Troy Francis - Contracting Officer (Team Lead), DRIVe

Troy Francis serves as a Contract Specialist responsible for managing the full lifecycle of complex scientific and technical acquisitions, ensuring compliance with federal procurement regulations and aligning contracts with mission-critical research objectives. He specializes in soliciting, evaluating, and awarding contracts for research and development services, with a focus on engineering, life sciences, and technical consulting. His role is central to enabling agency innovation by facilitating timely and transparent procurement processes that support high-priority scientific initiatives and ensure accountability in the use of public resources. While no specific contractor relationships are currently identifiable in the data, Troy consistently engages with a diverse pool of vendors capable of delivering advanced R&D capabilities, including academic research institutions, private laboratories, and specialized technical consulting firms. His procurement approach emphasizes competitive bidding, clear performance metrics, and rigorous source selection criteria to ensure value and scientific integrity. He fosters collaborative relationships with industry partners who demonstrate technical excellence, past performance, and adherence to federal compliance standards. Troy’s contracting patterns reflect a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of his awards issued under the “No Set-Aside” category. This indicates a strategic focus on selecting the most qualified offerors regardless of socioeconomic status, prioritizing technical merit and capability over set-aside programs such as 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB. While small business participation is not formally incentivized in his portfolio, his process remains fully compliant with all applicable small business goals and regulations. His primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541715 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences), which accounts for over half of his activity, followed by NAICS 541714 (Biotechnology R&D) and NAICS 541690 (Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services). He routinely procures services involving experimental design, laboratory testing, data analysis, and engineering prototyping, demonstrating deep familiarity with scientific methodologies and technical specifications critical to advancing public-sector research initiatives.