Amy Kara

Amy M. Kara serves as a Contract and Program Analyst, playing a pivotal role in the planning, execution, and oversight of professional services acquisitions. She supports the agency’s mission by ensuring compliance with federal procurement regulations while facilitating efficient and transparent contracting processes. Her work centers on soliciting, evaluating, and managing contracts for technical and scientific consulting services, often involving complex requirements that demand rigorous market research and source selection under FAR Part 15. She collaborates closely with program offices to align acquisition strategies with operational needs, ensuring that procurements are structured to achieve optimal value and performance outcomes. While specific contractor names are not available, Amy consistently engages with a broad spectrum of professional services vendors, particularly those offering specialized technical expertise. Her procurement patterns reflect a preference for non-set-aside competitions, indicating a focus on open, full and open competition to secure the most qualified providers. She maintains collaborative relationships with firms capable of delivering high-caliber consulting, analytical, and technical support services, often requiring subject matter expertise in evolving scientific and technical domains. Amy’s set-aside preferences are overwhelmingly skewed toward non-set-aside acquisitions, with only 4.2% of awards designated as Total Small Business Set-Asides and 1.7% reserved for Women-Owned Small Businesses. This reflects a strategic emphasis on competition across the broader market rather than socioeconomic targeting, though she remains compliant with all statutory requirements for small business participation when applicable. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541690—Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services—accounting for nearly 89% of her activity. She regularly acquires services related to policy analysis, systems evaluation, technical advisory support, and research-driven consulting. Secondary categories include other professional services and limited procurement of technical education and communications equipment, demonstrating a narrow but deep specialization in knowledge-based professional services.