Sources Sought Notice

Definition

A Sources Sought Notice is a pre-solicitation notice published by federal agencies (typically on SAM.gov) used to identify potential sources of supply or services and validate small-business set-aside decisions under the Rule of Two. Agencies usually specify the anticipated NAICS, scope, and period of performance, and ask interested firms to submit a capability statement within 2–3 weeks. Sources Sought notices do not obligate the agency to issue an RFP, but they almost always precede one.

Why It Matters

A Sources Sought notice is one of the earliest public signals that a specific procurement is coming. Firms that respond with compelling capability statements — demonstrating prior similar work in similar scale to the anticipated requirement — often influence the eventual set-aside decision. For small businesses specifically, a strong Sources Sought response is often what pushes an agency to set aside a contract that would otherwise be full-and-open.

Example

An agency issues a Sources Sought for $8M in enterprise data analytics support. Four qualifying small businesses respond with strong capability statements. The agency sets aside the eventual RFP to small business based on the Rule of Two response, and one of the four wins.

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