Despite three years of flat federal contracting budgets, there are still a number of opportunities for federal contractors as agencies shift finances to align with new priorities, said Deltek Chief Knowledge Officer Ray Bjorklund.
Speaking at the 27th Annual Federal Outlook on Tuesday at the McLean Hilton, Bjorklund said there are subtle shifts in government priorities that will create new addressable contracting markets for those that know where to look.
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“Even in a flat budget there can be some good news,” he said.
Some highlights from Bjorklund’s presentation:
- Despite less money for contractors, there is still $709 billion to be spent.
- There will be as much as a 20 percent decline in big tickets items in the Department of Defense as military action winds down, but there will be increases in other areas namely contractor support for the Afghan Security Force and information-based warfighting technologies. There will also be more contractor money spent on nation-building activities in the Middle East and North Africa.
- There are a number of new major construction projects in the largest budget: DOD (a new missile defense project), Navy (18 projects), Army (10 new projects), Air Force (16 new projects), ASOE (two new ecosystem restoration and one new flood control projects), Veterans Affairs (six expanded medical facilities), for example.
- When it comes to information technology, the market tends to be more stable than the general federal contracting market. However, the government for the most part, will be looking for contractors that can maintain and improve current systems instead of developing new ones.
