Allison Richards

Allison Richards serves as a key procurement professional within the Virginia Contracting Activity, supporting the Defense Intelligence Agency’s mission to deliver advanced technical capabilities for classified intelligence operations. She manages complex acquisitions in research, systems analysis, and mission-critical software development, ensuring the timely delivery of services that enable real-time data exploitation and operational intelligence. Her work directly supports the agency’s priorities in physical and engineering sciences, custom systems design, and secure computing environments, often interfacing with high-sensitivity technical requirements and mission-essential infrastructure. Richards collaborates with a diverse range of contractors specializing in professional, scientific, and technical services, including firms with expertise in intelligence analytics, secure software development, and advanced systems integration. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages vendors capable of meeting stringent DoD security standards and delivering agile, mission-tailored solutions. Her contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, technical rigor, and compliance with federal acquisition regulations, fostering long-term partnerships with firms that demonstrate proven capability in classified environments. Allison’s procurement strategy reflects a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of her acquisitions designated as non-set-aside. This indicates a focus on technical merit and capability over socioeconomic classifications, prioritizing mission readiness and performance over set-aside programs such as 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB. While small business participation is not formally incentivized in her portfolio, vendors of all sizes must meet exacting technical and security requirements to be considered. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS categories 541990 (professional and scientific services), 541720 (social science and humanities R&D), 541519 (other computer-related services), 511210 (software publishing), and 517919 (other telecommunications services). These reflect a deep specialization in intelligence support technologies, including data exploitation platforms, secure analytics tools, and mission-critical software systems tailored to classified operational needs.