NIH is not a single buyer. It is 27 institutes and centers, each with its own budget, mission, and acquisition staff — all sitting under one Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) umbrella. The National Cancer Institute buys differently than the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The Office of Research Facilities buys differently than the National Library of Medicine.
Understanding that structure is the first thing. Everything else follows from it.
What NIH actually buys and how much
NIH obligated approximately $6.4 billion in contracts in FY2023, separate from the $35 billion in grants and cooperative agreements that get most of the press. Contracts are procurement vehicles — the government is buying a defined deliverable, not funding research the recipient controls.
The major spend categories break down roughly as follows.
Research and development services. The largest single category. This includes preclinical research support, laboratory studies, clinical trial management, and scientific program support. The National Cancer Institute, NIAID, and NIMH are among the heaviest spenders here.
Information technology. NIH's IT infrastructure spans 27 organizations with thousands of researchers. The Center for Information Technology (CIT) handles enterprise systems, but individual institutes procure their own clinical informatics platforms, data management systems, and specialized scientific software. HHS as a whole spent over $3.5 billion on IT in FY2023, with NIH contributing a substantial share.
Facilities and administrative support. The NIH main campus in Bethesda, Maryland is a 322-acre research campus with roughly 75 buildings. Maintenance, janitorial, security, food services, and construction contracts flow through the Office of Research Facilities Development and Operations (ORF). These contracts tend to be multi-year, location-specific, and well-suited to small and diverse businesses that operate in the DC metro area.
Administrative and professional services. Human resources support, training and education, communications, scientific editing, conference support, and program evaluation. The Office of Management (OM) and individual institutes both procure in this category.
Medical and scientific equipment. Reagents, laboratory consumables, specialized equipment, and medical supplies round out NIH's procurement profile.
Set-aside usage: what NIH actually does
NIH uses the full set-aside toolkit, but not uniformly across every contract.
8(a) program. NIH is an active 8(a) user, particularly in administrative services, IT support, and facilities. For sole-source 8(a) awards, the SBA certifies the firm and the contracting officer works directly with SBA to negotiate the contract. NIH has historically used 8(a) sole-source authority for contracts under $4.5 million in services (the 8(a) sole-source threshold). Larger 8(a) requirements go to competitive set-asides within the 8(a) program. If you are an 8(a) firm, NIH is worth active cultivation because the agency has enough contracting officers familiar with the mechanism to use it efficiently.
WOSB and EDWOSB. NIH uses WOSB set-asides in service categories that map to the WOSB-eligible NAICS codes. Given the agency's research services and professional services spend, WOSB-eligible firms have real opportunity here. The NIH Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH), which has operated since 1990, has institutionalized attention to women's participation in NIH programs — including procurement — that some other agencies lack.
SDVOSB and VOSB. NIH participates in the VA's VetBiz verification program for VOSB/SDVOSB set-asides, though VA is the lead agency for these certifications. SDVOSB set-asides at NIH appear in IT and professional services categories. Because HHS — NIH's parent department — is not a defense agency, SDVOSB usage here is lower than at DoD, but it exists and is worth checking.
HUBZone. NIH uses HUBZone set-asides for facilities and support contracts where the geographic requirements can realistically be met. If your business is in a HUBZone and you work in facilities, construction, janitorial, or food services, NIH's Bethesda campus contracts are worth monitoring.
Small Business Administration data. In FY2023, HHS met its overall small business prime contracting goal. Small business set-asides across HHS totaled roughly $5.7 billion. NIH's contribution to that total is significant, though the agency does not publish institute-by-institute breakdown publicly.
Finding NIH contract opportunities
SAM.gov (beta.SAM.gov). All NIH competitive solicitations above the micro-purchase threshold ($10,000) must be posted on SAM.gov. To filter specifically to NIH, use the following parameters on the Contract Opportunities search:
- Agency: Department of Health and Human Services
- Sub-agency: National Institutes of Health
- Set-Aside Type: Filter by 8(a), WOSB, HUBZone, or SDVOSB as relevant
NIH contracting offices use multiple buying office codes. The major ones include NIH/OA (Office of Acquisitions), individual institute acquisition offices, and ORF for facilities. Do not rely on a single sub-agency code to capture everything.
FPDS-NG. The Federal Procurement Data System at fpds.gov provides historical award data. Search by awarding agency (NIH) and NAICS code to understand what the agency has bought historically, at what dollar values, which offices awarded it, and who won. This research is more useful for shaping your pipeline than finding active solicitations, but it tells you exactly which institute is buying your category of service.
NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORTER). For firms interested in R&D contracts (as opposed to grants), NIH's NIH RePORTER database at projectreporter.nih.gov shows active funded research programs. Understanding which programs are active helps you anticipate which institutes will need contract support services.
NIH Procurement Forecast. HHS publishes an annual small business forecast at osdbu.hhs.gov. NIH-specific forecast data appears within the HHS small business office's annual forecast documents. These lists are incomplete and frequently outdated, but they give you a named point of contact for specific anticipated requirements. A warm introduction to the right contracting officer before a solicitation drops is worth far more than a cold proposal submission.
Sources Sought and RFIs. NIH contracting officers post market research notices — Sources Sought notices and Requests for Information — before competitive solicitations. Responding to these is one of the highest-leverage things a small business can do. It puts your name in front of the contracting officer and, in some cases, directly influences whether a requirement gets set aside for small business at all.
SBIR and STTR: the R&D on-ramp
NIH administers one of the largest SBIR/STTR programs in the federal government. In FY2023, NIH awarded approximately $1.5 billion in SBIR and STTR awards to small businesses.
SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) is for small businesses doing R&D with potential for commercialization. STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) requires partnering with a research institution. Both are competitive grants, not contracts — but they are procurement dollars that flow to small businesses, and winning one establishes past performance that supports future contract bids.
