Despite the challenges of 2020, Public Spend Forum continued our mission of opening government markets, connecting government buyers with vetted sellers, and providing quality learning content in the public procurement space. Thank you for being a PSF Member and part of our growing community on GovShop – a single, connected marketplace where we bring together government buyers and companies.
We have put together this Year in Review to share all the incredible work our team and you, our members, accomplished in 2020 — despite the challenges our country and the world were facing. And if you joined this growing community midway through the year, keep an eye out here for links to our most popular events and articles you may have missed.
Public Spend Forum’s Accomplishments in 2020
Our work was recognized – and awarded.
Public Spend Forum was awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award from the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to expand supplier and contract data sets of the 1.9 million suppliers within GovShop. We have already crossed the 2 million mark of suppliers already now, and are continuing to enhance GovShop’s machine learning algorithms to empower DoD’s contracting and program staff to rapidly identify and vet suppliers in 2021.
We supported small businesses through COVID-19.
GovShop, powered by Public Spend Forum, is a free platform that enables businesses access to government opportunities through its machine learning-powered matchmaking algorithms. This is especially beneficial for small businesses without capture teams and large budgets — for whom an expensive service would be a barrier to entry into the government sector.
Most recently, we have utilized our breadth of resources to provide critical COVID-19 support. GovShop is directly supporting agencies such as the Air Force, the US Army, the City of New York, as well as states, counties and hospitals across the country — by providing free inventory data to address critical shortages of ventilators, respirators, personal protective equipment (PPE), and more.
We addressed critical supply chain concerns related to COVID-19 – to ensure those who needed vetted suppliers were able to access them.
Watch Raj Sharma, Co-Founder and CEO of Public Spend Forum here on NBC Washington, sharing how GovShop is assisting in COVID-19 efforts, including mobilizing the global community to enrich the R&D ecosystem for lifesaving supplies and equipment.
We provided leading expertise.
Public Spend Forum is founded and guided by a diverse range of experts, thought leaders, and practitioners (meet them here) who have made a significant impact in the public sector and have successfully been able to share their knowledge through larger media platforms. We invite you to participate more actively in our ecosystem this year and reach out to our team should you want to write a guest article or co-host an event for our growing community.
We produced market research and education.
From our podcast episodes, frequent published articles, market research resources, newsletters, workshops, and webinars, we ensure readers have access to up-to-date, practical knowledge across several mediums so they can become innovative, procurement leaders who move the needle. In 2020, we launched the first cohort of our 7 MI – the 7 Market Intelligence Essentials for superior procurement outcomes.
We enabled access to government capital.
We enable access to government capital through GovShop, a free to use platform, powered by machine learning, that matches government programs and buyers efficiently with the best solutions and right companies for their needs.
We grew our ecosystem.
We partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) on a series of Technology Showcases to highlight innovative companies bringing forward thinking solutions to the public sector, and collaborated with Fandes to create the largest free online marketplace for personal protective equipment. Our partnership with the American Hospital Association (AHRMM) continues to provide up-to-date information on medical suppliers and other supply chain issues relevant to the pandemic. Plus, our mission aligned with many industry organizations and early-stage accelerators to empower their work through GovShop.
We lowered the barriers to entry.
Public Spend Forum conducted a global study and survey in collaboration with Ivalua on the barriers to entry facing companies in the public sector. With participation from hundreds of companies and insights from government leaders across the country, we compiled reports and studies to further address these barriers to effect real, tangible change in the public sector. In 2021, we look forward to publishing our complete findings and sharing them through a symposium.
Major Moments and Contributions of 2020
Top Webinars and Virtual Events
To see what virtual content you’ve been interacting with the most in 2020, read our article on the
Top 7 Virtual Public Spend Forum Events of 2020. We recorded much of our content for members like you, so if you missed out, be sure to catch up here.
Top Government Contracting Articles
To catch up on the latest government contracting updates and initiatives from Public Spend Forum, read our article on the Top Government Contracting Insights of 2020. Rely on the expertise of our leadership team to help you navigate this often complex landscape.
7MI Market Intelligence Challenge
The 7MI Market Intelligence Challenge, held on December 15, was built on a framework based on leading commercial and public sector market intelligence practices and how they can be applied to engage suppliers and deliver better acquisition outcomes. For this first cohort, GovShop brought together a great group of professionals and leaders from across federal, state, local and international agencies.
Barriers to Entry Roundtable
In this DAU-hosted Subject Matter Expert Roundtable, Benjamin McMartin, Esq., Managing Partner of Public Spend Forum, curated a discussion of Defense Acquisition and Reform experts, Samantha Clark, Special Counsel at Covington & Burling LLP; Maj. Andrew Bowne, Deputy Staff Judge Advocate for the 30th Space Wing; and William Greenwalt, Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, to address barriers to entry in government markets.
If you missed a few virtual events from the past year, be sure to stay up-to-date on the latest webinars and roundtables planned for Public Spend Forum in 2021. View upcoming webinars, training sessions, and podcasts here.
We Were Featured In Memorable Media Experiences:
PSF CEO Raj Sharma’s Appearance on NBC Washington
Public Spend Forum is directly supporting government professionals and healthcare workers to address critical shortages for ventilators, respirators, personal protective equipment (PPE) and more, by providing free data on suppliers and inventory on GovShop. Reporter Melissa Mollet from NBC Washington invited Raj Sharma to talk about these efforts. This conversation with NBC Washington can be viewed here.
TEDx DAU
Raj Sharma added TEDx speaker to his accomplishments when he spoke about the Art of Possible at Defense Acquisition University’s TEDx event in 2020. Along with being the Founder of Public Spend Forum, Raj also founded the boutique consulting firm Censeo – both of which he did with the motivation of putting people first. The center of his strategy and culture has always been to highlight the WHY of people – he highlighted this principle during this inspiring TEDx talk. We invite you to listen in here.
In 2021, we look forward to continuing to open government marketing, expand our ecosystems, lower the barriers to entry into the public sector and share our knowledge with you on how to build success businesses. I invite you to become a GovShop member by signing up for our newsletters and keeping in touch as we build this community. Please let me know how else we can drive value for you and your teams in the coming year.
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