Federal Contracts
How to Identify Relevant Federal Prime Contract Opportunities
Last updated
How to Identify Relevant Federal Prime Contract Opportunities
Last updated
Need to understand the basics of search like Keyword syntax? See Search Basics
Contract opportunities are available on the Contract Opportunity Search page, which can be found under Business Development -> Opportunities -> Contracts in the sidebar or by clicking here.
On this page, you can select the Add Filters dropdown to add filters to find the opportunities most relevant to your business (a full list is below).
As you find potentially interesting contract opportunities, click the opportunity title to open up the Contract Opportunity detail page to see the opportunity description, history, related solicitations, documents, similar opportunities, potential bidders, and other details. You can also favorite the opportunity by clicking the heart button to easily access it later by selecting the My Favorites filter.
HigherGov integrates data from dozens of federal opportunity sources. Those available on each tab include:
These include opportunities and documents posted to the following sources: SAM.GOV, SBIR.GOV, NECO, DIBBS (> $25,000), NIH eBidBoard, JCCS, FedConnect, and Unison. If you have integrated a vehicle system such as eBuy or Symphony, these opportunities will also be available in this tab.
These include forecasts posted by agencies from 40+ sources including those posted to formal forecasting systems such as DHS's APFS system and spreadsheets and presentations released by various agencies throughout the year. See Forecasts and Expiring Contracts to learn more about forecasted opportunities and how to find upcoming opportunities that have not been forecasted by an agency.
Includes all contracts posted to DLA's DIBBS systems for the procurement of sustainment products.
Active Opportunity: Filter for opportunities with a due date in the future
Exclude No Bid: Exclude opportunities from the results that you have marked as No Bid.
My Favorites: Filter for opportunities that you have marked as a favorite
My Pursuits: Filter for opportunities linked to at least one Pursuit for which you are the owner. This filter is only available if you have Created a Pipeline and at least one pursuit.
Future Vehicle: Filtering for opportunities that are likely to result in the creation of a contract vehicle such as an IDIQ, BPA, or MATOC
Only Civilian: Filter for agencies outside of the Department of Defense
Only Defense: Filter for agencies within the Department of Defense
Keywords: Keywords found in the contract description, document summaries, or other metadata. Learn more about accepted keyword syntax in the Search Basics.
Agency: Filter by the federal agency that issued the opportunity
Due Date: Filter by the current due date of the contract opportunity
Date Posted: Filter by the most recent posting date of the contract
Experience: Filter for recommended opportunities based on a company's prior experience or registration information.
FSG / NSG: Filter by the 1 or 2-character Federal Supply Group or NATO Supply Group
NAICS: Six-digit code used to classify businesses by type of economic activity. This is the most common filter that federal contractors will use to filter for opportunities relevant to their business. Learn more about NAICS codes here.
NSN (NATO Stock Number): Filter by the 13-digit numeric code used by NATO to identify standardized products
Opportunity Type: Filter by the type of opportunity. Most commonly, companies will use this filter to focus on opportunities in a Source Sought, Presolicitation, or Forecast stage to identify upcoming and future solicitations
Person: Filter by the federal contracting officer listed on the contract opportunity
PSC / FSC: Filter by the PSC Code, a four-character code used to describe products, services, and research and development (R&D) purchased by the federal government. This is the second most common filter federal contractors use to find relevant opportunities (after NAICS) and is especially popular with contractors focused on products. Learn more about PSC codes here
Place of Performance: Filter by the location where the contract will be performed. Opportunities can be filtered at country, state, county, or zip code level
Set Aside: Filter by the socio-economic set-aside. Contract Opportunities with set asides can only be bid on by companies meeting the requirements of that set aside. Major set-aside categories include Small Business, Disadvantaged Business 8(a), Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, and Woman-Owned Small Business
Value Range: Filter by the approximate value range of the contract as indicated in the solicitation or based on an AI estimate when a range is not indicated in the solicitation
Vehicle: Filter by an integrated contract vehicle. Note this filter will only be available for subscribers who have added a Task Order Integration.
