What is a Government Capabilities Statement?

A Capabilities Statement tells prospective clients who you are, what you do, and how you are different from your competitors. It is a critical tool in government contracting, no matter what size company you represent. [Note: Some people refer to these as a CAPE or CAPE Statement.]

Are Capabilities Statements Required?

Many government agencies ask you to send them a Capabilities Statement before meeting with them. Some RFPs require you to submit one with proposals and bids. They are used to compare you with other vendors.

Prime contractors often ask potential subcontractors to submit capabilities statements before doing business with them.

New Capabilities Statement eLearning Course Coming Spring 2019

We will release a new self-paced eLearning course containing instructions on developing your Capabilities Statement, and sample templates in May 2019. If you want to be notified when it is released, please contact us.

What are the Key Characteristics of a Federal Capabilities Statement?

• Concise – 1-2 pages
• Visually appealing
• Electronic so it can be emailed (and searched) – put into PDF format.
• Customizable – so you can adapt this to each agency's needs.
• Demonstrates your government work experience plus relevant private sector experience.

What should the Capabilities Statement Cover?

• Core Competencies – your firm's skills and technologies that enable your company to provide a particular benefit to your customers and create a barrier to entry for competitors
• Qualifications and Credentials  - your firm's unique experiences and resources that deliver extra value
• Differentiators - Explain how your company is unique, different, and distinct from its competitors in responding to client needs.
• Corporate Data – at a minimum, include a listing of essential information such as company size, special status (e.g., SDVOB, WOSB, 8A, HUBZone, etc.), CAGE code, DUNS, NAICS codes FSC, and PSC codes.  Also, include key government points of contact.  You might also include the number of employees and office locations.

Are Capability Statements the Answer?

They are a necessary tool, but capability statements do not produce results on their own.  Far too many firms rely on conventional federal marketing techniques and try to mimic the business development and capture management methods of larger, more established companies.

Seeking subcontracts with prime contractors can be an effective government contracts strategy, but not always easy to do.  Prime contractors are required to subcontract a portion of each contract with various types of small businesses (e.g, woman-owed small business, 8-a, veteran-owned small business, etc).

Most major prime contractors have a page on their web site where you can register to do business with them.  You can find a list of the top prime contractors at Washington technology. You can do this but it does not guarantee business and many small businesses become discouraged when they do not hear back.  The reason is that many firms register with these sites and while the information is given to the firms various program managers, those managers tend to choose firms that they know.  They are wiling to work with newcomers but you must do your part to make them aware of your experience and strengths that you can bring to their team.

Here are some tips:

Make sure you prepare a capabilities statement that provides key information about capabilities, prior government experience, and your firm’s value proposition.

Look at various listings of current prime contracts and determine if the prime might be able to use your services.  For example, look at GSA Directory of major contracts.  Then contact the company’s small business liaison and ask for name of the contract’s program manager.  Provide that person with information about your firm’s capabilities and what value you can add.

Before contacting the prime contractor or their program managers, look for them on linked in and see if any of your connections are connected with those people.  If so, an introduction would help pave the way for you.

DoD has a similar directory of prime government contracts.

Consider obtaining a GSA Schedule contract as many primes like working with firms that have a GSA contract in place.

The General Services Administration Acquisition Manual (GSAM), Part 538.7001, Definitions, offers the following definition of state and local governments:

• The States of the United States,
• counties,
• municipalities,
• cities,
• towns, townships,
• tribal governments,
• public authorities (including public or Indian housing agencies under the United States Housing Act of 1937),
• school districts, colleges, and other institutions of higher education,
• council of governments (incorporated or not),
• regional or interstate government entities,
• or any agency or instrumentality of the preceding entities (including any local educational agency or institution of higher education), and
• including legislative and judicial departments."

The term does not include contractors or grantees of state or local governments.