SECAF Delivers Forecast on Federal Opportunities for 2014

For immediate release
 
Contact: Amy Talley
For SECAF
atalley@jeffersoncomm.com
(703) 323-8939
 
SECAF Delivers Forecast on Federal Opportunities for 2014
Powerhouse Panel Leads Discussion on Anticipated Trends in Government Spending
 
September 18, 2013, McLean, VA – The Small and Emerging Contractors Advisory Forum (SECAF), the premier organization for the small and emerging government contractor, held its 2014 Fiscal Federal Opportunity Forecast session on September 10 at the Gannett building in Tysons Corner.  The event included a powerhouse panel comprised of Robert Levinson (Senior Defense Analyst, Bloomberg), Kevin Plexico (Vice President of Information Solutions, Deltek) and Richard Thielen (Executive Vice President and General Manager, Centurion Research) and was moderated by Hilary Fordwich (Strelmark, LLC, President and host of Government Contracting Weekly).  This interactive event provided tremendous insight into 2014 Federal Government spending trends and directions.  Key conclusions included:
 

  • The government is required to award 23 percent of its contracting dollars to small businesses. The government has not reached this goal in the last 13 years.  Only 17 of 24 agencies met or exceeded their FY12 Small Business Prime Contracting goals, meaning Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses & Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs) and HUBZones are being under utilized.  The panel recommended finding teaming members with these socio economic qualifications to search jointly for opportunities;
 
  • Study the budget closely and find the agencies securing the money for 2014 – then follow it.  Determine the areas cross-cutting agencies, like healthcare (within the Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health and Department of Veterans Affairs) and financial fraud (across the Social Security Administration, Housing and Urban Development and Internal Revenue Service);
     
  • Stay on top of the policies coming out of the White House.  Monitor issues such as cloud and data center consolidation, healthcare and open data.  All started as policies and have since become significant mandates; and
     
  • Watch for emerging Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts that favor small business, but remember to build infrastructure to effectively pursue these opportunities.  By developing relationships with businesses currently on the designated vehicles, companies can still participate even if they are not a current team member.
 
“This event crystallizes the benefit that SECAF offers to the Small and Emerging Contracting Community.  By bringing together some of the most prominent thought-leaders in the field, this organization delivers tangible and actionable ideas that are many times a lifeline for our member companies,” said Kwesi Rogers, chairman of SECAF and president of Federal National Commercial Credit.  “The feedback we received has been tremendously positive and we look forward to revisiting the subject in the near future.”
 
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About The Small and Emerging Contractors Advisory Forum
The Small and Emerging Contractors Advisory Forum (SECAF) enables the small and emerging government contractor to achieve maximum growth rates in a highly competitive marketplace. Arming members with business resources, access to influencers, government agencies, advocacy opportunities and education, SECAF is an important resource for a growing company.  SECAF also serves the medium to large government contractors, providing invaluable introductions to specialized small businesses that enable the overall contracting community to work successfully in tandem. For more information, visit www.secaf.org.