MARKET TO the money

USAspending is the official open data source of federal spending information,
including information about federal awards such as contracts, grants, and loans. 

Mastering USAspending.gov for  Federal Market Intelligence

Curriculum Objective:

Equip participants with the skills to navigate USAspending.gov to identify federal contract opportunities, understand agency spending behavior, analyze competitor performance, and inform strategic business decisions in the federal marketplace.

Module 1: Introduction to USAspending.gov

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the purpose and history of USAspending.gov
• Identify who uses the platform and why
• Recognize how data is collected and updated

Activities:

• Guided site tour
• Walkthrough of homepage layout and data categories

Module 2: Searching Federal Awards

Learning Outcomes:

• Perform basic and advanced award searches
• Filter results by agency, location, contract type, and recipient
• Export search results for reporting

Hands-On Exercise:

• Find your local agency’s top 5 contractors
• Search for awards given to a known competitor or partner

Module 3: Agency Profiles & Spending Trends

Learning Outcomes:

• Analyze federal agency profiles and spending overtime
• Interpret trends by NAICS code, place of performance, and award size
• Identify “hot agencies” for your products/services

Case Study:

• Use agency data to prepare a list of three targeted agency leads

Module 4: Competitor & Partner Intelligence

Learning Outcomes:

• Locate company profiles and award histories
• Assess subcontractor activity and teaming trends
• Use data to evaluate potential teaming partners

Exercise:

• Compare your business to a competitor using award data

Module 5: Strategy & Application

Learning Outcomes:

• Use USAspending.gov insights to guide capability statements and proposal targeting
• Align findings with SAM.gov and FPDS data
• Create a market-entry or expansion strategy using real award data