Federal award data
NAICS 541720 Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities: federal contract awards
How competitive are federal research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities contracts (NAICS 541720)?
Federal agencies signed 5,503 new awards of $25,000 or more under NAICS 541720 (Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities) in FY2016-FY2026, worth $10.5B. 69% were competed, and competed awards drew a median of 3 offers; 25% got a single offer. The Department of Defense awarded the most (35%).
USAspending.gov data, FY2016-FY2026. Updated .
- New awards
- 5,503
- Obligated
- $10.5B
- Median award
- $250,000
- Median offers
- 3
- Agencies signed about 522 new NAICS 541720 awards a year from FY2016 to FY2025, 387 of them in FY2025 (down 31% from FY2016).
- SBA's small business size standard for NAICS 541720 is $28 million in average annual receipts (SBA table effective March 17, 2023).
- The median award was $250,000; 1,249 different companies won at least one award.
- 34% of awards that report a set-aside were set aside for small businesses or a socioeconomic program, most often small business set-asides.
- 364 of these awards reach their potential end date (all options exercised) in the next 12 months, so most of that work comes up for re-bid.
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Awards per fiscal year
New NAICS 541720 awards of $25,000 or more by the fiscal year they were signed (October to September), with the amount obligated on them to date.
| Fiscal year | Awards | Obligated |
|---|---|---|
| FY2016 | 563 | $1.7B |
| FY2017 | 526 | $785M |
| FY2018 | 572 | $1B |
| FY2019 | 551 | $1.7B |
| FY2020 | 561 | $920M |
| FY2021 | 494 | $1.2B |
| FY2022 | 537 | $735M |
| FY2023 | 517 | $772M |
| FY2024 | 514 | $667M |
| FY2025 | 387 | $645M |
| FY2026* | 281 | $304M |
* FY2026 is still filling in: the Department of Defense reports its awards 90 days late. Full years run to FY2025.
How competitive are these contracts?
69% of awards were competed. Competed awards drew a median of 3 offers, against 3 offers across all federal contracts; 25% got a single offer.
| Offers received | Competed awards |
|---|---|
| 1 (single offer) | 625 (25%) |
| 2 | 380 (15%) |
| 3-4 | 628 (25%) |
| 5-9 | 367 (14%) |
| 10+ | 541 (21%) |
2,541 competed awards with an offer count. Not competed: 1,697 awards (sole source, follow-on or not available for competition).
Set-asides
34% of the 2,746 awards that report a set-aside were reserved for small businesses or a socioeconomic program.
| Set-aside | Awards |
|---|---|
| No set-aside | 1,812 (66%) |
| Small business | 775 (28%) |
| 8(a) | 72 (3%) |
| Women-owned (WOSB and EDWOSB) | 62 (2%) |
| HUBZone | 12 (0%) |
| Service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVOSB) | 6 (0%) |
| Indian Economic Enterprises (ISBEE) | 6 (0%) |
| Veteran-owned (VA VOSB) | 1 (0%) |
Orders placed under an existing contract vehicle often leave the set-aside blank (it is recorded on the vehicle), so they are left out here.
How big are the awards?
The median award was $250,000. 26% were under $100,000, the range where agencies often use simplified acquisition.
| Amount obligated | Awards |
|---|---|
| Under $100K | 1,429 (26%) |
| $100K-$1M | 3,014 (55%) |
| $1M-$10M | 885 (16%) |
| $10M+ | 175 (3%) |
Which agencies buy it?
The agencies with the most new NAICS 541720 awards in the period.
| Awards | Obligated | |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | 1,929 | $2.7B |
| Department of Health and Human Services | 533 | $4.3B |
| Department of Education | 503 | $1.6B |
| Department of Agriculture | 434 | $64M |
| Department of Homeland Security | 409 | $546M |
| Department of the Interior | 315 | $53.5M |
| General Services Administration | 266 | $263M |
| Department of Transportation | 212 | $114M |
Where is the work done?
Awards by place of performance. States with enough awards link to their own page for this code.
| Awards | Obligated | |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 1,017 | $2.3B |
| California | 699 | $2B |
| Virginia | 656 | $1.1B |
| Maryland | 450 | $2.5B |
| Washington | 200 | $99.1M |
| Colorado | 164 | $93.3M |
| Missouri | 127 | $64.7M |
| Arizona | 127 | $26.1M |
Largest awards
The five awards with the most obligated, as described by the contracting office. Each links to its record on USAspending.gov.
- System development support integration igf::cl::igfMissile Defense Agency, FY2016$556M
- This is the pre-omnibus task order. it is to begin the development of thaad software 4.1 and 5.0.Missile Defense Agency, FY2021$430M
- National assessment of educational progress sampling and data collectioncontract for the national center...Department of Education, FY2019$250M
- Eeprom awardMissile Defense Agency, FY2017$169M
- Dc,kcf,ckcc models program analysis and operational supportCenters for Medicare and Medicaid Services, FY2019$155M
Coming up for re-bid
364 of these awards reach their potential end date (every option exercised) in the 12 months after November 5, 2026. Agencies usually post the follow-on solicitation, or a sources-sought notice, months before that.
Falkview US watches SAM.gov for the follow-on notices under your NAICS codes, checks set-aside eligibility against your UEI, and drafts the response for your team to review. For janitorial, landscaping and facilities support, the recompete calendar lists the individual contracts.
See how Falkview handles a re-bidQuestions
How many bids do NAICS 541720 contracts get?
Competed awards drew a median of 3 offers (FY2016-FY2026, 2,541 awards with an offer count). 25% got a single offer and 36% got five or more. Across all federal contracts the median is 3 offers.
Which agencies award the most NAICS 541720 contracts?
By number of new awards in FY2016-FY2026: Department of Defense (35%), Department of Health and Human Services (10%), Department of Education (9%). Agencies that buy often are the ones to watch for recompetes and sources-sought notices.
How many NAICS 541720 contracts are set aside for small business?
34% of the awards that report a set-aside were reserved for small businesses or a socioeconomic program: small business set-asides 28%, 8(a) 3%, Women-owned (WOSB and EDWOSB) 2%. Orders under existing contract vehicles often leave the field blank, so those are not counted.
Where are NAICS 541720 contracts performed?
The most awards were performed in District of Columbia (1,017), California (699), Virginia (656). Competition differs by state; each state page below shows its own offer counts.
Where the numbers come from
Every new federal contract award of $25,000 or more signed from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2026 (FY2016 to FY2026), as reported to USAspending.gov from the Federal Procurement Data System: definitive contracts, purchase orders, delivery orders and BPA calls. Amounts are what has been obligated on each award to date, options and modifications included. Place is the place of performance.
Offer counts are FPDS's “number of offers received” on competed awards. Award recipients are counted but not named here. Pages with fewer than 150 awards (500 for one code in one state) are left out of search engines, because a handful of awards can swing the numbers.
Compiled by Falkview US from public data, updated November 5, 2026. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link to the page.
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