Business Plan Template for Government Agencies

Business Plan Template for Government Agencies

Creating a solid business plan is essential for any organization, including government agencies. It's not just about setting goals and objectives, but also about efficiently utilizing resources and showcasing transparency. That's why ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Government Agencies is here to help!

With this template, government agencies can:

  • Clearly define their strategic goals and objectives for maximum impact
  • Develop actionable plans to allocate resources effectively and drive performance
  • Demonstrate accountability to stakeholders and the public through transparent reporting

Whether you're a local council or a federal agency, ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Government Agencies empowers you to create a comprehensive and compelling roadmap for success—all in one centralized location. Start planning for a better future today!

Business Plan Template for Government Agencies Benefits

A business plan template for government agencies offers numerous benefits, including:

  • Streamlining the strategic planning process and ensuring alignment with organizational goals and objectives
  • Facilitating effective resource allocation and budget management to maximize efficiency and productivity
  • Providing a clear roadmap for action, enabling agencies to prioritize initiatives and track progress
  • Enhancing transparency and accountability by clearly communicating the agency's mission, vision, and performance metrics to stakeholders
  • Enabling agencies to adapt and respond to changing priorities and external factors, ensuring long-term success and sustainability.

Main Elements of Government Agencies Business Plan Template

ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Government Agencies is designed to help government agencies effectively outline and manage their strategic goals, objectives, and action plans. Here are the main elements of this template:

  • Custom Statuses: Easily track progress with four custom statuses - Complete, In Progress, Needs Revision, and To Do - to ensure that all tasks and sections of the business plan are properly managed and updated.
  • Custom Fields: Use three custom fields - Reference, Approved, and Section - to add vital information and metadata to each task, allowing for easy organization and filtering of business plan sections.
  • Custom Views: Utilize five different views, including Topics, Status, Timeline, Business Plan, and Getting Started Guide, to gain different perspectives on your business plan, track progress, and ensure alignment with strategic objectives.
  • Collaboration and Accountability: Enhance collaboration and accountability by utilizing features such as task comments, mentions, file attachments, and assigning responsibilities to team members.
  • Reporting and Analytics: Leverage ClickUp's reporting and analytics features to gain insights into progress, performance, and resource allocation, enabling effective decision-making and demonstrating accountability to stakeholders and the public.

How To Use Business Plan Template for Government Agencies

If you're a government agency looking to create a comprehensive business plan, follow these steps to make the process easier using the Business Plan Template in ClickUp:

1. Define your mission and objectives

Start by clearly defining the mission and objectives of your government agency. What is the purpose of your agency and what do you hope to achieve? This step is crucial as it sets the foundation for the rest of your business plan.

Use the Goals feature in ClickUp to create and track your agency's mission and objectives.

2. Assess your current situation

Take a deep dive into your agency's current situation. Analyze your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis). This will help you identify areas of improvement and potential challenges that need to be addressed in your business plan.

Use the Table view in ClickUp to create a SWOT analysis and track your agency's current situation.

3. Develop your strategies and action plans

Based on your mission, objectives, and SWOT analysis, develop strategies and action plans to achieve your goals. Outline the specific steps you will take to address the challenges identified and leverage your agency's strengths.

Use tasks in ClickUp to create action plans and assign responsibilities to team members.

4. Monitor and review

Once your business plan is in place, it's important to regularly monitor and review your progress. Keep track of key performance indicators (KPIs) and milestones to measure the success of your strategies and action plans. Make adjustments as needed to stay on track and ensure the continued success of your government agency.

Use Dashboards in ClickUp to visualize and monitor your KPIs and milestones.

By following these steps and utilizing the features in ClickUp's Business Plan Template, your government agency can create a well-structured and effective business plan to guide your operations and achieve your objectives.

Get Started with ClickUp’s Business Plan Template for Government Agencies

Government agencies can use the Business Plan Template for Government Agencies in ClickUp to streamline their strategic planning process and ensure alignment with organizational goals and objectives.

To get started, hit "Add Template" to sign up for ClickUp and add the template to your Workspace. Make sure you designate which Space or location in your Workspace you'd like this template applied.

Next, invite relevant members or guests to your Workspace to start collaborating.

Now you can take advantage of the full potential of this template to create a comprehensive business plan:

  • Use the Topics View to outline and organize key sections and topics of your business plan
  • The Status View will help you track the progress of each section, with statuses such as Complete, In Progress, Needs Revision, and To Do
  • Utilize the Timeline View to set deadlines and visualize the timeline of your business plan
  • The Business Plan View provides a holistic overview of your entire plan, allowing you to easily navigate between sections
  • The Getting Started Guide View offers step-by-step instructions and guidance to help you kickstart your business plan creation process

Additionally, customize your business plan template with the following custom fields:

  • Reference: Add references or sources to support your business plan
  • Approved: Indicate whether each section has been approved or not
  • Section: Categorize each section of your business plan for easy organization and filtering

With this template, government agencies can efficiently create, manage, and update their business plans, ensuring transparency, accountability, and successful execution of strategic initiatives.

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How to Create a Strategic Plan for Your Government Department or Agency

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blog , government , Strategic Planning

Budgets and deadlines are two of the most crucial elements when it comes to getting things done in a local government. To be as efficient as possible, you’ll need a robust strategic plan for your government department that outlines how you’ll spend your provincial budget and how you and your subcontractors will achieve public project deadlines. Building a long-term and multiyear strategic plan with goals and objectives can be challenging. We also understand how complicated it is to transform your ideas into tangible results for your community, and we’re here to help. 

In This Article

Why Government Departments and Agencies Need Strategic Plans

Why current government strategic processes and tools fall short, conduct internal and external analysis, consider the vision and mission , perform a holistic risk-assessment , list the focus areas , develop strategic objectives, set up an actionable game plan , utilize measurable kpis , put the plan into action , evaluate the results , transform government strategic planning and execution with achieveit, ready to accelerate your planning and execution efforts let’s actually do this..

Why should the state and municipal governments consider strategic planning? Isn’t having a yearly budget sufficient? After all, things may change when heavy rains overflow the city sewers or roadway repairs exceed the budget. What difference does additional planning make? What exactly is department strategic planning? 

A department strategic plan is a comprehensive and systematic management tool that assists governmental departments, agencies and organizations in assessing their current environment, anticipating changes and responding appropriately to issues. Strategic planning involves envisioning the future, improving effectiveness, developing commitment to the department’s mission and reaching a consensus on strategies and objectives for achieving that mission. It involves influencing the future rather than merely preparing for or responding to it. 

