GovCon Academy · Intermediate
Market & Agency Research
12 min read
Why research first
The businesses that win federal work don't chase every notice — they pick a lane, learn who buys in it, and show up prepared. Market research tells you where the money is; agency research tells you how a specific customer buys and who they already trust.
Command Center teaches you to do this research yourself with free public tools. (When you're ready to operationalize it — continuous search, matching, and fit scoring — that's Sturgeon AI.)
The public research toolkit
Free, authoritative sources — verify findings against the official site.
USASpending.gov
See historical awards by agency, NAICS, place of performance, and recipient. Your best free window into who buys what you sell.
SAM.gov
Active and archived opportunities, sources-sought, and entity records. Study how notices in your space are written.
FPDS / beta.SAM data
Contract action detail — vehicle, competition type, set-aside, and dollar values behind the awards.
Agency procurement forecasts
Most agencies publish an annual forecast of upcoming opportunities. Find them on agency Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) pages.
GSA eLibrary
Who holds Schedule contracts in your category — potential teaming partners and competitors.
Agency OSDBU offices
Small-business specialists whose job is to help you understand and enter the agency’s market.
You know the tools. The full lesson continues with the workflow that turns them into wins:
- The 6-step agency-research workflow — from confirming codes to engaging before the solicitation drops
- How to size a market and spot recompetes on USASpending
- Turning your research into a personalized action plan
The full lesson is included with the GovCon Academy membership, along with course progress, quizzes, readiness reassessment, and monthly group learning events.