May 2026 Volume 8

OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT

CPARS, the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System. It’s the official U.S. government system for documenting and evaluating contractor performance, functioning as a critical input to future source selection decisions. It evaluates key performance areas including quality, cost control, timeliness, management, and small business subcontracting. Assessments are conducted annually for contracts exceeding defined thresholds. As you get started in government contracting it’s a good idea to compile a library of past-performance evaluations so you’re ready when an opportunity arises. USASpending.gov A great resource for finding prior awards and obtaining competitive intelligence is USASpending.gov, the official open data source of federal spending information, including information about federal awards such as contracts, grants, and loans. You can search by keywords, agency, fiscal year, NAICS, and much more. There is also an API key available so you can automatically export data that matches your criteria. Training The U.S. government offers several free or low-cost official courses and resources for getting started with federal contracting, • SBA: Become a Federal Contractor • SBA Contracting Guide

• GSA Training Programs • 8(a) Business Development Program Conclusion

Federal government contracting can be a great addition to your business but its not without its challenges. The government is interested in engaging with businesses of all sizes and has provided resources to get you started. It’s important to be realistic, you probably won’t win a contract right away, but with persistence you can find your opportunities and start winning contracts. There is not much more than what is provided above, but this is a good start. I encourage you to look into the Apex Accelerators, this is the single best place to start, and best of all, its free.

Felipe Reyes is the founder of FedRegs AI, a suite of AI agents trained exclusively on federal regulations. Most recently he was with the Non-Ferrous Founder’s Society as the Director of Business Develop for ICON, the online portal connecting the metals industry with DoD opportunities. He can be reached at felipe@fedregs.ai.

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