While combining community vision with available resources is critical, the resources should not stifle the vision. The objectives of a departmental strategic plan will involve identifying how the resources available may be linked to future ambitions. A long-term financial plan, created with the department strategy plan, is crucial to the departmental strategic planning process. A government should have an established financial planning mechanism that evaluates the long-term economic consequences of current and planned policies and programs. A financial plan depicts the expected financial repercussions of certain activities. 

Regarding strategic planning in government positions, the notion is that leaders must be good strategists if their departments and agencies are to achieve their goals, accomplish their mandates and, most importantly, satisfy their communities in the coming years. The strategic planning department must lay out effective strategies to deal with changing conditions and governmental leaders must create a cohesive and defensible framework for their judgments. Ultimately, a department strategy provides a big-picture document that directs resources and activities toward a well-defined vision. 

A state department strategic plan is a long-term commitment to various governmental objectives. Selecting the correct solutions to support the department’s strategic plan is critical to attaining them. The strategic planning department requires integrated and holistic systems and tools to increase productivity and improve the overall management of the various objectives while keeping operations running smoothly. An adequate system also keeps communication channels open between different departments. 

Many procedures and systems on the market can help manage a department’s strategic plan but mainly focuses on short-term success. Business intelligence, project management, strategy development tools and other mainstream options focus on something other than integrated plans that span departments and locations. Each focuses on a specific function of planning, developing, executing or reporting strategies, so finding a single system that keeps everything in one secure place is challenging. 

Why Current Government Strategic Processes and Tools Fall Short

Taking an analytical look into these traditional options, we can see some pros to utilizing them. Still, some cons can lead to your government’s strategic processes falling short: 

  • Business intelligence tools: Although business intelligence tools provide visual dashboards, reports and a data-driven understanding of how the government is performing, they miss the “why” behind the strategic plan — the vision and future forecasts. 
  • Project management tools: These tools are excellent for providing detailed project statuses but lack the big-picture view and are typically challenging to use and connect with other projects. 
  • Strategy management tools: Strategy development tools can most certainly help organize plans and foster project alignment. However, these tools are less proficient at enabling the effective execution of these plans. They have limited flexibility and make it difficult to manage multiple plans across the agency. 
  • Mainstream tools: You might recognize mainstream and user-friendly tools like PowerPoint and Excel. Despite being customizable, these tools lack format and version control. 

Strategic planning in government can be challenging. You must include stakeholder input, ensure that your department’s strategy is consistent across all municipal agencies, connect capital projects to multiple plans and ensure that everyone engaged is on board with the strategy. The good news is that it’s possible and the approach may be more straightforward than you think. 

Follow these tips for creating your government agency’s strategic plan: 

Conduct Internal and External Analysis

Conduct an environmental scan, where the local government can investigate and assess the current and developing factors within their own area’s internal and external environments. The internal and external analysis provides detailed information on the government’s existing conditions, including prospective opportunities, strengths, threats and weaknesses to control or prevent. 

An internal analysis looks at the government’s internal environment to analyze its abilities, resources and competitive advantages. An internal analysis helps you identify strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and threats that government departments or agencies face. This information assists government officials in making strategic decisions as they carry out the strategy development and implementation process. In a nutshell, the following topics should be included in your internal analysis: 

  • SWOT Analysis: Conducting a SWOT analysis can help you comprehensively understand your area’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. 
  • Strategy analysis: This analysis assists you in evaluating how well you performed against your current department strategy plan, what you can improve on and where you can focus your efforts. 
  • Internal stakeholder analysis: This analysis enables you to gain insight into the issues and perspectives of your area’s internal stakeholders and their influence. 
  • VRIO Analysis: A VRIO analysis can assist you in identifying any competitive advantages you may have and how to convert them into long-term competitive advantages. 

An external analysis investigates and evaluates the government’s external environment to understand possibilities and risks in its area. Forces outside a local government’s immediate control affect them, and they need to be able to plan accordingly. For example, changes in legislation and policies, demographic shifts or climate concerns can influence a government’s decisions. An external analysis should usually consider the following: 

  • PESTEL analysis: Conducting a PESTEL analysis can help you discover the many scopes that may influence an area. 
  • External stakeholder analysis: This analysis enables you to gain insight into the issues and perspectives of your local government’s external stakeholders and their influence. 

The government’s vision statement defines where they want to go — it’s the anchor that keeps them from being stranded at sea. A clear vision statement will aid in directing the strategic plan toward the best results for the community. Everything written into the plan will eventually help the government department or agency get closer to its vision. Additionally, your local government should base its department’s strategic plan on its mission statement. Consider asking the following questions to articulate the critical components of the strategy: 

  • What are the top concerns that your government must address?
  • Which forthcoming public projects are most important to your constituents? 

Every government has risks that require attention through policy and infrastructure developments. A comprehensive assessment of the different risks to your community may include the following:

  • National issues: At the federal level, social and economic concerns arise and citizens on both sides may be dissatisfied with their government’s shortcomings. Considering which issues are most essential at the national level can enable your community to make localized efforts to address them. 
  • Constituent dissatisfaction: Angry constituents equals a poor reelection campaign. To avoid unfavorable government-constituent relations, your local government should examine which topics are most beneficial to your community and analyze these concerns. 
  • Economic hardship: Local governments must examine the impact of inflation on local companies, citizens and budgets. 
  • Natural disasters: Which natural disasters are the greatest threat to your area? What steps have been taken or are being made to address these events, reduce risks and communicate with the public? 
  • Cybercrime: Cybercriminals have been creating data breaches in municipal governments for years, and attacks are increasing daily. Have your local government invested in cyber-safe technologies and backed up its data? 
  • International challenges: Do you need help attracting new government employees due to intergovernmental challenges? Do your internal procedures need to be more effective and costly? Do you have an up-to-date information technology strategy? One of the leading reasons for inefficient bureaucracy is a failure to recognize and handle such difficulties. 
  • Public policies: Which national and state legislation are the most important for your municipality to handle in the near future in terms of public policy? What consequences will you face if you do not address these policies? 

After reviewing all the significant risks, it’s time to prioritize the most critical ones and develop a strategy to manage them. List the top focus areas that are crucial to your citizens or represent significant risks to your community’s health, safety, quality and economy. Your focus areas should also align with the local government’s and community’s future aspirations. Although it would be ideal to address all areas immediately, it could be more realistic. Try to prioritize a few critical issues. 

Strategic objectives indicate what your city genuinely wants to achieve — they’re quite high-priority and should have a date attached. Your strategic goals should align with one or more of your focus areas and provide some tangibility to how you envision attaining your focus areas. Similar to selecting a few focus areas at a time, you can develop a few realistic and achievable strategic objectives. An example of a strategic objective can be to “improve the community’s safety by implementing a new reporting system by June 30, 2023.” 

