Welcome to the USTDA Consultant Database for Small U.S. Businesses
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Frequently Asked Questions?
Why do I need to sign up with USTDA's Consultant Database?
USTDA now requires that all small businesses interested in working with the agency register in two places: (1) in USTDA's Consultant Database on this web site AND (2) Central Contractor Registration. Registering for Central Contractor Registration (www.ccr.gov) provides your company with an added marketing boost for other government agencies as well as private companies, and is necessary to be awarded any Government contract. Registration is free for both! Even if you have worked with USTDA in the past or have participated in a previous consultant database, you MUST register online!
Does my company qualify to participate?
To qualify for USTDA contracts, firms must be chartered in the United States or if an independent contractor, you must be a U.S. Citizen or resident alien.
What type of contracts does USTDA award to small businesses?
USTDA reserves 100% of the agency's desk study (DS) and definitional mission (DM) contracts for small businesses. These contracts provide technical advice to USTDA staff so that they may evaluate potential investments in feasibility studies and other project planning services. Contract assignments last anywhere from several days to several weeks, depending on their complexity. For a DS, a contractor conducts research in the United States to develop information on a project, while a DM involves a short-term visit overseas.
What are the Primary Sectors for which the USTDA requires technical specialists?
USTDA invests in infrastructure and industrial projects in middle-income and developing countries, primarily focusing on:
- Agribusiness
- Energy and Power (including electricity, oil and gas)
- Human Resources
- Manufacturing
- Mining & Natural Resources
- Services
- Telecommunications (including information technology)
- Transportation (including aviation, ports and rail)
- Water and the Environment (including solid waste)
How are USTDA small business contracts competed?
USTDA contracts are competed in several ways, depending on their size and scope, as follows:
Competitions for most Definitional Mission or "DM" contracts are announced and posted on FedBizOps (www.fbo.gov) as requirements occur. These announcements are combined synopses/solicitations. The Scopes of Work for these solicitations are included in a modification to the combined synopsis/solicitation. There is no other solicitation. Fedbizopps announced contracts are opportunities open to all eligible U.S. firms.
How is USTDA's database used?
USTDA regional and contracting staff use the consultant database to identify small businesses that can provide the types of technical advice that the agency needs to make funding decisions.
Is my information secure? How does USTDA use it?
USTDA's Consultant Database is housed on a secure server (SSL) with a Thawte Certificate to help us verify a secure connection with your browser. In order for us to authenticate your identity - and therefore prevent others from logging in under your name and tampering with your account - you are required to log in with a User ID and a password. The User ID and Password that you enter is checked against a secure database housed on the server. Once verified, your browser is issued a temporary "session" that expires upon:
- your logging out of the Consultant Database area, or
- your browser being left idle for more than 40 minutes.
USTDA does not use "cookies" on its website. Cookies are bits of information that are set on your computer so that the issuing server or third-party servers may track your on-line traffic.
Please also see USTDA's Privacy Policy
How do I sign up?
To register with USTDA's Consultant Database as a new user, click here. You may update your information simply by returning to the database and using your unique User ID and Password.
To register with Central Contractor Registration go to www.ccr.gov. It is open to all firms seeking federal, state and private contracts. Registration is free.