The Government and Business Exchange (GABE) Pilot Program is a Department of Commerce (DOC), Enterprise Services-Acquisition industry engagement forum for exchanging information between Government and industry relative to existing and emerging mission requirements.  The purpose of the pilot program is for the agency to evaluate the effectiveness of structured dialogue between Government and industry in promoting increased Government understanding of industry capabilities and industry understanding of Government requirements.  The topical focus area of exchanges during the pilot will generally be limited to cybersecurity and related IT initiatives.

Successful acquisition outcomes depend on a clear understanding of industry dynamics and capabilities on the part of the Government, and a clear understanding of Government mission and objectives on the part of industry.  The GABE pilot program provides a forum for the exchange of information to enhance both Government understanding of industry, and industry understanding of Government.

To request participation in a GABE session industry representatives should submit their request by completing the form below.  Any read ahead materials the representative would like to provide for the session must be provided by uploading the materials using the “Choose File” function, subject to file size limitations.  For any materials uploaded, the responsibility for appropriately marking the materials as business sensitive, proprietary, or otherwise protected is exclusively the submitter’s. During the session, company representatives may provide demos, go over product/service information and discuss any other information they believe of value to the DOC. If business sensitive/proprietary information is discussed, company representatives must clearly identify it as such so the DOC audience can clearly distinguish it from all other information exchanged.

After request submittal, sessions will be scheduled at DOC discretion on a first request, topical priority basis where the order of request submittal coupled with the mission priority of the topic will influence the sequence of session scheduling.  DOC will make every effort to schedule a session with all requestors but cannot guarantee a session for every requestor given the potential volume of requests and the limited relevance of potential topic areas.  After a session is scheduled, the requestor will receive a calendar invite the representative may forward to other planned participants from their same company/organization.  DOC may utilize teleconference lines, Microsoft Teams, Skype, or other IT applications as the medium for the session.  In limited cases, pending the development of restrictions related to COVID safeguarding measures, in-person sessions may be scheduled.  Compliance with government-wide policy relative to COVID safety protocols is required for all contractor personnel attending any in-person session.  For more information relative to COVID safety protocols please visit For Federal Contractors | Safer Federal Workforce.  

To facilitate mission-focused communication and to accommodate exchanges with a broad range of representatives within the Government’s schedule constraints, the sessions will generally be scheduled for only 30 minutes.  To promote diversity in the exchange of information, a single vendor and any of its individual representatives may not generally meet with DOC under this program more frequently than every 6 months.  Currently, DOC plans to set aside 4 hours per month to accommodate the meeting requests from Industry.  If a backlog of requests is experienced, DOC may consider scheduling additional time.  

NOTE:  In order to preserve procurement integrity and to maintain the pre-established and authorized communication channels for active acquisitions DOC will not use GABE sessions to answer any questions about acquisitions for which a draft or final solicitation has been publicized.  Additionally, DOC may refrain from fielding questions on any other acquisition matter in GABE sessions in the interest of only providing such information in a public forum.

Thank you for participating in the questionnaire.

OMB Control No. 0690-0030
Expiration Date: 07/31/2023

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