Market Research for Smarter Acquisitions — One-Day Essentials
The FAR used to hand you a checklist for market research. It doesn't anymore.
Under the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul, FAR Part 10 no longer lists the specific market research techniques you must use. Instead, it gives acquisition teams the flexibility to choose the method that best fits the need — and even encourages approaches like reverse industry days and expert panels, while emphasizing the importance of engaging industry responsibly. This is a meaningful shift: the old Part 10's prescriptive list is gone, replaced by a flexibility-and-judgment model, informed by a powerful new set of tools and resources. And that makes understanding market research — really understanding it — more important than ever.
This course is for government personnel and federal contractors who want to conduct market research that actually drives smarter acquisitions — not just check a box, but find the right solutions, the right sources, and the right strategy before a single dollar is spent.
In one focused day, your team will learn why market research matters and what's at stake when it's done poorly, when to conduct it (and why it's continuous, not a one-time event), and how to conduct it using the full range of techniques — Requests for Information (RFIs), sources sought notices, industry days, and the newer approaches the RFO FAR now encourages. You'll learn how market research connects to everything downstream: acquisition planning, small business set-asides, commercial item determinations, and contract type selection. And you'll learn how to document your research so your decisions are defensible.
Just as importantly, your people will learn the tools and resources that make market research faster and smarter — and, more than that, when to reach for each one. You'll work with GSA's Market Research as a Service (MRAS) and eBuy to gather industry input and test vendor interest; SAM.gov to find and vet capable sources, confirm registrations and socioeconomic certifications, and pull the authoritative contract award data it now houses; USASpending.gov to size the market and study real spending and trends; and GSA's CALC+ and CALC+ BLS Quick Rate tools to research actual awarded labor rates, support fair-and-reasonable pricing, and build defensible IGEs/IGCEs. We'll also put the current guidance in your hands — the RFO FAR Part 10 Practitioner's Album, the RFO FAR Companion, and the Periodic Table of Acquisition Innovations (PTAI). When the FAR no longer hands you a checklist, knowing which tool to reach for — and how to use — is what separates strong market research from guesswork.
And, of course, woven throughout the course are the business case studies, best practices, and lessons learned from real events — so your people get the takeaways without getting the scars.
This course is taught by Melinda Milheim, JD, who served as a Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer's Representative for the U.S. Navy and the Department of Health and Human Services / Indian Health Service, where she worked on more than $7.7 billion in mostly services contracts — spanning commercial, RDT&E, engineering, medical, and major weapon-system programs. She draws on that experience, along with her law degree and MBA studies, to teach acquisition in an engaging and innovative way, breaking down complicated principles into easy-to-understand pieces — so participants leave with sharper judgment, not just a stack of slides to follow. An award-winning DAU/WarU (DAWIA and FAI) instructor, she has taught more than 1,000 federal acquisition workforce students across 20-plus agencies.
Best for: Contracting officers, contract specialists, CORs, program and project managers, and federal contractors who want to conduct market research that leads to smarter, faster, more defensible acquisitions.
Format: Available as a one-day course, delivered in person or virtually. Eligible attendees earn 8 CLPs. A note on CLPs: This course earns continuous learning points (CLPs) that both defense (DAWIA) and civilian (FAC-C, FAC-COR, and FAC-P/PM) acquisition professionals can apply toward the continuous learning required to maintain certification. Because agencies set their own rules on what qualifies for CLP credit, check with your Acquisition Career Manager (ACM) or component training office to confirm how it applies to your plan.
Pricing is set per engagement. Contact Phoenix Canyon to request a quote.
The FAR used to hand you a checklist for market research. It doesn't anymore.
Under the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul, FAR Part 10 no longer lists the specific market research techniques you must use. Instead, it gives acquisition teams the flexibility to choose the method that best fits the need — and even encourages approaches like reverse industry days and expert panels, while emphasizing the importance of engaging industry responsibly. This is a meaningful shift: the old Part 10's prescriptive list is gone, replaced by a flexibility-and-judgment model, informed by a powerful new set of tools and resources. And that makes understanding market research — really understanding it — more important than ever.
This course is for government personnel and federal contractors who want to conduct market research that actually drives smarter acquisitions — not just check a box, but find the right solutions, the right sources, and the right strategy before a single dollar is spent.
In one focused day, your team will learn why market research matters and what's at stake when it's done poorly, when to conduct it (and why it's continuous, not a one-time event), and how to conduct it using the full range of techniques — Requests for Information (RFIs), sources sought notices, industry days, and the newer approaches the RFO FAR now encourages. You'll learn how market research connects to everything downstream: acquisition planning, small business set-asides, commercial item determinations, and contract type selection. And you'll learn how to document your research so your decisions are defensible.
Just as importantly, your people will learn the tools and resources that make market research faster and smarter — and, more than that, when to reach for each one. You'll work with GSA's Market Research as a Service (MRAS) and eBuy to gather industry input and test vendor interest; SAM.gov to find and vet capable sources, confirm registrations and socioeconomic certifications, and pull the authoritative contract award data it now houses; USASpending.gov to size the market and study real spending and trends; and GSA's CALC+ and CALC+ BLS Quick Rate tools to research actual awarded labor rates, support fair-and-reasonable pricing, and build defensible IGEs/IGCEs. We'll also put the current guidance in your hands — the RFO FAR Part 10 Practitioner's Album, the RFO FAR Companion, and the Periodic Table of Acquisition Innovations (PTAI). When the FAR no longer hands you a checklist, knowing which tool to reach for — and how to use — is what separates strong market research from guesswork.
And, of course, woven throughout the course are the business case studies, best practices, and lessons learned from real events — so your people get the takeaways without getting the scars.
This course is taught by Melinda Milheim, JD, who served as a Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer's Representative for the U.S. Navy and the Department of Health and Human Services / Indian Health Service, where she worked on more than $7.7 billion in mostly services contracts — spanning commercial, RDT&E, engineering, medical, and major weapon-system programs. She draws on that experience, along with her law degree and MBA studies, to teach acquisition in an engaging and innovative way, breaking down complicated principles into easy-to-understand pieces — so participants leave with sharper judgment, not just a stack of slides to follow. An award-winning DAU/WarU (DAWIA and FAI) instructor, she has taught more than 1,000 federal acquisition workforce students across 20-plus agencies.
Best for: Contracting officers, contract specialists, CORs, program and project managers, and federal contractors who want to conduct market research that leads to smarter, faster, more defensible acquisitions.
Format: Available as a one-day course, delivered in person or virtually. Eligible attendees earn 8 CLPs. A note on CLPs: This course earns continuous learning points (CLPs) that both defense (DAWIA) and civilian (FAC-C, FAC-COR, and FAC-P/PM) acquisition professionals can apply toward the continuous learning required to maintain certification. Because agencies set their own rules on what qualifies for CLP credit, check with your Acquisition Career Manager (ACM) or component training office to confirm how it applies to your plan.
Pricing is set per engagement. Contact Phoenix Canyon to request a quote.