Now that you’ve decided on the primary focus areas and objectives, it’s time to consider how to execute them. A game plan defines what the government will need to do to achieve its goals. An actionable game plan assists in breaking down the bigger picture into smaller, more attainable results and activities. At this phase in your strategic planning process, you will begin to define the steps you will take to attain specific goals and the talents, expertise and resources required. 

Utilize Measurable KPIs

KPIs track progress toward your strategic goals. KPIs are quantitative metrics that demonstrate your government’s progress toward essential strategic objectives. KPIs tell you whether or not you have met your strategic target. Once KPIs have been determined, describe who is responsible for what and give them a job using your local government management tool to keep everyone organized and accountable. 

Following your department’s strategy’s completion and policymakers’ approval of budgets and deadlines for major projects, it’s time to begin implementing your government initiatives. File requests for proposals (RFPs) for private-sector partnerships, fill out the necessary documentation and clarify who is doing what and when. 

Taking strategic action to address concerns entails some risk in and of itself. You’ll need to pay close attention to your KPIs and adjust if problems with fulfilling timelines and budgets develop. If such problems arise, you must assess whether parts of the process may be expedited using government technology. Automation will save you time and money while increasing the likelihood of project success in your management planning. 

A government strategic plan is the first vital step toward achieving governmental goals. The execution of these plans also plays a pivotal role in the goals’ success. A government runs high-level plans that cascade down and across multiple departments — which can make managing the execution of strategic plans more challenging. This is because different departments work with tools that support their specific work and role. As a result, information is stockpiled across these departments, making planning and organization a manual process. 

Transform your strategic planning and execution process with strategic planning software built for your organization. AchieveIt is a  FedRAMP-authorized cloud-based platform  that connects, manages and executes mission-critical plans and activities for federal government agencies. AchieveIt is a platform that easily tracks the performance of all your integrated plans while automating time-consuming update collection. Managing all these moving parts goes from multiple spreadsheets to a single, easy-to-use platform. 

By utilizing AchieveIt, federal government agencies can: 

  • Establish uniformity in data collection and reporting. 
  • Create visibility across plans and initiatives to know what needs attention. 
  • Promote accountability for mission execution. 
  • Make informed decisions with real-time data and proper context. 
  • Monitor the performance of long-term initiatives with dashboards and reports. 
  • Connect all its plans and strategies in one single place. 

Ready to Accelerate Your Planning and Execution Efforts? Let’s Actually Do This.

Do you need help developing and aligning your plans? Since planning and executing is more than just software, AcieveIt’s expert team will partner with you. Our strategy experts can ensure you stay on track and offer advice on how other federal agencies approach planning and execution. Allow AchieveIt to make your agency more efficient, so you can better serve the public while focusing on achieving mission-critical objectives.  Request a demo  or give us a call at  1-800-535-1559  today. 

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Government Services Business Plan

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ASTI - Advanced Science and Technology Institute

Executive summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. it describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">.

The Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) supports research faculty and staff at **State University, University of AnyState, AnyState Health Sciences University and AnyCity State University in its management of new discoveries. This support includes the management of new discoveries having commercial applications, as well as the management of corporate research agreements leading to new discovery.

**(Editor’s Note: Names disguised for confidentiality.)

Government services business plan, executive summary chart image

1.1 Keys to Success

  • Building a strong support base with the private sector within State and the Northwest.
  • Creating an effective network between researchers to facilitate cross-disciplinary contact.
  • Raising the viability of ASTI as the one-stop resource for all transferable technology that is being developed on the campuses of State’s four largest universities.

1.2 Mission

The mission of the ASTI is to bring technologies from **State University, University of AnyState, AnyState Health Sciences University and AnyCity State University into public use; thereby providing economic development assistance to state and federal agencies and companies to benefit State constituents, providing service to the technology transfer staff of each institution by assisting in identifying, protecting, developing and transferring technology to the private sector and generating income. ASTI’s unique perspective is in its ability to link researchers from various institutions to create new technologies that can then be marketed to the private sector.

Historically, State has received less attention from companies that develop long-term relationships with the university research community.  With SouthernState universities to the south and the University of AnyState to the north, State has had a difficult time reaching the level of viability necessary to draw the interest of companies outside the state.

It is a problem of economy of scale. Currently, State University, University of AnyState, AnyState Health Sciences University and AnyCity State University have 128 technologies available for licensing.  One university in SouthernState, The University of Southern State (USS), has over 200 technologies available for licensing.  In addition, USS has received $20 million in corporate research funding last year.  This far exceeds the total for all corporate research funding for the four State schools ($3 million) during the same period. In State, the State Technology Center has secured $91 million in private funding for technology transfer from the University of State. It is critical that the four major universities in State pool its resources in order to be competitive in drawing corporate attention to the excellent researchers working within their institutions.

It is ASTI’s mission to create a resource for the private sector that rivals USC by providing an aggressive one-stop center for all the pivotal research that is occuring in State.

1.3 Objectives

  • Establish a 42-member corporate research support council and increase corporate membership in ASTI’s Technology Development Council by 20% each year.
  • Facilitate two new industry sponsored research agreements the first year and increase the number of agreements each year.
  • Create new research linkages between the four campuses and develop new collaborative relationships between researchers.
  • Develop a cross-disciplinary research database that will link researchers throughout the state.

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Organization summary organization overview ) is an overview of the most important points about your company—your history, management team, location, mission statement and legal structure.">.

ASTI is a focused program that offers a powerful resource to researchers who are seeking corporate support for research and corporations seeking new technologies.  The program also seeks linkages between the four campus researchers in developing new partnerships that will generate additional corporate interest. 

2.1 Legal Entity

State University, University of AnyState, AnyState Health Sciences University, and AnyCity State University are all share holders in ASTI.

2.2 Start-up Summary

Start-up costs and initial financing are shown on the following table.  Each institution will contribute $40,000 to ASTI’s operating budget.

Government services business plan, organization summary chart image

2.3 Program Location

ASTI will be located in AnyCity, AnyState.  This is a good central location for a state-wide program. AnyCity State University is located in AnyCity.  AnyState Health Sciences University and State University are located in NewTown 60 miles to the north. The University of State is located in OldTown which is 40 miles south of AnyCity.

ASTI’s services include:

New Technology Assist in identifying new invention disclosures for new discoveries and evaluation of these new discoveries to determine commercial potential. A research database will be created and maintained by ASTI in order to respond quickly to requests for information from the private sector, especially when it links researchers on multiple campuses. Companies will have a quick and accessible resource that will identify researchers that match their interest areas. ASTI will also assist in the establishment of new businesses to develop emerging technologies.

Research Collaborations ASTI will actively seek cross-disciplinary collaboration opportunities between researchers on the four member campuses.

