Glossary / Solicitations
Sources Sought Notice
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 by a deadline, often a couple of weeks out. Sources Sought notices do not obligate the agency to issue an RFP, but one often follows.
Why it matters to your pipeline
A Sources Sought notice is one of the earliest public signals that a specific procurement is coming. Firms that respond with compelling capability statements that demonstrate 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.
When this term shows up in an opening GovSmith finds for you, your vCM explains what it means for that pursuit and does whatever it calls for. You decide; we do the work.
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.
Find out what applies to you
Some terms will matter to your business right away and some won’t for years. A vCM can tell you which are which.