The Journal

Reporting on supplier diversity.

Working coverage of certifications, corporate procurement, federal contracting, financing, and the operators making each work for diverse-owned businesses. Every piece checked against primary sources.

Federal-Agencies

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Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to Customs and Border Protection (CBP): registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

CBP buys through DHS, the largest federal agency to earn 15 straight A or A+ grades on SBA's small-business scorecard. Here is …

· Mario Bailey

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the Department of Homeland Security: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

DHS obligated $9.9 billion to small businesses in FY2023 (38.21% of eligible dollars), the most in its history. Here is how registration, …

· Will Moss

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to FEMA: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

FEMA buys through SAM.gov and Unison Marketplace, runs a Small Business Program under the DHS OSDBU, and asks vendors to file an …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to Health and Human Services (HHS): registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

HHS buys across NIH, CDC, FDA, and CMS, and runs a Small Business Customer Experience office for vendors. Here is how to …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to HUD: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

HUD buys through SAM.gov and runs the standard federal set-asides. This guide covers registration, which socioeconomic certification to chase, where HUD posts …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to NASA: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

NASA runs its small-business work through the Office of Small Business Programs and posts opportunities on SAM.gov. Here is how to register, …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

USACE buys through district offices, not one central office. This guide walks the SAM.gov registration, the set-asides it uses (8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, …

· Will Moss

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the U.S. Coast Guard: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

The Coast Guard is a DHS buying component, not a Defense agency, and that changes where you look and who you call. …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the Department of Commerce: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

The Department of Commerce runs most of its contracting through bureaus like NOAA, Census, and USPTO, and NOAA alone puts more than …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the U.S. Department of Defense: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

DoD bought $183 billion from small businesses in FY2024, 28.78% of eligible spend. Here is the actual path: SAM.gov registration, the set-asides …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the Department of Education: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

The Department of Education buys against roughly $2.5 billion in estimated annual obligations, and its OSDBU exists to route small businesses into …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the Department of Energy: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

DOE runs roughly 80% of its procurement budget through Management & Operating contractors at the national labs and cleanup sites, which means …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the Department of the Interior: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

Interior put 60% of its eligible prime contract dollars with small businesses in FY2023. Here is how registration, set-asides, and the agency …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the Department of Labor: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

DOL spends roughly $2.2 billion a year buying goods and services, and it routes a large share to small and diverse firms. …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the U.S. Department of State: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

State spends on construction, embassy security, IT, and language services worldwide. Here is how a small or diverse business registers, finds the …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the Department of Transportation: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

The DOT spends through 11 operating administrations like the FAA and FHWA. This guide covers SAM.gov registration, the set-asides DOT uses, where …

· Will Moss

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA): registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

DLA buys the fuel, food, parts, and medical supplies that keep the military running, and it does most of it through one …

· Will Moss

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the Department of Justice: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

The DOJ ran about $3.1 billion through small-business contracts in FY2024. Here is how its OSDBU works, which set-asides it uses, and …

· Mario Bailey

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the EPA: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

The EPA runs its own Acquisition Forecast Database and a vendor database that feeds its OSDBU and contracting officers. Here is how …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the FAA: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

The FAA buys under its own Acquisition Management System, not the standard FAR, which changes how set-asides and registration work. Here is …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the GSA: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

The GSA buys through SAM.gov, the Multiple Award Schedule, and socioeconomic set-asides. Here is the registration sequence, the goals that work in …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the NIH: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

The NIH buys research support, lab services, and roughly $21 billion in IT through NITAAC. Here's how a small or diverse business …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the Social Security Administration: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

SSA buys through the Office of Acquisition and Grants and uses SAM.gov as its primary vendor database. Here's how its OSDBU works, …

· Will Moss

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the U.S. Treasury: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

Treasury buys through bureaus like the IRS, the Mint, and the BEP, and routes small-business work through its OSDBU. Here's how to …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the U.S. Air Force: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

The Air Force runs its small-business work through the Department of the Air Force Office of Small Business Programs. Here is how …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the U.S. Army: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

The Army buys through SAM.gov and its Office of Small Business Programs, and it has historically routed more than 20% of contract …

· Will Moss

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the U.S. Navy: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

The Department of the Navy buys through a dozen separate commands, not one front door. This guide covers SAM.gov registration, which set-asides …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the USDA: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

USDA obligated more than $11 billion across 67,000 contract actions in FY2023 and aims to send 57.5% of contract dollars to small …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the U.S. Postal Service: registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

USPS buys differently from every other federal agency. It is exempt from the FAR, runs its own rulebook, and registers suppliers through …

· Maya Okonkwo

Guide

Guide · 8 min

How to sell to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): registration, set-asides, and the small-business path

The VA buys differently than most agencies. Its Veterans First Contracting Program puts certified veteran-owned firms ahead of every other set-aside. Here …

· Will Moss

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