Technology Conferences ASTI will sponsor two conferences in Portland each year focusing on the areas of Biotechnology, Material Science, Computer Science, and Medical Technology.

Newsletter and Promotional Publications ASTI will produce a monthly newsletter and quarterly promotional publications directed toward the private sector which will focus on current research on the four campuses and researcher profiles. This material will also highlight researchers seeking corporate support.

Market Analysis Summary how to do a market analysis for your business plan.">

The research enterprise at State University, University of AnyState, AnyState Health Sciences University and AnyCity State University is remarkably broad, deep and diverse, spanning activities in twenty-two academic colleges and more than 40 multidisciplinary programs, centers, programs, and institutes.

ASTI will first focus on creating the information base necessary to satisfy high-technology corporations that are currently prospecting for new technologies. These are mostly larger companies, but also include medium- to small-sized companies.

Our most important group of potential customers are the researchers in these companies. They do not want to waste their time or resources looking for a needle in a haystack. It is critical that they find ASTI an excellent tool in quickly identifying technologies and researchers that will lead to profitable products.

ASTI will provide a two-tier service that will correspond to a company’s membership in ASTI’s Technology Development Council. There will be both a full and associate membership option in the Technology Development Council.   We anticipate that larger companies will select the full membership option because it will offer additional research services.  An associate membership is tailored for the medium- to small-sized companies whose contacts will be less frequent.

4.1 Market Segmentation

Larger Companies:  It is critical to create major stakeholders in the development of a better delivery system for technology transfer. Currently, there are several large companies that have an ongoing relationship with researchers on the four major campuses.  Recruiting these companies as full members of the Technology Development Council is an important first step in improving corporate interest in high-tech members in State.  These companies will be responsive to ASTI’s ability to ferret out the research and researchers that they are interested in reviewing.  ASTI will also facilitate any cross-disciplinary linkages that will lead to the pursuit of research that these companies are interested in. Involvement in the growth of ASTI will attract companies of simular size and stature.

Medium to Small Companies: These companies are critical to the growth of ASTI because they represent the state’s developing high-tech industries.  Their focus in not only on a specific technology that is being developed at one of the member campuses but also on the graduate students that are working on the research. As associate members of the Technology Development Council, these companies will gain greater access to all the research opportunities that will meet their technology and staff needs.

Government services business plan, market analysis summary chart image

4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy

As indicated by the previous table, we must first focus on all companies that have current relationships with researchers on the member campuses.

4.3 Service Providers Analysis

The private sector’s access to researchers at the member campuses range from excellent in selected disciplines, to completely chaotic and frustrating in most others areas.

ASTI’s goal is to assure access to all critical research through a streamlined process that leaves the company both satisfied with the results as well as the time invested in the search.

Strategy and Implementation Summary

The initial funding from the four member institutions will provide the foundation for launching ASTI.  Its survival will depend on the program’s ability to grow a membership base to its Technology Development Council.  The program will not survive if it is unable to meet its goal of increasing membership in the Council by 20% each year.

ASTI’s information products and services will add real value to the companies search for emerging technology.  As stated before, our most important group of potential customers are the researchers in these companies.  Their input into the kind of services they want will be critical to the evolution of ASTI. Our focus will be to add value in everything connected with ASTI.

5.1 Competitive Edge

ASTI’s competitive advantage is their comprehensive approach to providing unequalled access to researchers. ASTI’s focus is to support the companies in their successful pursuit of emerging technologies. The most critical component is the responsiveness of the program to company inquiries into selected research areas.

The best scenario is the company responding to research highlights provided by ASTI before initial inquires are made.  ASTI will strive to open doors for companies so that long-term relationships will develop and companies will become members of the Technology Development Council. 

The approach is decidedly sales-oriented in focus.  This is a critical advantage when in competition with universities in SouthernState and NorthernState.  Companies will find State research viable and easy to access.

Yet the key to ASTI’s success will be in how the program evolves in response to companies demands.  ASTI’s Technology Development Council was a vehicle for that evolution.  The Council will provide companies with the access to fine-tune services to improve the program’s ability to meet industry demands.

5.2 Marketing Strategy

ASTI’s marketing strategy will be to build the Technology Development Council as a base of support for technology transfer.  The plan is to use existing members of the Council as lead contact for other companies.  The best description of the strategy is the ever-widening ripples when a stone is thrown in a pond.  The first step is to capture all the companies the are currently quite aware of the excellent researchers at the four member institutions. From that base, begin to recruit new companies that current members will invite into the Council.

Though it is possible that fresh contacts to ASTI, from inquiries about technology highlighted in promotional material, can lead to companies joining the Council, it will be the membership of the Council that will drive the success of the program.

5.3 Fundraising Strategy

The fund raising strategy will be the payment of annual membership fees in the Technology Development Council.  A full membership will be $3,000 a year.  An associate membership will be $1,000.

5.3.1 Funding Forecast

During the first year, ASTI will recruit 20 full members and 21 associate members to the Technology Development Council.

Government services business plan, strategy and implementation summary chart image

5.4 Milestones

ASTI’s milestones are as follows:

  • Within the first six months of operation to assemble the Technology Development Council membership.
  • Publish the first ASTI monthly newsletter in December.
  • Stage high tech conferences in AnyCity during the month of March and September in 2002.
  • Achieve two new industry sponsored research agreements with researchers at the member institutions during the first year of operation.

Management Summary management summary will include information about who's on your team and why they're the right people for the job, as well as your future hiring plans.">

ASTI’s director is John Doe.  He is excited about the state’s vision of establishing a technology transfer consortium involving the state’s strongest corporate citizens. “These are ideas that many people have shared and promoted,” Doe said. “I’m hoping to work with units around the state to implement these and other ideas related to research agreements with industry.” Doe understands the need for State to strengthen connections with the private sector.

He joins ASTI from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in MoneyCity, State, where he worked as technology transfer manager in the Environmental Technology Division. He has a Ph.D. in low-temperature geochemistry from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., and a post-doctoral fellow from Yale University.

He believes the technology transfer consortium is a natural mechanism to allow large and small enterprises to make use of the expertise at the member institutions and allow faculty to participate in entrepreneurial pursuits. “I will promote ideas such as an entrepreneurial sabbatical for faculty where they could pursue business start-ups and the universities will receive some benefit in return,” Doe said. “I’m excited about the opportunities and look forward to working with the Technology Development Council and promoting the critical research efforts occuring at the institutions that ASTI represents.”

6.1 Personnel Plan

ASTI’s director position is full-time.  In addition, ASTI will also have three full-time employees; a research associate that will be responsible for research data collection, a communication associate who will be responsible for the program’s publications, and a full-time administrative assistant.

