Operating advice and assistance on administrative management, strategy, and organizational effectiveness. Find active federal and state management consulting services contracts — AI-scored against your profile across SAM.gov and 200+ portals.
Annual federal spending under NAICS 541611 exceeds $2 billion, with DoD, HHS, GSA, Treasury, and State as top buyers. Competition is intense: over 20,000 firms hold this code, but most contracts are awarded via set-asides (8(a), SDVOSB, HUBZone, WOSB). Demand is driven by agency needs for strategic planning, organizational restructuring, performance management, and IT strategy support. Contracts are predominantly IDIQs and BPAs under GSA Schedule 874 (now MAS 541611), with task orders ranging from $50K to $50M. One-off contracts are rare; most work is competed among pre-qualified vendors on vehicles like GSA OASIS, 8(a) STARS III, and Alliant 2.
These agencies are the largest buyers of management consulting services services and products in the federal government. Each awards contracts under NAICS 541611 regularly — build relationships with their small business offices first.
To win 541611 contracts, focus on GSA Schedule 874 (MAS 541611) as the entry point—over 60% of task orders flow through it. Compete aggressively on past performance and key personnel resumes, not price, as most awards are best-value tradeoff. The single highest-leverage move: pursue 8(a) or SDVOSB set-asides on GSA OASIS SB or 8(a) STARS III, where small businesses win 90% of awards. Build a niche (e.g., healthcare consulting for HHS, acquisition support for DoD) and capture past performance in that domain. Avoid generic capability statements; tailor each proposal to the specific agency mission.
Management consulting is primarily bought via GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) 541611, GSA OASIS SB/Unrestricted, 8(a) STARS III, and Alliant 2. Most awards are best-value tradeoff with technical approach, key personnel, and past performance weighted 70-80%, price 20-30%. LPTA is rare except for low-complexity tasks. Agency-specific IDIQs (e.g., DHS EAGLE, HHS CMS SPARC) also use this code.
No, there is no federal license required for management consulting under NAICS 541611. However, some task orders may require certifications like PMP, Lean Six Sigma, or specific agency credentials (e.g., FAC-P/PM for acquisition support).
Award sizes vary widely, but the median task order is around $500K to $2M. Most are competed as firm-fixed-price (FFP) or time-and-materials (T&M) under IDIQs. Ceiling values on multi-award contracts can exceed $100M.
Yes, SDVOSB set-asides are common for 541611. The VA and DoD frequently use this code for SDVOSB competitions. You must be verified by the VA SBA VetCert program to qualify.
Highly competitive. Over 1,200 8(a) firms hold this code. To win, target sole-source awards up to $4.5 million (for 8(a) firms) or compete on GSA 8(a) STARS III, which has a 20% evaluation weighting on price and 80% on technical/past performance.
Yes, subcontracting is common. Many primes need niche expertise (e.g., change management, data analytics). However, to build your own past performance, seek prime opportunities on small business set-asides. Subcontracts rarely count as prime experience.