Most opportunities name a point of contact (POC): usually the contracting officer or a contract specialist; for a DoD SBIR/STTR topic, the topic author (TPOC); for a grant, the agency contact in the listing. The tool shows the contact the government published, where it was published, and nothing it was not given. A field the source leaves blank stays blank.
On a match card
Every card shows the primary contact: name, title, office, Copy email, Email and Call, whether they are the primary or secondary contact, the source (SAM.gov, Simpler.Grants.gov or DSIP) and the date the contact was last verified against that source. When the notice states a question deadline or a rule such as "Questions only through the PIEE portal", the card shows it too. No contact published means the source was read and lists nobody.
On the details page: "Who to contact and how"
- Designated contact for this solicitation. Every published contact, primary first, with where each came from: the SAM.gov point-of-contact list, the Grants.gov listing, the DSIP topic, or the notice description or a solicitation document (file and page when known).
- How to ask questions. The solicitation's own sentence about questions, quoted word for word, with the questions due date and time, the address or portal, and any restriction: portal only, email only, in writing only, no telephone questions, or no contact with other government staff.
- Other agency contacts. People at the same agency from your company's contact log. They are kept apart on purpose: while a solicitation is open, ask about it only through its official process and its designated contact.
The question process is read from the notice description and any solicitation files the tool has already downloaded, first by fixed rules for common FAR wording and then, for open notices, by an AI reading step whose every value must appear word for word in the text or it is thrown away. If the tool has not been able to read the process, the page says so. Always check the notice itself before you write.
Draft a question
On a contract notice, with your company selected, Draft a question writes a short clarification email to the designated contact that follows the stated process. It is offered only when the solicitation takes questions by email and neither the question deadline nor the response deadline has passed. When questions go only through a portal (PIEE, FedConnect, DSIP Topic Q&A and others), the page explains the rule instead. Drafting uses your company's daily AI allowance, blocks controlled (CUI) text, adds the notice to My Opportunities as Interested, and sends nothing: you review, edit and send it yourself.
Before you write
- Respect the question deadline. Questions sent after it are usually not answered.
- Portal-only Q&A. If the notice says questions go through a portal, do not email the contracting officer.
- Once a solicitation is out, talk only to the named contact about it. Contacting other agency staff about an open competition can disqualify you.
- DoD SBIR/STTR topics. You may contact the topic author only during pre-release. Once the topic opens, questions go only through the DSIP Topic Q&A, so the tool stops showing the author's details.
- Before a solicitation (sources sought, RFI, industry days), agencies want to hear from industry. That is the best time to introduce your company.
Keep messages short: who you are (name, UEI, CAGE), the notice number, your question, and your contact details. Attach your capability statement only when the notice invites it.
Log outreach
Log outreach opens your contact log with the contact, the agency and the notice number filled in. Add what was said and the next follow-up date, then save. Entries that mention the notice, or the designated contact's email, appear under Your outreach on this opportunity. The log stays private to your company.
Agency contact search
Agency contacts (under Intelligence, or /contacts/search) searches the contacts agencies have published on open opportunities, by agency, office, name or NAICS code, and lists the opportunities each person is the designated contact for. It holds published government contact data only, never anything from another company's contact log.
When no contact is published
The page says No contact published. Use the office named in the notice, or ask your coach. Do not guess an address.
The tool never contacts an agency for you and never submits anything to a government portal.