Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights

The Department of Agriculture Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights is a civilian sub-agency within USDA that procures consulting, mediation, and legal services to support civil-rights compliance, discrimination investigations, and workplace-equity initiatives across the department. The office has awarded 771 federal contracts totaling $107.2 million in combined potential value since 2005, with $80.2 million obligated to date. Contract volume has slowed significantly in recent years—33 awards in both 2022 and 2023, declining to 24 in 2024, 5 in 2025, and 12 year-to-date in 2026—reflecting either reduced procurement activity or a shift in how the office structures its buys.

The contracting landscape is highly fragmented. The top five primes by award count—Business Decisions Information Inc., Crossroads Mediation Services Inc., Martin-Miser Associates Inc., The Ravens Group Inc., and The Law Offices Of Stuart L. Plotnick LLC—hold only 28 percent of awards over the last five years. By potential value, concentration is even more dispersed; the top five by-value vendors hold just 6 percent of recent combined potential value, with Tyler Federal LLC leading at $2.2 million across two awards. This fragmentation reflects the nature of civil-rights work: the office sources discrete consulting engagements, mediation support, investigative services, and outside counsel on a project-by-project basis rather than sustaining large prime relationships. Among 147 distinct primes in the all-time portfolio, no single vendor has established dominance.

The set-aside mix is heavily skewed toward unrestricted open competition. Ninety-two percent of awards carry no set-aside designation, while small-business set-asides (total small business, 8(a), HUBZone, and women-owned small business) account for approximately 7 percent. This distribution suggests the office prioritizes subject-matter expertise—civil-rights specialists, mediators, and employment counsel—over small-business preferences or disadvantaged-vendor support.

The most recently recorded award closed on 30 September 2026, indicating active contracting within the past three weeks. However, the sharp drop in awards per year from 2023 through 2025, followed by a modest uptick in 2026 year-to-date, warrants attention. The decline may signal reduced demand, delayed solicitations, or a shift to longer-term IDIQs or BPAs that reduce raw award count while maintaining spending levels. No recent contract opportunities are listed in the source, and no grant activity is recorded against this office.