Search Basics
Leverage HigherGov's Powerful Search Functionality to Find Opportunities and Perform Market Research
Ways to Search HigherGov
Quick Search
If you know exactly what you're looking for, the fastest way to find records in HigherGov is by using the Quick Search bar at the top of every page. The Quick Search bar accepts IDs (such as contract or grant IDs, solicitation numbers, or UEIs) as well as names for records such as awardees or agencies.
Press Enter in the Quick Search to open your search in Search All.
Search All
If you're performing general research on a topic or are not sure exactly what you're looking for, you can use the search all screen to quickly filter the entire HigherGov database by keyword.
Once you type in a keyword or set of keywords, tabs will highlight where results are found. Within each of those tabs, you can select See All Results --> to open up the Category Search screen to add more advanced filters.
Category Search
All major datasets within HigherGov have a Category Search screen listed in the sidebar. Most of these screens work similarly, although the filters available will vary based on underlying data.
The buttons that are available on the Category Search pages include:
Add Filters: Add powerful filters to your search to limit results
Export: Download your records in the .csv or .xlsx (Excel) formats
Save: Save your search for future reference. Press the down caret next to the save button to Open your previous searches
Share: Send your search to someone else either with a URL or with an email
Reset: Clear and start your search over from scratch
Columns: Add or remove the columns that appear in the search results table
Sort: Order the results by the available categories
Search Strategy
Using Filters
There are two types of filters available on most pages, Quick and Search. The Quick filters allow you to quickly apply advanced searches such as finding recompetes or vulnerable incumbents with the click of a button. The Search filters allow you to add additional complex filters to your search.
Several category screens including Contract Opportunities, Grant Opportunities, Contract Awards, and Grant Awards have an Active Quick filter. In many cases, you will want to select this Active filter to limit results to currently actionable opportunities or ongoing contracts rather than including historical data.
Keyword Search Tips
The Keyword filter supports advanced options for finding records.
Basic Keyword Search
physical security -> Contains both physical and security
"Or" Keyword Search
physical security or surveillance -> Contains both physical and security or surveillance
"Close Match" Search
"physical security" -> Contains physical directly next to security
Exclude Search
physical security -training -> Contains both physical and security and excludes training
There is no limit on the number of keywords that can be joined in an "or" search.
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