Deltek Pulse: Education month in review, April 2019

After a lofty decrease in the month of March, the Education Vertical saw an overall 112% uptick in bid releases for April 2019. The start to 2019 has been strong in January, February, and now April which is continuing to align with predictions of higher solicitation releases for the beginning of the year. The Education market has not seen an increase of this caliber since January 2018.

When we look at the two verticals, Primary/Secondary and Higher Education, side by side we see a similar trend as compared to previous months with the Primary market dominating at 71% of bid releases and Higher Education at 29% of releases. This month closed the gap between the two substantially when comparing it to March when Higher Education only saw 7% of bids. In regards to the primary requirements of bids, April had Architecture, Engineering, and Construction continuing to lead with 32% of Education bids, and then Professional Services followed with 13%, and Information Technology came in with 10% which is back at its normal monthly percentage.

As for Education procurement data by state, the top three states continued to be Texas, New York, and California for the highest number of solicitation releases in April. The fewest releases this month came from Vermont, followed by DC, and Montana. To elaborate on the overall increases, Texas saw a 72% increase into April, New York experienced a 98% surge, and California came in with the biggest increase of the three with a 131% uptick moving from March to April this year. As for the lower end, Vermont did see a minor decrease moving into April, but DC boasted a 367% increase and Montana had a 38% rise in solicitation releases. Some additional states to mention are Delaware with a 75% uptick and North Dakota with a 371% increase moving from March to April in 2019.

Notable Solicitation Releases

The Education vertical saw a number of significant solicitations released this month with the following to highlight:

• The Mississippi Department of Education issued a solicitation for a Comprehensive Early Learning Assessment/Screener (CELA/S). The State is seeking proposals for a comprehensive early learning assessment/screener as part of an annual evaluation to assess the effectiveness of pre-kindergarten (pre-k) classrooms. Proposals are due by May 17, 2019.
• The Iowa Department of Administrative Services (DAS), on behalf of the Department of Education, has a requirement for eScholar Maintenance, Support and Enhancements. The Department of Education implemented a unique identification system in 2004 in order to meet this requirement. Currently, Iowa uses the eScholar Unique Identifier system. The Department is seeking a vendor to provide maintenance and support for the existing system. Final proposals are due May 21, 2019.

To read further analysis on Mississippi’s Comprehensive Early Learning Assessment/Screener solicitation check out the following article: The Changing Landscape of Assessments: Spotlight on Mississippi's Early Learning Assessment.

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.