Expert Insights
Expert Insights
As President and CEO of Strategic Partnerships, Inc., Mary Scott Nabers has decades of experience working in the public-private sector. A well-recognized expert in the P3 and government contracting fields, she is often asked to share her industry insights with top publications and through professional speaking engagements. Get an exclusive look at upcoming trends and insider tips from Mary herself on the SPI blog.
Electronic vehicles – part of our short-term future!
Electronic vehicles (EVs) are still all the rage. Government leaders definitely like them and want them…but there is a capacity problem. Of the 250-260 million vehicles on U.S. roads last year, only about 540,000 of those were EVs. And of the 17.6 million cars...
Startup firms partnering with government? Really?
Startup companies of all types are hot topics today. They excite investors because some offer great revenue potential. The media loves to write about them and economic development organizations try to attract them because of the jobs they create. Small businesses are...
CIOs embrace collaboration in evolving digital world
Cyberattacks, data breaches and ransomware demands have become almost common in the public sector. Cyberattacks on critical government networks have become a huge problem for public officials. The stress this creates for chief technology officers (CIOs) is great and...
Water, water everywhere…but should we drink it? And, do we have enough of it?
Daily, we are bombarded with messages urging us to drink more water. It’s good for our health. It’s good for energy, endurance and our appearance. Water keeps us hydrated and we can’t live without it. We should all drink lots of water! But, there’s a problem with...
Wow! Few have contemplated this frightening possibility!
The battle between President Donald Trump and the National Football League (NFL) regarding players being allowed to kneel during the pre-game playing of the National Anthem is headed into overtime. The brouhaha has dominated the news for weeks and it centers on some...
Seaports? Who would have predicted there could be this many large port projects?
Very large contracting opportunities are being announced weekly in regions with U.S. seaports. Literally billions of dollars will be spent in the near future on all types of public projects related to ports. The American Association of Port Authorities estimates...
Citizens will hopefully get involved in this issue
The president’s proposed $1 trillion national infrastructure plan has become something of an anomaly. Once a highly touted campaign promise, the long-awaited plan has been void of any specifics and last spring was reduced to a set of ambiguous “principles.” However,...
Rural America offers immediate contracting opportunities for firms interested in providing broadband service
With every aspect of life becoming increasingly digital, Internet access is crucial for individuals, law enforcement, healthcare providers, companies and communities. For rural America, Internet connectivity is literally imperative for a community’s survival. Economic...
Contracting opportunities in Texas, Florida may span a decade
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma made an indelible mark on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The back-to-back storms ravaged the Texas and Florida coasts in late August and early September and left behind a wide swath of damage and destruction that will take years to restore and...
Technology networks – another critical part of our infrastructure that cries out for immediate attention
The very recent Equifax data breach was another ominous “wake-up call.” Americans were reminded once again that our data technology networks are very vulnerable. More significant, though, is the fact that cyberattacks don’t just involve data breaches. Critical...
Spending on educational facilities breaking records throughout the U.S.
In 2016, about $88.9 billion was spent on educational facilities construction work in the United States. That’s the largest year-over-year dollar value increase since 2008. And with enrollments increasing in classrooms in Pre-K to post-secondary public schools and...
Want to know about upcoming opportunities before they are announced? Here’s how!
Local contractors throughout the U.S. like to be able to anticipate upcoming opportunities. Not all, however, know how to uncover that type of information. Our researchers analyze lots of public documents so identifying upcoming opportunities is common for them....
Water – a critical component of sustainability for municipalities
For several days after floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey inundated the city of Beaumont, the city’s 120,000 residents lost water service when several main water intake pumps fell victim to the flood. Beaumont and other cities in the path of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma,...
Horrific destruction will result in big changes, thousands of contracting opportunities available
In the wake of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, coastal cities will, without question, soon be reviewing flood prevention infrastructure planning. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other governmental agencies are too stretched at the moment to...
Citizens want access to Wi-Fi any time, any place 24×7
There’s a relentless need that most of us have to stay connected to our network of family, friends and business associates. We depend on smart phones to direct us to new locations and share photos with friends when we arrive. We study on the run during the day and...
Bill could create huge new online commercial marketplace for commercial retailers
A large, new, Amazon-esque marketplace could be about to open up for commercial retailers across the United States. And its singular customer is huge! A U.S. House-passed defense bill awaiting action by the Senate includes a non-heralded section that could have...
Storm costs nearing $200B; contracting opportunities surge
Estimates of what it will cost to address the destruction wreaked by Hurricane Harvey continue to climb. Companies of every size and type are burning up the phones attempting to get information. Some hope to provide immediate assistance while others are more...
Damage estimate for Harvey could reach $160 billion making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. A Guide for contractors wanting to help Texas
Estimates of what it will cost to address the destruction wreaked by Hurricane Harvey are projected to be somewhere in the range of $160 billion, with Texas accounting for most of that total. Hard to believe that it would be possible to have enough damage to equal the...
Public transportation needs drive large spending projections nationwide
Public transportation needs are great in the U.S. but the good news is that elected officials, taxpayers and the public at large obviously want to address the needs. Throughout the country, there is proof that citizens want to see public transportation needs addressed...
