Not everything in government contracting must cost a lot of money.  Although there are plenty of subscription services available to help government contractors predict their federal future, some of which have well-earned reputations, this can often result in companies overlooking free resources.  There are multiple websites and news sources that cover the “Who”, “What”, “When,” “Where”, and “Why” of the federal market.  All that’s required is a little bit of your time.  A few popular sites include federalnewsnetwork.com (also available on 1500 AM in the Washington, D.C. area), govexec.com, fedscoop.com, and nextgov.com.  Each of these sites covers what’s happening in the federal IT and service market and, in some cases, the entire federal spectrum.  The information available from these sites includes the federal leaders who are coming and going, the latest focus areas like cyber and customer experience, and the industry partners that they’re working with. There’s even a TV show, Federal Gov Today, in the Washington market.  All of this is valuable information for any company seeking to expand its federal business and the latest information is all right there with just a few clicks.  Working in the defense field?  Check out defensenews.com and defenseone.com.  Each of these focuses on what’s happening in various defense market segments.  Want to know what’s going on inside your customer’s head?  Sites like federaltimes.com, army.com and navy.com all do a great job of letting contractors know what’s on the minds of their customers.  This can be important information in crafting a relationship development strategy.  While surfing these free sites regularly may not make you the most popular cocktail party guest (we’ve tried), each of them can add to your knowledge of what’s happening in your market, allowing you to understand what that means to your business and how to fine tune your business strategy accordingly.