About RWCO Research

Richard Wagner and Company (RWCO) is an objective, indispensable research and advisory partner to thousands of organizations in more than 20 countries, across all major functions, in every industry and size.

Our single, overriding goal is to equip our clients with the insights, advice and tools needed to achieve the mission-critical reality of winning new business, increasing sales, and optimizing the delivery of services, products, and solutions to the public sector marketplace.

Core tenants of our Research Methodology:

• Independence and objectivity: RWCO Clients depend on our ability to deliver insights that are impartial and actionable. Our independence as a consultancy is the key to our objectivity, and allows our experts to provide unbiased advice clients can trust.
• Proprietary methodologies: RWCO methodologies consist of research practices and procedures that distill large volumes of data into clear, precise recommendations so that clients can formulate plans or make difficult business decisions.
• Research delivery: Whether through published research, gartner.com, executive programs, Gartner events, peer communities or direct contact with Gartner experts, we deliver the insights, advice and tools necessary for our clients to build the successful organizations of tomorrow.

Methodology

RWCO conducts an annual research survey of comprehensive market trends across the Federal contractor community.  The research survey, entitled "Public Sector Procurement Barometer", is fielded via an online research portal.  Respondents are invited to participate in the survey through an email outreach campaign that is conducted throughout the month December. The survey is released from January 2-January 31 every calendar year.

Respondent Pool

The respondent pool is comprised of more than 30,000 executives, ranging from Chief Executive Officers to Vice Presidents within the functional domains of sales, business development, proposal management, strategic planning, opportunity capture, training, human resources, quality control, compliance, and operations. Respondents were identified using a combination of RWCO proprietary databases, public procurement records, and industry contact lists.

Survey Participation

Participants are incentivized to participate in two ways: (1) RWCO extends a 10% Project Discount to participants for any projects performed by RWCO in the same calendar year as the survey and (2) RWCO conducts a random drawing of respondents and awards one respondent a $100 Starbucks gift card.  Reminders are sent weekly via email to the respondent pool for the entire four-week period of the survey.

Survey Composition

The survey is constructed of eleven questions and captures information on pertinent industry elements.  The respondent pool is grouped into eleven industrial categories based on self-report; each respondent pool receives questions tailored to that industry. The industries include:

Information Technology Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Professional Services Environment and Conservation Services Research and Development (R&D) Defense and Aerospace

Security Services Engineering, Scientific, and Technical Solutions Construction and Construction-related Services Medical Support Services, Health Care, and/or Medical Staffing Support Other Services or Products General "other" category

Survey questions were reviewed by a research advisory panel comprised of three seasoned research professionals with no affiliation to RWCO. The advisory panel reviewed the survey design, survey platform, survey questions, respondent pool composition, and sampling methodology.