Public Law 100-656, the Business Opportunity Development Reform Act of 1988, amended the Small Business Act to emphasize acquisition planning. The law requires agencies to compile and make available projections of contracting opportunities that small businesses (including minority, women-owned, HUBZone, veteran-owned, and service-disabled veteran-owned) may be able to perform.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Forecast of Contract Opportunities includes projections of all anticipated contract actions above $250,000 that small businesses may be able to perform under direct contracts with DHS or perform part of the effort through subcontract arrangements with the Department’s large business prime contractors. For additional information on procurements not expected to exceed the $250,000, please contact the appropriate DHS Small Business Specialist of each Organizational Element. Consistent with our mission, and Federal regulations, DHS will provide maximum practicable opportunities in our acquisitions to small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns. The DHS small business acquisition policy is a shared responsibility among all DHS employees involved in the acquisition process. Through a unified team approach involving senior management, small business personnel, acquisition personnel, and technical/program staff, we can support both our critical national mission and the important public policy objective of small business inclusion in our acquisition program.

The procurements described in this forecast are expected to have a solicitation released in the current fiscal year and/or subsequent fiscal years as indicated for each action. The item descriptions are based on the best information available at the time of publication. All projected procurements are subject to revision or cancellation. Final decisions on the extent of competition, small business participation, estimated value, or any aspect of the procurement action will not be made until each procurement is initiated. The forecast data is for planning purposes, does not represent a pre-solicitation synopsis, does not constitute an invitation for bid or request for proposal, and is not a commitment by the Government to purchase the desired products and services.

The forecast is divided by DHS Organizational Elements. Based on the acquisition strategy, requirements will be solicited in various ways to include posting in www.beta.sam.gov.

The purpose of publishing the small business “Forecast of Contract Opportunities” each fiscal year to the general public is to make the reader aware of:

• (1) the scope and depth of the Government’s dependence upon the private sector for goods and services, and
• (2) those new initiatives where the Government intends to seek participation of private sector firms for goods and services.

In addition, the forecast contains information regarding both the timing and range of estimated costs of the Government’s planned contracting actions. The dynamics of change in Governmental operations and in the implementation of the annual budget process are likely to result in significant changes during the fiscal year. It is departmental policy to examine the elements of the forecast every quarter and to make modifications where relevant.

There are major contracting actions described in the forecast, which reflect ongoing contracts and associated activities. In cases where the government chooses to exercise the option of these ongoing contracts, there will be no opportunities for third party firms during a given fiscal year. In cases where the government agency is initiating a new contracting action during the fiscal year, the agency may choose to:

• (1) use existing government contracts in place at another agency, or a DHS-wide contract
• (2) use firms already listed as a part of the Federal Supply Schedule,
• (3) set- aside the opportunity for a specific category of firms (e.g., small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, 8(a) small businesses, HUBZone small businesses, or women-owned small business),
• (4) utilize a full and open competition technique wherein any interested firms may consider participating in the acquisition process.

Vendors using this forecast are advised to learn as much as possible about a potential agency customer through information already in the public domain (e.g., Government websites, news articles, conferences, etc.,) before contacting the individuals listed for each advanced acquisition item. Consider participating in Governmental vendor outreach sessions (VOS) as a primary marketing technique. DHS holds monthly VOS in Washington, D.C. A schedule of the VOS meetings can be found on the DHS Small Business https://www.dhs.gov/do-business-dhs .

Contracts that are currently in place with Department of Homeland Security and subject to a re-competition are included on the Acquisition Planning Forecast System for planning purposes. Each data entry will give a description, anticipated period of performance, incumbent name, contract number, and contact information. This information can be used for projecting your marketing efforts with DHS and positioning your firm for a potential contract opportunity.

DHS purchases a wide variety of goods and services and we are committed to small business participation in our acquisition program. We hope that this forecast will assist you in doing business with DHS. By helping firms identify procurement opportunities as early in the acquisition process as possible, we hope to improve communication with industry and assist the small business community with its marketing efforts.

*Note: Please contact the Small Business Specialists at the various DHS Organizational Elements BEFORE the points of contact listed in APFS records. They will be able to help you get information from the points of contact.