NIH's SBIR program operates across all 27 institutes, each with its own priority research areas. The NIH SBIR/STTR website at sbir.nih.gov lists open funding opportunity announcements by institute and topic. Application deadlines occur three times per year for most institutes.
For diverse-owned businesses, SBIR is particularly worth pursuing because there is no set-aside mechanism for the main contract vehicle pool in biomedical R&D — you are competing on science. SBIR lets you build a track record within NIH before you pursue larger contract vehicles.
Subcontracting through NIH prime contractors
NIH's major prime contractors are worth knowing by name. These firms hold large indefinite-delivery contracts and task orders and regularly need subcontractors with specific technical expertise.
Booz Allen Hamilton. One of the largest IT and management consulting contractors at NIH and across HHS. Booz Allen holds contracts for scientific program support, data analytics, and IT across multiple institutes. They have an active supplier diversity program.
SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation). SAIC holds significant IT infrastructure and systems integration work at NIH's Center for Information Technology and within individual institutes.
Leidos. Active in both IT and research support across HHS, including NIH. Leidos has formal small business and supplier diversity programs with a named point of contact.
ICF International. Active in research support, program evaluation, and public health contract work at NIH and other HHS agencies.
Deloitte and Accenture Federal Services. Both hold management consulting and IT transformation contracts at HHS, including NIH, at the enterprise level.
To find subcontracting opportunities with these firms, two paths work.
First, review their subcontracting plans. Any prime contract above $750,000 with a large business requires a subcontracting plan committing to small business, SDB, WOSB, SDVOSB, and HUBZone utilization percentages. These plans are public. When a prime wins a major NIH award, find the award in USASpending.gov, identify the prime, and contact their small business liaison officer directly. The contracting officer posts the prime's name and contract number on SAM.gov; the prime's subcontracting plan is filed with the contracting officer.
Second, attend NIH small business events. The NIH Office of Small Business Research Funding (OSBRF) and the NIH Office of Acquisitions hold outreach events — matchmaking sessions, industry days, and contractor briefings — where small businesses meet prime contractors. The NIH Industry Partners Network (NIPN) hosts partnership events at the Bethesda campus periodically.
Registration and portal requirements beyond SAM.gov
SAM.gov registration is the foundation — active registration with a current UEI and CAGE code. But NIH has additional requirements depending on how you engage.
HHS Vendor Portal. HHS maintains a vendor portal where small businesses can register their capabilities and interest areas. Contracting officers at HHS agencies, including NIH, can search this portal when conducting market research. Registration here is free and takes roughly 30 minutes.
NIH IT contracts and security requirements. Any contract involving NIH information systems requires compliance with FISMA (Federal Information Security Management Act) and, in many cases, completion of a System Security Plan (SSP). If you are pursuing IT work, budget time for a security assessment and ask the contracting officer early whether the requirement involves Federal Information Systems. NIH contracts involving human subjects research data may also require compliance with the NIH Genomic Data Sharing Policy or other research data governance requirements.
Facilities contracts — background checks. ORF facilities contracts require personnel background checks for campus access. NIH uses the USAccess program for physical access credentialing. Factor this into your onboarding timeline if you win a facilities contract; it can take 30–90 days to credential individual employees.
NIH EPS (Electronic Procurement System). Some NIH contracts use a legacy system for solicitation-specific document delivery. When a solicitation references EPS, register at eps.nih.gov in addition to monitoring SAM.gov.
Practical first steps for a diverse business targeting NIH
Start with FPDS research. Pull FY2022 and FY2023 contract awards from fpds.gov filtered to NIH and your primary NAICS codes. Identify which institutes are buying your category, at what dollar values, and who currently holds those contracts. That list of incumbents tells you where to seek subcontracting relationships and which contracts will come up for re-competition.
Register on SAM.gov and complete your Small Business Administration dynamic small business search profile. Contracting officers search this system before setting requirements aside.
Get your certifications in order before you engage. 8(a) certification through SBA takes approximately 90 days from a complete application. WOSB/EDWOSB certification is handled through SBA and is faster. HUBZone certification requires that your principal office is in a designated zone and that at least 35% of your employees reside in a HUBZone. Start the certification process before you find an opportunity, not after.
Attend NIH small business outreach events. The NIH OSBRF page at osbrf.nih.gov publishes upcoming events. Industry days for large upcoming procurements are announced on SAM.gov under the relevant NAICS code.
Respond to Sources Sought notices. When NIH posts a Sources Sought for a requirement in your category, submit a capabilities statement that directly maps your experience to the requirement. Keep it to two pages. The point of contact listed on the notice is a contracting officer who will see your response.
Build a relationship with the HHS Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU). The HHS OSDBU at osdbu.hhs.gov serves as an advocate for small and diverse businesses across HHS, including NIH. They host matchmaking events, can make introductions to institute contracting officers, and publish the annual HHS small business forecast. A 30-minute call with an OSDBU specialist is one of the highest-return hours a first-time HHS bidder can spend.
The path to a first NIH award is typically 12 to 24 months from initial research to contract award — faster if you pursue a subcontracting relationship with an existing prime, longer if you are pursuing a prime contract from scratch. Plan accordingly.
Last reviewed: June 2026
Primary sources: USASpending.gov award data FY2023; SAM.gov Contract Opportunities; FPDS-NG; HHS OSDBU annual small business report FY2023 at osdbu.hhs.gov; NIH SBIR/STTR program data at sbir.nih.gov; NIH Office of Acquisitions at ors.od.nih.gov/acquisition; SBA small business goaling data FY2023; FAR 19.000–19.307 (set-aside regulations); NIH RePORTER at projectreporter.nih.gov.