Financial Plan investor-ready personnel plan .">

The following sections will outline important financial information.

7.1 Break-even Analysis

The following table shows what our break-even point will be to cover our montuhly costs.

Government services business plan, financial plan chart image

7.2 Projected Surplus or Deficit

The following table will indicate projected surplus and deficit.

Government services business plan, financial plan chart image

7.3 Projected Cash Flow

The following table and chart illustrate the projected cash flow.

Government services business plan, financial plan chart image

7.4 Standard Ratios

The following table compares our standard ratios with the Standard Industry Code #8748, Other Management Consulting Services.

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SMALL BUSINESS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING ("Smalltofeds")

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10 Easiest Government Contracts to Win: Jumpstart Your Business in 2023

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  • April 26, 2022

10 Easiest Government Contracts to Win: Jumpstart Your Business in 2023

The U.S. government is the nation’s largest and longstanding purchaser, allocating trillions of dollars annually to goods and services. In 2021, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported a $637 billion expenditure on contracts, primarily aircraft, food service, software, and healthcare. Within this vast landscape, federal contracting presents boundless opportunities for small businesses seeking to broaden their income sources. Here, we will delve into the most effective strategies for securing contract awards and uncover the easiest government contracts to win.

Table of Contents

What Are Government Contracts?

Government contracts are financial agreements between government agencies and companies from the private sector. The contracts are governed by various statutes, policies, and regulations encouraging competition between bidders, maximizing taxpayer funds and promoting socioeconomic objectives. Contract awards are given to a single entity or multiple companies, depending on the project’s specific requirements and scope.

Most common types of government contracts

  • Fixed price contract: An agreement where the price of goods and services is predetermined, ensuring transparency in the project’s terms and obligations. The payment amount remains constant regardless of the resources used or the project’s duration.
  • Indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract: This provides an unspecified quantity of supplies or services during a specific time frame.
  • Cost-plus-fixed-fee: A contract where the contractor receives a negotiated fee that remains fixed from the contract’s beginning but may be adjusted depending on the modifications in the scope of work.
  • Modification: This is an agreement where the government requests additional work from the contractor. The request for changes includes contract cost, delivery schedule, fee, and terms and conditions.

Finally, government contractors fall into two types: prime contractor and subcontractor. Prime contractors typically comprise large businesses, whereas subcontractors predominantly comprise small businesses. This division delineates the roles and responsibilities of each entity within the contracting process, combining the expertise of large corporations with the agility and specialized skills of smaller businesses.

Pros of Government Contracting

Better compensation.

Government contractors typically enjoy higher compensation compared to government employees performing similar roles. On average, a U.S. government contractor earns $68,094. Notably, those in San Francisco, California, hold the highest compensation at $102,708 , 51% higher than the national average.

While government contractors may not receive the same immediate benefits as government employees, the long-term advantages are highly promising. For instance, in 2012, The Rockhill Group strategically pursued big and rare contracts focused on pilot training, aircraft maintenance, and aircraft supply. This decision to expand federal contract work has been beneficial for the business. TRG currently employs more than 300 employees in its 30 locations in the U.S. and overseas.

Easy to Obtain

Contract work, despite involving extensive paperwork like SAM registration, compliance evidence with affirmative action laws, and various certifications and legal documents, remains more accessible compared to securing a government position. Small businesses can also take advantage of set-asides.

Set-aside contracts have values between $10,000 and $25,000, specifically designated for small businesses. These contracts level the playing field for small businesses to compete against others of similar size rather than being overshadowed by large corporations.

To be qualified for these contracts, register with the Small Business Administration and qualify under at least one of the following categories to increase your chances of securing federal government contracts:

  • Service-Disabled-Veteran Owned
  • Women-Owned Small Business
  • Historically Under-Utilized Business Zone (HUB)
  • 8(a) Business Development

Endless Opportunities

Government contracting has many federal business opportunities, with a noticeable increase in federal contract spending in recent years. The government is actively supporting the growth and competitiveness of minority-owned small businesses. If you already provide cybersecurity services to the commercial sector, consider the government as another target market. Utilize web-based resources to access “live” contract listings.

Cons of Government Contracting

Prone to protests and disputes.

Protests frequently occur in the competitive world of government contracting. Contractors disagree with the evaluation conducted by federal agencies regarding their proposals. Consequently, they may seek to challenge the agency’s source selection decision. This is particularly common with large corporations vying for contracts worth billions of dollars. Such high-stakes competitions intensify the need for thorough scrutiny and transparency in the contract award process.

Big Competition

Governments worldwide are increasingly adopting competitive contracting to leverage market forces in providing government services, and the outcomes have been largely favorable. As a successful contractor, you may compete with large businesses for government projects, which can be an opportunity and a challenge. However, this competitive landscape motivates contractors to continually improve their offerings to innovate and efficiently deliver public services.

High Compliance Requirements

Government contracts carry stringent compliance requirements, ranging from quality control procedures to specific employee training and wage mandates. Non-compliance may result in contract termination and legal consequences. Government contractors encounter the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) as their first compliance hurdle. These extensive regulations span 2100 pages and bind both contractor and federal agencies. Violations suggest hefty fines and even criminal sanctions, with potential financial penalties reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars and several years of federal imprisonment.

Where can you find government contracts?

Where can you find government contracts?

The first step in bidding on federal contracts is finding them. Fortunately, several websites provide information about the federal contracting process and opportunities.

Use SAM.gov as your main resource for federal contract opportunities. Familiarize yourself with search techniques, saving searches, and setting alerts. Filter options help you find relevant opportunities based on dates, keywords, NAICS codes, etc. It covers every federal agency and active contract awards, making it a great starting point for your search.

The Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS)

Small businesses can market themselves to the government using tools like the SBA’s Dynamic Small Business Search. By registering in the SAM and filling out their small business profile, they can be listed in the DSBS. This helps the contracting officer find potential small business contractors and facilitates teaming and joint venturing opportunities.

Subcontracting Network (SubNet)

SUBNet is another platform managed by the SBA. It lets big companies with subcontracting plans post opportunities for small businesses. It’s perfect for newcomers starting an enterprise with experienced guidance. Contractors can post various notices utilizing SUBNet’s useful features like registration-free searches, map and advanced search options, and downloadable and printable results.

BidNet aggregates government RFP from federal, state, and local agencies nationwide, providing daily contract opportunities and allowing you to focus on bidding for government contracts. The platform allows you to access market research on closed and awarded solicitations to plan your future proposal.

Small Business Offices

Federal agencies have an Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) or Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) to connect with small businesses for contracting opportunities. Agencies release procurement forecasts with opportunities for such businesses. You can contact the agency’s small business office after reviewing forecasts and using systems like Federal Procurement Data System and USASpending.gov. They conduct training and networking events to help businesses find contract opportunities.

