Below is information regarding, “How to do business with the Department of Energy”. These are some recommendations of the fundamentals required of every contractor that wants to partner with the DOE. Register your firm on the System for Award Management (SAM) (www.sam.gov). Please also contact the local procurement technical centers (PTACs) for each state. Please visit the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) website regarding PTACs: www.sba.gov/offices/headquarters/ogc/resources/362381.
Partnering with the Federal Government is much different than partnering with the private sector. The Government posts all of its requirements for public access. In order to become a service provider, a contractor must clearly and convincingly demonstrate that you can fulfill a government requirement in an advantageous manner. Please review the DOE forecast of prime and subcontracting opportunities to seek requirements you may want to fulfill. To reach the forecast click here. Requirements on the forecast are cross-referenced by NAICS codes, program office, and area of opportunity, solicitation method, contracting activity, release dates, and planned award dates. Once you find a requirement that interests you, click on it and go the point of contact to inquire additional information. Requirements listed in the forecast go out for two years, thus, giving prospective offertory sufficient time to prepare.
Once you’ve isolated an opportunity from the DOE Business Forecast, you need to start working on a business development strategy in order to prepare a meaningful capability statement or proposal for the requirement. Some useful tips include:
• Allow yourself at least one year to prepare an approach for fulfilling the requirement. The incumbent contractor does not always win the recompetition.
• Obtain a copy of the former solicitation for the requirement.
• Review the statement of work, résumés of key personnel, the basis of award, and the security requirements.
• Find out the current prime contractor’s subcontractors.
• Take a site visit.
• Consult with firms that have databases of previous Government requirements. These companies can provide you with former solicitations, proposals, and names of subcontractors.
As procuring offices rely more and more on federal supply schedules (FSS) and government-wide acquisition contracts (GWAC), it would behoove you to consider becoming an FSS or GWAC contract holder because accessibility is key.
Finally, we encourage small business concerns to attend our annual small business conference and our monthly BOS sessions. Information about these activities can be found on our website: smallbusiness.energy.gov.
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Please visit DOE's websites (as stated below) to get information on how to do business with DOE and what types of business opportunities will be available in the future.
(1) Directory of DOE’s Small Business Program Managers. In regards to procurement opportunities within the Department, please visit the forecast website, familiarize yourself with the Department’s mission (visit www.energy.gov), and contact the appropriate small business program manager.
(2) Forecast Spreadsheet - This site provides you with the necessary information as far as what future business opportunities are available within the Department. Should you wish to obtain further information regarding a planned opportunity, please contact the "Acquisition POC".
(3) www.netl.doe.gov/business/index.html - Unsolicited Proposals - An unsolicited proposal is an application for support of an idea, method, or approach, which is submitted by an individual, business, and organization solely on the proposer's initiative, rather than in response to a DOE solicitation. Funding of unsolicited proposals is considered a noncompetitive action.
(4) Don’t forget to subscribe to OSDBU’s mailing address – Sign up to receive news, and information concerning upcoming outreach events, upcoming procurement opportunities, RFIs, and much more!