Contracting opportunities more abundant now at the local levels of government…a trend to watch!
At a time when there is scant funding for roads, bridges, water treatment plants, broadband expansion and airport expansions, there seems to be ample funding for urban renewal in most of the country’s major cities. The reason is understandable…infrastructure projects...
Ready to hop into a driverless vehicle? Opportunities to ride are abundant!
From Boston to Austin, autonomous vehicles are being tested on city streets. It’s so common that the driverless cars are no longer head-turners. Some estimates are that 10 million self-driving cars will be on the road by 2020. But, the introduction of new...
Alternative funding sources for government projects
Government leaders continually struggle for funding. Budgets are constrained and critical needs are great. That creates great stress. However, public officials have options. Lots of alternative funding sources are available for projects that result in certain positive...
Bridge construction projects – happening at ‘almost’ the speed of light!
Two city bridge superstructures demolished, moved and replaced in 16 hours? Impossible? No…it can happen and Utah’s Department of Transportation just proved it. This impossible-sounding accomplishment is a result of a program called Accelerated Bridge Construction...
Government leaders find creative ways to deal with budget reductions
Early one recent Saturday morning, half a dozen residents of Hamtramck, a city of 22,000 in Michigan, spent the morning patching potholes along a city street in an area of town where they live. The citizens worked with 900 pounds of cold patch asphalt, which they had...
Congressional leaders begin to address infrastructure with a plan of their own
Delays in the rollout of the Trump administration’s much-heralded $1 trillion infrastructure plan are proving costly for deteriorating U.S. roads, bridges, airports and transit systems. And the longer the delay, the more it will cost taxpayers. Tired of delays on a...
A few Texas cities make Best-Managed Cities list
While some cities manage to balance revenues with citizen services and expectations, others struggle with that because funding and resources are required for critical needs related to transportation, infrastructure, public safety and emergency services. Their revenues...
Watch for RFIs to get information about upcoming opportunities!
Most companies that sell to government love RFIs. These documents, known as Requests for Information (RFIs), alert contractors to upcoming opportunities and allow them time to consider whether to pursue the opportunity. RFIs related to technology are common and fairly...
Federal funding now available for water infrastructure projects
Created three years ago and finally funded this year, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program may soon announce the first round of funding for water infrastructure projects. The agency has $1.5 billion in...
Will transportation projects change the way we travel?
Will a majority of Americans give up automobiles and rely on public transportation in the not-too-distant future? Maybe not, but dependence on public transportation is definitely on the increase. Two things are happening as a result of this. Motorists are being...
Infrastructure back in spotlight; Trump appoints advisory council
The wheels on the Trump administration’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan appear to be moving. After months of delays, the president, through an executive order, announced the creation of a Presidential Advisory Council on Infrastructure. Neither the president nor...
Got public safety technology? If so, buyers are waiting!
This will surprise many. A recent report estimates that spending on law enforcement technology in the United States will likely reach $7.6 billion this year and that number will climb exponentially in the next few years. Law enforcement technology includes such things...
A growing market sector that bears watching
Here’s something that will shock most taxpayers. Projections are that cities will spend an estimated $150 billion in stormwater infrastructure projects over the next 20 years. That will create a very large marketplace but the action has already started. Spending is...
Is this the future?
It sounds a bit futuristic – transportation systems that direct people and resources based on artificial intelligence. Is that really a possibility? Actually, it’s happening now – in real time! When smart transportation technology first became part of the...
The world spins…and government rolls out mobile apps
Government rarely leads when it comes to technology innovation. That’s because the funding required is simply not available. However, governmental entities are finally moving into the next phase of IT modernization – mobile apps. In the most recent survey, 65 percent...
Congress may be smiling on rural America!
Government officials in rural America are more “anxious” than “eager” to hear details of the long-awaited $1 trillion Trump infrastructure plan. There’s no way to know how much, if any, will actually trickle down to small and rural areas. Spokespersons for the...
Who owns our infrastructure? Who will fix it?
Who owns the public infrastructure assets in the U.S.? If your answer was – the federal government - you would be wrong. There’s lots of talk about infrastructure today and both parties in Congress are advocating for the funding, incentives and support that will be...
Got climate related services or solutions? If so, state and local officials are looking for you!
The federal government may not like the Paris Climate Agreement, but state and local elected officials do. This past weekend, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti hosted a large number of mayors who reiterated their commitment to the partnership agreement. These officials...
Firms that develop apps have been waiting for this!
It’s true…Siri and Alexa copycats are coming soon to a governmental entity near every one of us. When it happens, it will be because public officials have found new ways to deliver citizen services. In putting creativity and innovation to the test with the objective...
Ransomware attacks are becoming more common
The media has focused primarily on cyberattacks related to election systems lately. Many individuals, public officials and company executives, however, have been just as worried about ransomware attacks. Ransomware attacks infect computer networks with a virus that...
Asset recycling – a concept that taxpayers need to understand!
While the $1 trillion Trump Infrastructure Plan was being touted last week by the president and transportation officials, those of us at the annual meeting for the Association for the Improvement of American Infrastructure (AIAI) in New York were giving considerable...