How to Start Bidding on a Government Contract Successfully?

How to Start Bidding on a Government Contract Successfully?

Step 1. Fulfill the Basic Requirements

Your small business must meet these basic requirements before you can compete to sell goods and services to the government:

  • Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier, a unique 12-character, alpha-numeric value you will receive after registering with SAM at SAM.gov
  • Have appropriate NAICS codes for your products or services
  • Meet SBA’s eligibility standards for government contracts reserved for small businesses.
  • Comply with Federal Acquisition Regulation’s laws and regulations
  • For Department of Defense contracts, meet the required Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) level to safeguard systems and data.

Step 2. Find a Contract Opportunity

The three solicitation types are request for proposal (RFP), request for quote (RFQ), and invitation for bid (IFB). Tailor your response according to the guidelines. Also, ensure you can deliver the required products and services. Only bid on contracts that align precisely with your offerings or are too large for your capacity.

Step 3. Draft the Bid

When creating a bid, customize your business plan to showcase how your company meets the bid request. Consider materials, time frame, and labor costs. Remember, bids aren’t solely awarded to the lowest price but to the company best suited for the project’s needs.

Key points to remember:

  • Justify costs based on project requirements
  • Clarify discounts or premium services
  • Highlight your expertise with relevant certifications and awards
  • Present your company’s best attributes

Step 4. Thoroughly Review Your Bid

Before submitting, address all RFP, RFQ, or IFB requirements and meet all the submission process rules, including the solicitation’s format and content. Properly read and assemble your response for a government agency bid. Failure to address requests in the solicitation type can disqualify a vendor’s response.

Step 5. Submit the Bid

After preparing and reviewing the bid, submit it within the deadline. Then, wait for the government agency’s response, which may take months. They’ll either reject the proposal or send a notice of intent to award the contract. In the latter case, contract negotiations will follow. If rejected, you’re free to bid on other upcoming contracts.

What Are the Easiest Government Contracts to Win?

What Are the Easiest Government Contracts to Win?

While there is no definite answer on which is the easiest government contract to win, these strategies can help increase your chances of winning government contracts:

  • Evaluate your past performance: Analyze your company’s past performance to gauge the likelihood of winning. If you lack relevant experience, teaming up with other successful companies can be effective.
  • Build a strong team: Assemble a team of companies with a proven track record in similar contracts and those that have won contracts in your target location and agency. This diverse expertise will enhance your competitiveness.
  • Explore the GSA Schedule contract: The GSA Schedule contract is the easiest government contract to secure. It offers access to various commercial services and products at competitive prices, making it attractive to the government.
  • Consider 8a government contracts: 8a government contracts offer promising opportunities for small businesses. Competition is low since only a fraction of businesses are 8a certified. Minority businesses with 8a certification gain access to sole-source and set-aside contracts, providing a distinct advantage. Eligibility also extends to socially disadvantaged people regarding sexual preferences, gender and physical and mental disability.

We expect that outsourcing services through government contracts will continue growing steadily for some time. With that in mind, contractors and commercial companies are increasingly entering traditional industries to seize the abundant opportunities this landscape offers:

  • Aerospace and Defense Contracts

The aerospace and defense industry includes military product manufacturers and spacecraft producers for government and commercial space tourism. Deal activities in the defense sector are expected to remain stable in 2023, while the commercial aerospace sector focuses on maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) and supply chain transactions.

  • Construction Contracts

Manufacturing construction spending in the U.S. has dramatically surged, doubling since the end of 2021 . Supportive policies like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and CHIPS Act offer direct funding and tax incentives for public and private manufacturing construction companies . Much of the approved $1.25 trillion infrastructure spending remains untapped, ready to improve the nation’s economy and communities.

  • Information Technology Contracts

Across the country, local and state governments renew IT service contracts and purchase technology products to maintain, expand and improve their IT infrastructure. GovWin IQ reported 1,664 contracts for information technology services that were bid by government agencies throughout the United States and Canada in one year.

  • Healthcare Contracts

Texas Health and Human Services offers numerous of programs and services benefiting over 7.5 million Texans monthly. Its Procurement and Contracting Services (PCS) division awards numerous contracts worth billions of dollars annually, covering various goods and services, including IT and direct client support. The agency prioritizes including women- and minority-owned businesses in the contracting process. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also utilizes contracts to procure goods and services like vaccines and IT to support their public health mission domestically and internationally.

  • Petroleum Contracts

Petroleum products encompass everything obtained from crude oil or natural gas at a refinery. In 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Petroleum Reserves disclosed that contracts were granted for buying crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). This fulfilled the Congressional requirement of selling 26 million barrels during Fiscal Year 2023, as specified in section 403 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 and section 32204 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act.

  • Research and Development Contracts

In Fiscal Year 2023, the federal budget authority allocated for research and development and R&D plant reached $191 billion, representing a 12.7% increase from the proposed amount in Fiscal Year 2022. SBIR and STTR contracts are available to promote research and development in diverse fields. Some federal agencies offering these contracts and programs are The National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and NASA.

  • Janitorial Contracts

The janitorial services sector offers diverse government contracting opportunities, typically with more stringent licensing requirements than small office cleaning contracts. Emphasizing your licensing as a selling point can demonstrate your expertise. Also, the government stipulates at least a two-year operational history as a prerequisite for eligibility to bid on cleaning contracts.

  • Cloud Computing Contracts

Today’s military personnel need a cloud environment that can quickly enhance their capabilities, ensure strong cybersecurity, and easily adapt to changing mission requirements. The Department of Defense prioritizes cloud adoption through a smart cloud policy to achieve this. This involves developing a well-established portfolio of cloud contracts and enabling automated processes to facilitate the transition to cloud computing. Once cloud service providers obtain a FedRAMP certification, comply with NIST guidelines, and join the FedRAMP marketplace, they will likely secure significant government contracts.

  • Artificial Intelligence Contracts

AI’s prevalence in government operations has grown, streamlining tasks, supporting mission-critical functions, and enhancing research, all while strengthening cybersecurity efforts. U.S. government spending on AI-related contracts has surged about 2.5 times since 2017. In a year, GovWin IQ tracked 214 AI contracts available for bidding by government agencies in the U.S. and Canada. As AI tools advance, the need for AI readiness in federal procurement will rise, urging the federal government to take concrete steps to tap into AI innovators’ offerings effectively.

  • Transportation and Logistics Contracts

The GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract includes 12 categories of products and services, and one of them is Transportation and Logistics Services. This category covers air charter services, freight transportation, vehicle rentals, shipping containers, and vocational vehicles. Before the MAS Consolidation in 2020, different GSA Legacy Schedules fulfilled transportation needs for federal, local, and municipal agencies. The GSA Transportation Category simplifies the process to enable governmental organizations to procure necessary transportation products and services easily.

