FedBizOpps (FBO) allows government buyers to post information directly to a common web site, the FedBizOpps web site, and in this way, business opportunities are made more accessible. FedBizOpps.gov is the web portal of the Federal contracting community. As such, commercial vendors looking to do business with the Federal government use the web site to search for qualifying business opportunities. Specifically, FedBizOpps allows contract specialists to post synopses and other procurement documents to a single location. The FedBizOpps web site essentially allows vendors to search this single location, accessing databases contributed to regularly by many Federal agencies.
FedBizOpps or FBO listings were previously published in the Commerce Business Daily (CBD), and are now available through the FedBizOpps website as the official listing of all Federal government contracting opportunities and awards. It represents a single location where government agencies publish business opportunities greater than US$25,000. FedBizOpps is also the official source for all procurement information and notices to be published under the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(e) and (k)). Synopses of proposed contract actions, Requests for Quotation, Invitations for Bid, Requests for Proposal, and associated information can be accessed through the FedBizOpps website, FedBizOpps.gov. With some exceptions, Federal agencies describe what they intend to buy and how a potential contractor might get a paper copy or electronic version of a solicitation. The major exceptions to the requirement for advertising on FedBizOpps are orders placed under indefinite delivery contracts and procurements set aside for socio-economic purposes. As a general rule, a synopsis is made available on FedBizOpps at least 15 days prior to a solicitation being issued.
Aside from the search portal’s utility, the user experience of FedBizOpps is likely to be highly rated, especially by regular users, which is to say that practice improves performance and enhances attitudes. To perform an effective search some pointers are at hand. An Advanced Search feature is available that displays important search criteria located at or near the top of the page. It is important to note that the text link providing access to the Advanced Search feature is located under the main search section on the homepage. When using the advanced search on the FedBizOpps website, make sure not to overlook the general fields, such as date and place of performance. A Set-Aside Code Section is also available for searching particular categories. Some of these set-aside codes include: Competitive 8(a), HUBZone and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business. In addition to set-aside codes is a new link given to provide more information on small business classifications. When constructing your search term or search phrase, it can be handy to include “double quotes” around the words that comprise search phrases in order to return searches that include those specific terms as a single phrase, which translates into more closely matched results than otherwise possible. Numerous useful search tips and examples are made conveniently available by clicking the “TIPS” link that displays a question mark icon located beside the advanced search field. The Advanced Search tool can be particularly useful to vendors using a search filter to locate notices specific to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Just above the Advanced Search field requiring a keyword or solicitation number (SOL#), a radio button is present that can be toggled on or off in order to allow a user to indicate which opportunities returned from a search query are related to the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, indicated by an icon labeled “RECOVERY”. In order to provide increased levels of transparency regarding Recovery Act funds, the government is posting all Recovery Act funded order notices on FedBizOpps. Including this capability in the advanced search is certainly useful. Nicely done. All in all, the FedBizOpps site meets, perhaps even exceeds, its objective of simplifying the process of locating relevant business opportunities.