Deltek Pulse: Education month in review, July 2018

The Education vertical saw similar trends as we move through the summer months. There was a 15% decrease in solicitations released as compared to June. The steady decline in the number of solicitations released was cut almost in half as compared to the previous month. With the summer months typically slower, solicitations are expected to increase as the school year begins and district budgets and strategic plans are fully implemented. When looking at solicitations released by primary verticals, the Primary/Secondary vertical had a bit of a surge where it went to producing the most bids with 60% and Higher Education saw 40%. The gap between the Primary/Secondary and Higher Education verticals continues to get smaller as 2018 progresses.

In regards to changes within primary requirements and procurements by state; July saw a repeat of June in which the numbers remained almost identical as compared to the previous month. The values for primary requirements kept constant this month with Architecture, Engineering, and Construction as the highest percentage of solicitation releases at 28%, Professional Services at 16%, and finally Information Technology at 10%. As for procurements by state, the highest number of solicitation releases for Education remained in Texas, New York, and California, with Texas surpassing New York for the first time in a few months, and lastly, the fewest releases came from Vermont, North Dakota, Alaska and Delaware.

Notable Solicitation Releases

As for a notable solicitation this month, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) issued a request for proposals (RFP) for an Integratable Learning Management System. FCPS is seeking a vendor to provide one solution that combines the LMS with an Assessment System and a Learning Objects Repository (LOR), as well as provide implementation and support services. RFP questions are due August 15 and proposals are due by September 10, 2018.

This solicitation represents a unique technology opportunity as well shows how the Education market has been calling for more integration within their existing technologies. This could be a great move by the education space to combine their data and technology efforts to make the most value out of their purchasing. This solicitation is calling for three pieces of technology along with implementation services into one contract which can make data methods more efficient.

The question does persist that if one solicitation calls for all three does that limit the field of vendors that can respond? Some technology vendors may not have the capacity and what the education space is calling for may be too much for the market to handle.

You can learn more about current procurement opportunities in the GovWin IQ State, Local and Education Opportunities database. Not a Deltek subscriber? Click here to learn more about Deltek's GovWin IQ service and gain access to a free trial.