Are Government Contracts Profitable?

Government contracting can be highly lucrative because businesses receive payment for products and services supporting the government’s objectives. In total, $682.6 billion was awarded in government contracts in 2022, whereas $158.7 billion was awarded directly to small businesses in the government fiscal year 2022. This is a 3% increase over the prior year and the highest level ever recorded.

Is Government Contracting Easy?

Government contracting is complex that requires years of knowledge and experience to execute correctly, particularly for inexperienced firms. Government agencies rely heavily on past performance information stored in government databases, such as Past Performance Information System and the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System. The historical performance data will make it crucial for new contractors to establish a strong track record to increase their chances of securing contracts. Therefore, the easiest government contracts to win are not far behind given enough knowledge on how things work.

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U.s. department of commerce releases 2023 update to equity action plan, outlines new commitments to advance equity, office of public affairs.

Today the U.S. Department of Commerce released the 2023 update to its Equity Action Plan , in coordination with the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government equity agenda. This Equity Action Plan is part of the Department’s efforts to implement the President’s Executive Order on “ Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through The Federal Government ,” which reaffirmed the Administration’s commitment to deliver equity and build an America in which all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.

“Homogeneity is the enemy of innovation. If we are to out-build, out-innovate, and out-compete the rest of the world, we need to ensure we’re harnessing and empowering Americans across the country by utilizing our greatest strength - diversity,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “That’s why the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to equity is so important and why I’m proud to see that reflected in this updated action plan. We fail to meet our full potential as a nation unless we harness the talents and strengths of all parts of the country, including those who have too often been left behind.”

Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves will participate in an event at the White House this morning to outline the updated Equity Action Plan, where he will be accompanied by Donna Ennis, Co-Director of the Georgia Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing (Georgia AIM), who is a winner of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC). The presentation will highlight  workforce pipelines put in place to ensure all Americans, including people from underserved communities, can participate in the innovation economy.

“Thanks to President Biden’s continued and steadfast commitment to supporting underserved and underrepresented communities, this Administration has made historic progress to achieving equity centered initiatives,” said Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves. “Through investments in business grants and funding opportunities, the Secretary and I are proud of the Commerce Department’s efforts in promoting equitable and inclusive capitalism that will pave the path to America’s economic prosperity.”

In alignment with the Department of Commerce’s strategic goals , the Equity Action Plan includes real-life examples of how America’s economy and people are best served by filtering our work through a prism of equity. America’s diversity is its competitive advantage – but only if everyone has an opportunity to fulfill their potential and fully participate in our economy.

The equity strategies associated with each strategic goal will assist in designing programs that will address barriers to equity and meet the needs of all Americans, including underserved communities.

  • Equity Strategy 1: Mobilize our nation’s diversity to fuel innovation and sustain our global competitiveness across geographic regions so that all communities have equal access to opportunities.
  • Equity Strategy 2: Expand growth opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs, including in underserved communities.
  • Equity Strategy 3: Promote equitable economic development and career pathways to good jobs.
  • Equity Strategy 4: Use targeted investments and program design to address the climate crisis through mitigation, adaptation, and resilience efforts to ensure environmental and economic resilience.
  • Equity Strategy 5: Expand opportunity and discovery through data to inform and evaluate actions that improve community outcomes.

Since the release of its first-ever Equity Action Plan in 2022, the Department of Commerce has:

  • Released $3 billion in American Rescue Plan dollars across 780 awards through six innovative economic development programs.
  • Reduced the cost of bringing high-speed internet to unserved and underserved communities, and increased the resilience of internet infrastructure.
  • Invested $100 million to support the needs of tribal governments and Indigenous communities across 51 awards in 25 states and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Learn more about the Administration’s equity work at whitehouse.gov/equity and check out all Federal Equity Action Plans at performance.gov/equity .

To follow stories and posts across agencies, follow the hashtags #GovEquity and #GovDelivers on social media.

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After 35 years, he got $119,500 in student debt forgiven. Then the government refunded him $56,801

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  • The U.S. Department of Education has been reviewing the accounts of borrowers who have been in repayment for decades to see if they are eligible for forgiveness.
  • Marlon Fox, a chiropractor in North Charleston, South Carolina, is one person to benefit.
  • In August, he learned that his more than $100,000 student debt balance had been canceled. He'd carried the debt for 35 years.

Since 1988, Marlon Fox has been paying down his federal student debt .

He didn't see an end in sight . Then, on Aug. 25, 2023, an email popped up in his inbox with the subject line: "Your student loans have been forgiven!"

His $119,500 balance was reset to zero .

"I couldn't believe it," said Fox, 65, a chiropractor in North Charleston, South Carolina. "I'd been battling this for so long. I've been on cloud nine ever since."

More from Personal Finance: New student loan payment plan may help borrowers become homeowners Renters are most exposed to climate hazards in these two states If you win a Super Bowl bet, the IRS is a 'silent partner,' expert says

Why some borrowers are in repayment for decades

After the Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration's sweeping student loan forgiveness plan last June, it has explored all of its existing authority to leave people with less education debt. One of those strategies has been to take another look at the accounts of borrowers who have been in repayment for decades. Such stories are not uncommon .

Under the U.S. Department of Education's income-driven repayment plans , student loan borrowers are entitled to get any of their remaining debt forgiven after 20 years or 25 years.

Yet many have not seen that promised relief .

"This is due, in part, to strong financial disincentives for student loan servicers to inform consumers about the program and their ability to qualify for it," said Nadine Chabrier , a senior policy and litigation counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending.

The Education Department contracts with different companies to service its federal student loans, including  Mohela, Nelnet and EdFinancial , and pays them more than $1 billion a year to do so . The companies earn a fee per borrower per month, which advocates say discourages transparency around loan forgiveness opportunities.

Even when borrowers are enrolled in these plans, servicers don't always keep track of their payments, experts say. Records can also get lost when borrowers' loans are transferred to a different company —  a common occurrence .

By the time Fox's debt was forgiven, he'd been in repayment for 35 years and his account had been managed by at least three different servicers during that time.

Scott Buchanan , executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance, a trade group for federal student loan servicers, denied that the companies benefit by veering from the government's orders.

"We are incentivized to meet the requirements that the government sets, which includes giving borrowers the benefits that the law provides," Buchanan said. "We are audited, and get business or lose it based on meeting those standards."

I've been on cloud nine ever since. Marlon Fox

So far, the Education Department's review of borrowers in income-driven repayment plans has erased the debts of about 930,000 people, for more than $45 billion in aid.

