Ally Gross

Ally Gross serves as the State Contact for the South Dakota State Government, playing a pivotal role in the agency’s procurement strategy for professional support services. In this capacity, Gross oversees the acquisition of marketing research and public opinion polling capabilities essential to informing policy development, evaluating program effectiveness, and ensuring public engagement across state initiatives. Their work directly supports the agency’s mission to modernize administrative functions and enhance transparency in state operations by securing data-driven insights that guide infrastructure and service improvements. Gross handles sole-source and competitive procurements under the NAICS 541910 category, ensuring alignment with state compliance standards and strategic planning objectives. While no specific contractor relationships are currently documented, Gross engages with a broad spectrum of vendors specializing in survey design, statistical analysis, focus group facilitation, and public sentiment modeling. The procurement approach emphasizes rigorous vendor qualification, performance-based deliverables, and adherence to state procurement codes. Working relationships are characterized by a focus on methodological rigor, data integrity, and timely delivery of actionable intelligence to state leadership. Gross’s contracting patterns reflect a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of acquisitions conducted without set-aside designations. This indicates a commitment to merit-based selection rather than socioeconomic preferences, prioritizing technical capability and value over certification-based eligibility. While small business participation is not formally incentivized through set-asides, vendors of all sizes are evaluated equally on proposal quality and past performance. The primary procurement focus is exclusively on NAICS 541910, encompassing market research, public opinion polling, and behavioral data collection services. These acquisitions support evidence-based governance, including transportation safety assessments, public health outreach evaluations, and legislative feedback mechanisms. Gross brings specialized expertise in designing and managing complex research solicitations requiring high standards of sampling validity, confidentiality, and analytical rigor.