Research Papers

Since the state’s founding in 1850, California has been an incubator for entrepreneurship, giving rise to successful businesses from traditional economic sectors like forestry and agricultural production all the way up to modern industries including the motion picture industry and the tech sector of Silicon Valley.

The Sunshine State is a favored destination for American and international businesses alike. Florida’s low-tax environment, comfortable weather and welcoming atmosphere for development are strong attractors for many companies, particularly those in the real estate, construction, import/export, shipping and finance industries.

Whether you are a start-up company or an established industry leader with million-dollar contracts, the New York state government provides an excellent environment of support for organizations that would like to do business in the Empire State. Importantly, entrepreneurs and business owners need to know that some types of businesses are eligible for more substantial support than others. In many cases, direct state grants to start or expand the activities of a business are provided only to companies that are developing a new technology product or are a registered nonprofit; but despite restrictions on grant eligibility, there are also tax incentive programs, grants from private foundations and other support mechanisms for small businesses available.

The Lone Star State provides an encouraging environment for small, minority and women-owned businesses. Low taxes and wide open spaces offer entrepreneurs the financial independence and inspiration needed to start and grow a successful enterprise, while Texan cities offer urban settings that are primed for businesses of all types to scale up their operations. Texas also offers a variety of financial support options for different types of businesses. Some of these programs are detailed in this Research Brief.

Today, the United States has entered an era of unprecedented reliance on private corporations to provide goods and services in practically every area of government. From the outsourcing of foodservice contracts to the hiring of private mercenaries to fight distant wars, there are few areas of the government’s operations that remain untouched by privatization in 2016.



Beyond the large-scale private contracting that occurs at a federal level, state and local governments also rely heavily on external contractors to provide much-needed support to the agencies tasked with delivering services to the communities they serve. Now, small businesses can benefit from the wide range of work opportunities available through local governments and special districts more than ever, thanks to the passage of state laws and regulations that ensure that qualified American businesses are first in line to benefit from contracts that match their service offer. 

The American public sector provides many opportunities for the motivated private contractor. There is no reason why your company cant participate in the government contracting arena, so long as your business meets all eligibility requirements for specific contracts and is registered with the proper authorities. Using a reputable and functional bid service to simplify the solicitation search and bid submission process is highly recommended for private contractors.Ensure that your company has access to all the opportunities available by following the steps detailed in this document, and you will greatly increase your chances of success when working with the public sector.

BidNet administered its "Trends in eProcurement Survey" to hundreds of buyers and administrators at state and local agencies across the country. The survey was designed to assess the anticipated procurement priorities and buying trends for agencies for the 2012 fiscal year and beyond. Additionally, the survey revealed common bidding "mistakes", as well as best practices, that contractors can use as intelligence to improve their chances in the procurement process.