Some have even been refunded for their months or years of overpayments.

Shortly after Fox heard that his student loans were forgiven, he received a payment from the government for $56,801.

A $60,000 debt that only grew

In the 1980s, Fox borrowed roughly $60,000 to attend the Palmer College of Chiropractic . Shortly after he graduated, his monthly student loan bill was around $1,000. Early in his career and just starting a family, he struggled to come up with that sum.

After his father had a stroke, Fox became his main caregiver and was forced to pick up his expenses and debts. Things got even harder.

At times, Fox enrolled in forbearances, which caused his balance to mushroom . This option for struggling borrowers can keep loans on hold for up to three years, but interest continues accruing. The interest rate on his federal student loans was over 8% .

Fox lived frugally and made payments on his student debt whenever he could. He enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan in the mid-1990s, after Congress established the first one. The plan left him with a more manageable monthly bill, but he barely saw a dent in his balance.

"It still drops so amazingly slowly," he said.

Supreme Court blocks President Biden's plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt

Time passed. Fox's hair grayed, and he sent his own children off to college. When he told people he was still paying off his student debt, they scratched their heads.

"Every time I tried to explain this to someone, they'd say, 'How could that be?'" Fox said.

He wrote to his House representatives and senators, asking them for help. He believed he should have gotten his debt forgiven after a certain point. He got nowhere.

The lawmakers, when they did get back to him, said he should reach out to his servicer. The companies, meanwhile, didn't have a full record of his payments.

Student debt's shadow: 'I'll probably always work'

Fox, who considers himself a conservative-leaning independent, said he can't help but be impressed with the Biden administration's work.

"No other administration would look into this, and correct the wrongs," he said.

Fox doesn't tell many people his story. He lives in a mostly Republican area, where there is a deep skepticism toward forgiving the debt of those who've benefited from a higher education.

"They say, 'Hey, you got your school loans paid off? That's unfair,'" Fox said. "But if they let me tell my full story, then they understand."

Over the decades, based on Fox's records, which CNBC reviewed, he paid around $200,000 on his federal student loans.

That debt still casts a shadow over his life.

Those large bills left Fox with little money to save toward retirement.

"I'll probably always work," he said.

He can't remember the last time he took a full week off from work.

"That's a whole week without pay, and that would make it difficult to meet these huge payments," he said. "My wife was really upset I wouldn't take off."

For the first time in years, though, he and his wife, Debbie, booked a vacation: a week in Maui. He's excited to spend time on the beach, and to see the turtles and whales, and to eat red snapper.

As for his refund? It's gone. He used the cash to pay off his children's student loans.

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Analysis-Myanmar Junta's Conscription Plan Lays Bare Toll of Fighting Rebels

Analysis-Myanmar Junta's Conscription Plan Lays Bare Toll of Fighting Rebels

Reuters

Myanmar's military parade to mark the 72nd Armed Forces Day in the capital Naypyitaw, Myanmar March 27, 2017. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/File Photo

(Reuters) - The Myanmar's military conscription plan reveals the heavy toll that months of incessant fighting against rebels have had on its troops and the struggles the generals are facing to replenish their ranks, analysts, diplomats and a defector said.

The plan, which was announced this week, comes after the junta lost control of swathes of territory along a frontline that stretches from the highlands bordering China to the coastline near Bangladesh, some of it in a coordinated offensive by rebel groups that started in October, dubbed Operation 1027.

"The military is clearly facing significant manpower shortages, which is why it is introducing a draft for the first time in its history," said Richard Horsey, the Crisis Group's senior Myanmar adviser.

A junta spokesman did not respond to calls from Reuters seeking comment. The military has been battling an expanding armed resistance since a 2021 coup toppled the democratically elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and the junta describes the resistance fighters as "terrorists", blaming them for destroying Myanmar's peace and stability.

The conscription plan, slated to start in April, will require all men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 to serve for up to two years, while specialists like doctors aged up to 45 must serve for three years. The service can be extended to a total of five years, according to state media.

Ye Myo Hein, senior advisor to the United States Institute of Peace think-tank, assessed most military battalions are currently struggling to meet the even half the recommended troop strength of 200 soldiers.

"There has been a notable decline in the number of officer enlistments as well," he told Reuters.

"Additionally, the loss of officers, including Brigadier Generals...have been significantly higher due to shrinking battalion sizes and decreasing rank-and-file soldiers."

Last year, Ye Myo Hein estimated the Myanmar military had around 70,000 combat soldiers, citing interviews with military deserters and defectors, analysis of military documents and casualty counts.

Anthony Davis, a security analyst with British-based Jane's intelligence company, had estimated the total strength of the rebel ethnic armies at around 75,000 in 2021.

The current size of the anti-junta resistance is now likely higher with the emergence of more resistance groups as the conflict drags on, analysts said.

The Tatmadaw, as the military is known, has not publicly declared the size of its fighting force in recent years.

Miemie Winn Byrd, an analyst who previously served in the U.S. army, said defections had risen sharply in the past few months, based on interviews with military battalion commanders and other soldiers who had deserted.

"Myanmar's military forces are fatigued and demoralised," she said, adding that basic supplies such as food and equipment were in short supply.

Former army captain Htet Myat, who defected in June 2021 and now helps other soldiers defect, told Reuters in December that some battalions only had around 130 soldiers. Htet Myat said he defected because he opposed the 2021 coup.

The military's battlefield defeats have lead to unprecedented public calls for Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing to step down three years after the junta took power from the civilian government.

TROOPS SPREAD THIN

Even with the mandatory recruitment, the military may not be able to rapidly ramp up its manpower, said Crisis Group's Horsey. "It does not have the organisational capability to train large numbers of new recruits simultaneously," he added.

A dozen people eligible to serve also told Reuters that they would rather leave the country than join the military. They all declined to be named citing security concerns.

At its current strength, the military does not have the manpower to effectively fight opposition troops on multiple fronts, according to a December analysis by Andrew Selth, an adjunct professor at the Griffith Asia Institute.

"The generals know how thinly spread their troops are, and how difficult it is to fight more than one major battle at the same time," said Selth, who has studied Myanmar, particularly the military, for decades.

"The use of air power, armour and artillery gives the junta certain advantages, but ultimately only troops on the ground can win back territory and exert its will over the population."

In the western region of Rakhine, where the military is fighting the Arakan Army (AA), troops have been pushed out of at least five towns, a spokesman for the ethnic armed group said.

The military has not publicly commented on the loss of territory.

"They couldn't send backup troops in Rakhine battles," AA spokesman Khine Thu Kha told Reuters via phone. "That means they don't have enough forces."

(Reporting by Reuters Staff, Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; editing by Miral Fahmy)

Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .

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