Government Contracting Glossary

8(a) Business Development Program

An SBA program that helps socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses compete for federal contracts through mentorship, training, and sole-source contract access.

Air Force Research Laboratory

The primary scientific research and development organization for the U.S. Air Force and Space Force.

AFWERX

The innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force that connects commercial innovators with Air Force and Space Force needs through programs such as SBIR/STTR and challenges.

Broad Agency Announcement

A competitive solicitation used by federal agencies to fund basic and applied research proposals, allowing more flexibility than traditional government contracts.

Commercial and Government Entity Code

A five-character alphanumeric identifier assigned to entities that do business with the federal government, used to track facilities and support procurement.

A concise document that explains what a company does, which government needs it serves, and why it is qualified to perform.

Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification

A Department of Defense framework that requires defense contractors to meet specific cybersecurity standards to protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in their systems.

The process of turning funded research or a prototype into a product, service, or operational capability that customers actually buy or deploy.

Cooperative Research and Development Agreement

A formal agreement that lets federal labs collaborate with non-federal partners on research while defining responsibilities, resources, and rights.

Commercial Solutions Opening

A solicitation method used by defense innovation organizations to acquire innovative commercial technologies through a faster, more flexible process.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

A Department of Defense agency that funds high-risk, high-reward research intended to create breakthrough national security capabilities.

Defense Contract Audit Agency

The federal agency responsible for auditing defense contractors’ accounting systems, incurred costs, and contract pricing to ensure proper use of taxpayer funds.

Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement

The supplement to the Federal Acquisition Regulation that contains acquisition policies and procedures specific to the Department of Defense.

An SBIR pathway that allows a small business to skip Phase I when it can already demonstrate technical feasibility through prior research, prototypes, or equivalent evidence.

Defense Innovation Unit

A Department of Defense organization that accelerates the adoption of commercial technology by the military, using Other Transaction Authorities to engage non-traditional defense companies.

Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal

The Department of Defense portal used to publish SBIR/STTR topics, manage proposal submissions, and communicate with small business applicants.

Technology that has both commercial and military or government applications, enabling companies to serve multiple markets with a single core innovation.

Data Universal Numbering System Number

A nine-digit identifier formerly required for federal contracting, now replaced by the SAM.gov-issued Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) as of April 2022.

Federal Acquisition Regulation

The primary set of rules governing the federal government’s acquisition of goods and services, establishing uniform policies and procedures for all executive agencies.

FATHOMWERX Innovation Lab

A public-private innovation lab at the Port of Hueneme, California, where government, academia, and industry collaborate to solve challenges in military, port, and maritime domains.

Historically Underutilized Business Zone

An SBA program that provides contracting preferences to small businesses located in and hiring from economically distressed areas to stimulate local economic development.

North American Industry Classification System Code

A standardized numerical code used to classify businesses by industry type, which determines eligibility for small business set-aside contracts based on SBA size standards.

Naval Air Systems Command

The Navy command responsible for aircraft, aviation systems, weapons, training systems, and related acquisition support.

NavalX

A Navy organization that accelerates collaboration, experimentation, and innovation across the naval enterprise through Tech Bridges and related initiatives.

Naval Sea Systems Command

The Navy command responsible for ships, submarines, combat systems, and related engineering, acquisition, and sustainment.

Naval Surface Warfare Center

A Navy warfare center enterprise that provides research, development, test, evaluation, engineering, and fleet support for surface warfare systems.

Office of Naval Research

The Navy organization responsible for science and technology investments that support future naval and Marine Corps capabilities.

Other Transaction Authority

A flexible contracting mechanism used by the Department of Defense and other agencies to fund prototype and research projects outside the standard FAR-based procurement process.

A membership-based organization that manages prototype opportunities under a government Other Transaction Authority agreement.

Evidence that a company has successfully delivered relevant work before, used by government evaluators to assess execution risk.

The company that holds the direct contract with the government and is responsible for overall delivery, management, and compliance.

Request for Information

A pre-solicitation document used by government agencies to gather market information, capabilities, and feedback from industry before issuing a formal solicitation.

Request for Proposal

A formal solicitation document issued by a government agency that describes requirements in detail and invites companies to submit competitive proposals for a contract.

System for Award Management

The official U.S. government system where businesses register to do business with the federal government and where federal contract opportunities are posted.

Small Business Innovation Research

A competitive federal program that provides non-dilutive funding to small businesses for research and development with commercial and government applications.

A specific research need published by a federal agency that defines the problem, technical objectives, and proposal requirements for an SBIR/STTR opportunity.

The three-phase structure of SBIR and STTR programs: Phase I (feasibility), Phase II (development), and Phase III (commercialization).

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business

A federal contracting designation for small businesses owned and controlled by veterans with service-connected disabilities, providing access to set-aside contracts.

Federal contracting programs that reserve certain contracts exclusively for small businesses or specific socioeconomic categories, ensuring they receive a fair share of government spending.

A formal government request for proposals, quotes, information, or other responses from industry.

A market research notice used by government agencies to identify capable companies before deciding how to structure a future acquisition.

Statement of Work

A contract document that describes the specific tasks, deliverables, timelines, and performance standards a contractor must meet to fulfill a government contract.

SpaceWERX

The U.S. Space Force innovation arm that helps commercial technologies transition into space mission applications.

Small Business Transition Program

A Navy program that helps selected SBIR/STTR companies improve transition readiness through training, market analysis, and government customer engagement.

A large SBIR-style award intended to accelerate critical technologies that have national security relevance and a credible path to rapid transition.

Small Business Technology Transfer

A federal program similar to SBIR that requires small businesses to formally partner with a nonprofit research institution, such as a university, for collaborative R&D.

Technical and Business Assistance

SBIR/STTR funding that can be used for commercialization support such as market research, IP strategy, regulatory planning, and transition assistance.

The movement of technology, data, rights, or know-how from a lab, university, company, or government program into practical use by another organization.

Technology Readiness Level

A 1-9 scale used by government agencies to assess the maturity of a technology, from basic research (TRL 1) to proven operational deployment (TRL 9).

Unique Entity Identifier

A 12-character alphanumeric identifier assigned by SAM.gov to uniquely identify entities doing business with the federal government, replacing the DUNS number.