Follow the Fed – SLED money trail

December 1, 2022 by Leave a comment

By Lisa Kilgore, Contracts Specialist, State, Local and Education

Federal funding and SLED procurement do not exist in a vacuum; instead, they are intertwined and could be seen as two sides of the same coin. The connection between federal and state institutions is symbiotic, dating back to the founding of the nation. There are many instances of federal initiatives spurring growth at the most local level. The post-pandemic world has led to a shift in how our nation views federal initiatives and top-down funding. Understanding the connection between federal and SLED procurement is imperative for lasting success in the public procurement field.

Basics of our governance structure
Let’s bring it back to the fundamentals. Our nation operates under two sets of governance: an overarching federal government, and individual state governments. The separation between the two helps limits the consolidation of power; it allows individual states to do what is best for their citizens, to a degree, without needing federal approval. In the public procurement space, we often highlight the differences between SLED and Fed, dividing the two into distinct categories. It helps us to cater better to our customers. However, it may help to alter that thinking and look at the connections between the two.

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SLED 101 Series – Understanding the IT Budget

April 15, 2021 by Leave a comment

By Rachel Eckert, SLED Market Intelligence Manager

In our last installment we walked through the budget process to help you target your customers at the right time. In this, our third installment of our SLED 101 series, we focus on IT budget distribution, state-by-state spending and the importance of engaging with the right stakeholders. This information can help you focus your sales efforts more strategically and develop more targeted account lists.

Let’s start by looking at the pie chart below with a breakdown of IT spending by jurisdiction type or level of SLED government.

IT budget distribution

For 2021, IT spending in SLED will be just north of $100B. Spending proportions and ranges will vary for each state and or local government, however, almost 40% of that spending will be done by state governments. Higher Ed, Special Districts, K-12 School Districts and Cities all sit around, 12–15% each.

To give a bit more context to the SLED spending estimate, let’s look at a heatmap of estimated IT spending by state. You can use this heatmap in conjunction with the pie chart to segment your territory even further.

State-by-state spending

States like California, Texas, Florida and New York all have large IT budgets, making them prime targets for opportunity development. That doesn’t mean that states like Montana or North Dakota with smaller IT budgets do not have any IT opportunities, but that those IT opportunities will likely be smaller in scope.

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