across in government contracting. Some are industry terms, some are colloquialisms. Some are useful, some are annoying. Send us your additions or questions!
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- 8(a) - A program of the SBA which assists in the development of small businesses owned and operated by individuals who are socially and economically disadvantaged, such as women and minorities. Many federal solicitations are available only to 8(a) participants and the SBA issues grades federal agencies rating how much of the agency's annual budget went to 8(a) companies. A federal agency can sole-source a contract to an 8(a) contractor without any justification as opposed to the lengthy and often-challenged justications normally required for a sole-source contract.
- "Answer the Mail" - Colloquial phrase used by proposal teams to maintain focus on customer requests for proposals. RFPs are usually very specific in the information requested. The best practice approach is to turn the RFP directly into an outline. Yet many contractors, in an attempt to impress the customer, write pages of prose about their "humble log cabin beginnings" or accomplishments not relevant to the tasks in the statement of work or the actual factors under evaluation.
- BD - Business Development. The process of finding opportunities and pursuing them, attracting new customers, and marketing your company.
- Beltway bandit - One of the ultra-large corporations that focus almost completely on federal contracting. They have headquarters or large offices in the DC area. Examples include CSC and SAIC.
- Blackout - Period during the solicitation process in which government contracting officers are not permitted to communicate with potential contractors.
- Capture - Similar to Business Development; more focused on securing contracts.
- CMMI - Capability Maturity Model Integration. A framework for processes within an organization.
- COTR - Contracting Officer Technical Representative. This person handles the day-to-day technical details of a federal contract on behalf of the federal contracting officer. Contracting Officers are typically administrative and legal personnel who have very little knowledge of the tasks performed. They usually don't have the ability to monitor and evaluate contract performance or resolve issues directly related to performance. The COTR fills this gap by providing a liaison between the administrative portion of the cotract and the contractor.
- CPFF - Cost Plus Fixed Fee. A type of contract under which the customer reimburses the contractor for costs incurred, plus a set amount of profit.
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- Data call - A request by a member of a team for information from another member of the team, generally to be used in the preparation of a proposal. Examples include: capability statement, company logo, past performance, and labor rates.
- DCAA - Defense Contractors Auditing Agency. Agency which may audit your financial system prior to being considered for a government contract. An arm of the DoD, but may also audit for other federal agencies.
- Deep dive - A colloquial term referring to the act of covering a topic exhaustively.
- DFAR - Defense Federal Acquistion Regulations. The rules created by the Department of Defense which supplement the FAR and govern purchase of services and goods by DoD. Other agencies add their own rules for acquistion as well such as NASA's NFAR.
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- F&O - Full and Open. Solicitations that are open for businesses of any size.
- FAR - Federal Acquisition Regulations. Set of laws that dictate how the federal government can buy goods and services.
- FBO - Fed Biz Opps. A clearinghouse web portal which consolidates most federal solicitations in one place.
- FFP - Firm Fixed Price. A type of contract under which the customer pays the contractor a specific price, regardless of costs incurred or profit. This type of contract puts most of the risk on the contractor. The contractor must keep costs in check to make any profit.
- FOIA - Freedom Of Information Act. This law gives the citizens of the US access to government documents and information. "FOIA" is often used as a verb. To "FOIA" something is to go through the process of obtaining related government documents. Often pronounced "foy-ya."
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- Ghosting - The process of examining your competition, finding their weaknesses, and then finding ways to present yourself to the government that offer a solutions to those weaknesses. Should be subtle to be effective; do not overtly call out your competitor or call them by name. For example, if you know you competition has had trouble submitting invoices on time, you might highlight your automated invoicing system in your proposal.
- Gold team - Final review of a proposal before it is shipped or submitted.
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- Hunting license - A casual term for an IDIQ contract.
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- IDIQ - Indefinite Delivery\Indefinite Quantity. Type of contract which does not result directly in any work. Instead, it lets your pursue task orders which are open only to companies which hold the IDIQ contact.
