The state, local and education (SLED) sector is a $1.5 trillion market with hundreds of industry categories, according to Onvia. The consultant closely tracks the spending of federal, state and local government agencies.
New legislation, technology innovations and social movements often lead to growth spikes in some categories. Onvia analyzes more than 450,000 bids and awards annually to identify the Top 10 Hotspots for Government Contracting. For 2016, those categories and their growth rates are:
- Mental health (30%)
- GIS (24%)
- Aging water systems (21%)
- Waste management (19%)
- Transportation (19%)
- Design-build (18%)
- Workforce (17%)
- Information technology (16%)
- Industrial and marine projects (16%)
- Social services (14%)
The growth rates are based on increases in bids and RFPs over the past two years.
According to Onvia, the growth in mental health contracts was driven by both the Affordable Care Act and heightened media attention on mental health and gun violence. County governments held 33 percent of the total contracts in this category.
Smart technology projects that enable governments to have graphically-linked data for operations fueled growth in the GIS category. While usually a component of larger IT initiatives, “GIS software and custom apps allow agencies to manage and analyze geographic-linked data to solve problems, monitor infrastructure and make smarter decisions,” said the report. Open data, Internet of Things and smart city initiatives pushed government spending in 2014 and 2015. City government held 51 percent of these contracts.
The third largest area for growth was in the water sector where aging water delivery systems have received a lot of media attention. Cities cannot afford to replace systems or large sections of systems that are upwards of 100 years old. “Ongoing maintenance, leak fixing, testing and treatment costs can pale in comparison to the enormous price of replacing pipes and equipment,” said the report, which cites one source setting the price at $300 billion nationally. Cities hold 55 percent of these contracts.
Courtesy: Onvia
