Expert Insights

After long overdue attention to maintenance, repair, upgrades, and expansions, public officials throughout the country are preparing to launch projects to reverse the trend of deferrals. The inattention in the past resulted because there was simply no available...

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced in August that $766 million in grant funding is available to airports for improvement projects. But, there’s much more. Funding is flowing to airports from numerous sources, and the types of projects ready for launch...

Technology firms offering software and related services will find an abundance of upcoming opportunities in local government next year. Municipal leaders throughout the country have announced plans to upgrade old technology, and software purchases are imbedded in...

At least 580,000 people experienced homelessness on a given day in January 2020. That number has increased significantly since then. Today, reporting organizations say there is no recent accounting and gathering the data will be more difficult in the months to come....

Funding for rail projects will be significant in the new infrastructure bill, but even now before new allocations are available, upcoming rail projects are being announced on a weekly basis. The diversity of projects is evidence of public officials at various levels...

New funding is available for upcoming projects related to parks and outdoor activities. The Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), a program overseen by the Department of the Interior, has $900 million to be used for projects at government facilities on public lands and...

Elementary and secondary schools were allocated $122.7 billion in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The law stipulates that funding is to be distributed as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) grants, and education leaders have until the end of...

Earlier this week, I was in California to participate in a large public-private partnership (P3) conference that focused on airports. It was rewarding to feel the energy and excitement as well as hear from aviation officials. The industry sector is alive and well, and...

People are on the move again, and many are relying on public transit. In fact, transit ridership is up more than 80 percent since 2020, according to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and other grant programs have provided...

Industry leaders and public officials are gathering for a July 19-20 conference in California to work on ‘best practices’ related to infrastructure and collaborative initiatives. The objectives of the P3 Airport Summit will be to provide information, guidance, and...

America’s water infrastructure may soon get the attention it deserves now that funding is available. Billions of dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) are on the way to public officials throughout the U.S. Most states are allocating additional funding as...

The world is changing rapidly, and technology is morphing so quickly that individual lives are being impacted in ways that may have escaped notice. Staying abreast of life-changing trends has never been harder. One more recent trend is worthy of note – a steady shift...

Smart City competition continues, and benefits are coming not only to citizens at the local level of government but also to the entire country as new initiatives are launched, tested, and perfected. Recognition for exemplary effort is now more prevalent than ever as...

At a time when an abundance of federal funding is already aiding state and local governments, even more is about to be released. This new funding will be allocated to public entities to support critical projects related to disaster mitigation. The funding will come...

Less than a month ago, President Biden released his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2022 that includes $9.8 billion in funding for cybersecurity enhancements. Cyberbreaches are making the headlines too often – almost on a weekly basis – and those are only the attacks...

Public schools have been granted approximately $190.5 billion in new funding from the federal government. In 2020 and 2021, Congress passed three stimulus bills that provided funding to the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. It came in...

We rarely stop to consider how difficult it is to be a government leader. The responsibility to identify critical needs, focus on eminent dangers, ensure public safety, and provide citizen services are monumental tasks. Consider this: An estimated 400,000 schools and...

Earlier this month, the country celebrated another annual Infrastructure Week. For the last nine years, leaders have convened from across America to highlight the critical role infrastructure plays in the economy, job creation, public health, and national security....

Congress sent some rather clear messages with passage of the American Rescue Plan (ARP), and the importance of education is undoubtedly top of mind. Based on the sheer volume of school safety allocations, protecting our nation’s students is a high priority with the...

Try to read a newspaper or listen to a newscast without being reminded that the country is beginning to return to normalcy. Activity can be found everywhere. Projects, initiatives, and opportunities are being announced daily. The activity level in government...

The government marketplace is changing rapidly, and strong trends point to a future environment that is quite different. The evolution that is occurring will impact all industry sectors as well as government. America leads the world with 16 percent of the global green...

Public officials at the state and local jurisdictions of government have overcome the first quarter of 2021, but with so many looming problems and issues, most are struggling to establish their highest priorities. Which problem needs the most immediate attention? Is...

Cities, counties, school districts, colleges, universities, health-care facilities, and public transit authorities are all on stand-by awaiting billions in new funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARP). Surprisingly, a few states are still holding federal revenue...

There is no disagreement — water is a precious asset. Without water, there is no path to survival or sustainability on the planet. Cities, counties, states, industry, trees, plants, crops, animals, and individuals cannot survive without adequate water resources. In...

President Biden’s proposed infrastructure bill is front and center in Congressional offices, but it is the American Jobs Plan that is getting more attention. This proposed bill from the Biden administration also includes an abundance of funding for infrastructure....

President Biden recently introduced a massive infrastructure bill designed to reshape the U.S. economy while addressing infrastructure reform. Biden’s stated goal is to achieve 100 percent carbon-free power by 2035. The proposal also includes $100 billion in funding...

When Harvard and other major universities begin offering courses to students and professionals focused on public-private partnerships (P3s), it is worthy of notice. When Wall Street announces programs designed around building revenue models for collaborating with...

The much-anticipated funding made available by the American Rescue Plan (ARP) is now moving. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has released $81 billion in funding that is destined to reach public school districts in every state. This first release of funding...

Industry leaders, investors, regulators, rating agencies, and governmental entities are all watching a strong trend that will likely become a competitive factor in government contracting in the future. The significance of the trend’s impact cannot yet be calculated,...

Climate change and the need for mitigation efforts for disaster control have resulted in more federal funding available for public entities throughout the U.S.   The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) soon will  distribute up to $500 million from a new...

Change is occurring incredibly fast - so fast, in fact, it is somewhat challenging to keep up with everything. COVID data is more positive, an extremely encouraging shift. Congress has approved billions in funding for citizens, schools, hospitals, and state and local...

Companies that contract with governmental entities will find no shortage of large projects in 2021. Pent-up demand and all types of needs are driving leaders at state, local, and education organizations to find solutions. Construction and engineering firms should be...

Dozens of media reports flood our inboxes, and there are newspaper articles daily about the COVID relief bill that Congress is expected to pass very soon. How large will it be? What will the funding cover? When and how will the funding programs work? These are all...

As the Biden administration begins to address climate change, transit authorities throughout the country will benefit from funding. Clean air is a major component of sustainability, so increased funding will flow to public transit authorities in an effort to reduce...

Big changes are in the works, and it is important to take note and prepare for a somewhat altered existence. The last 12 months have been unlike anything most of us have ever experienced, and the new year has started off with numerous surprises. Until recently, we...

The Texas SPI Team has struggled valiantly this week just as others throughout the state did. Because of the wicked winter storm that hit Texas over the weekend, most of us have been - and many still are - functioning without power and water and limited to no access...

Billions of dollars are spent each year to renew, replace, expand, or upgrade water systems. The need to do more, and spend more, increases each year. That’s because the country’s aging water infrastructure has been neglected for too long. This is an alarming issue...

It is easy for government contractors to overlook opportunities related to ports in the United States. That should not happen though because ports throughout the country have seen a surge in imports over the last several years, and many of them – undaunted by the...

Transportation infrastructure will be a high priority throughout the country in 2021. Many large projects have already been announced, and others are anticipated. However, there are significant indications that a major change is emerging in how transportation-related...

For many reasons, not the least of which are the recent cybersecurity breaches that have occurred throughout the country, governmental entities are announcing plans for large technology budgets in 2021. Additionally, public agencies simply can no longer wait to...