- ISO - International Organization for Standards. A body which publishes standards for a wide variety of topics from the size of a credit card to the process for managing risk. Companies which are certified to conform to certain standards for business processes can be more attractive to government customers.
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- KO (Contracting Officer) - In federal contracts the government often abbreviates the term "Contracting Officer" with "KO" instead of "CO" to avoid confusion with the military abbreviation "Commanding Officer".
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- Long pole in the tent - A colloquial term that identifies the primary focus of a proposal or presentation. Just as the long pole in the center of a circus tent does most of the work of holding the tent up, the "long pole in the tent" of your proposal might be your hands-on experience. That is the main point that supports your proposal.
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- MACC (Multiple Award Construction Contract) - A multiple award, usually IDIQ, contract for construction projects.
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- NAICS - North American Industry Classification System. The standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.
- NDA - Non-Disclosure Agreement. A legal document that binds the parties from sharing certain information to parties outside of the the agreement. Is usually limited to one topic or project. Companies who are teaming to pursue and opportunity will usually employ an NDA to keep the team members from sharing information they learn during the proposal process with competitors.
- NFAR - NASA Federal Acquistion Regulations. The rules created by the NASA which supplement the FAR and govern purchase of services and goods by NASA. Other agencies add their own rules for acquistion as well such as the Department of Defense DFAR.
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- Pink team - A review of the initial draft of a proposal. Content of the proposal should be 80% complete.
- PMP - Project Management Professional. A professional certification administered by the Project Management Institute (PMI) which establishes the holder as having skills and knowledge related to managing projects.
- Protest - Process by which a company can contest the outcome of a solicitation.
- PWS - Performance Work Statement. The portion of a solicitation which identifies the work to be accomplished. Sometimes used interchangeably with "SOW" - Statement of Work.
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- Red team - A review of a proposal when the content is 100% complete.
- Reps & certs - Representations and Certifications. Section of an RFP which asks the company to verify certain characteristics, such as participation in the 8(a) program.
- RFI - Request For Information. An official request by the government for information from industry about their capabilities related to a potential opportunity. May be followed by an RFP. RFIs are often a chance for small businesses to convince the government that there are enough capable SBs to issue the RFP as a SB set-aside.
- RFP - Request For Proposal. An official request by the government for proposals. The structure of these documents is regulated by the FAR.
- RFQ - Request For Quote. A quote is similar to a proposal, but is typically shorter, especially the technical and management sections.
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- SB - Small Business. In the government's eyes, the term "small business" has very specific definition and connotations depending on the agency, solicitation, and industry. Visit the Small Business Administration website for more information.
- Section L - Section of the RFP which gives instructions for preparing the proposal.
- Section M - Section of the RFP which details how the proposals will be judged.
- Set aside - A opportunity which is "set aside" may only be pursued by certified SBs.
- Sole source - A contract issued to a company without a solicitation. The government can use this technique if they can prove that there are no other companies that can provide the good or service they are seeking. 8(a) companies have a much easier path to receiving a sole source contract. See FAR Subpart 6.3 for more details.
- Sources sought - Similar to an RFI.
- Storyboard - A tool for proposal writing which is an expansion of the top-level outline. Should include win themes, a thesis statement for each section, and specific and numbers whenever practical.
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- T&M - Time and Materials. A type of contract under which the customer pays an agreed upon rate for contractor personnel to work under their guidance. May be casually referred to as "renting bodies."
- TA - Teaming Agreement. Establishes a company as a member of a team, usually to pursue an opportunity. Defines the rules of the relationship.
- Tagup - A regular meeting, usually among the members of a team for discussing a proposal.
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- WBS - Work Breakdown Structure. Tool of project management which divides the project into tasks and subtasks. May be requested by the government as a part of a proposal.
- Win theme - An element of your proposal which sets your company or team apart from the competition.
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