National Security Agency

The Department of Defense National Security Agency is a defense agency within the Department of Defense that procures contracts and awards grants in support of national security missions and intelligence operations. NSA transacts across both contract and grant channels, though the portfolio composition and recent activity tempo differ markedly between the two.

NSA's contract portfolio spans 570 awards with a combined potential value of $149.6 million, of which $148.5 million (99%) has been obligated. Contract activity has declined sharply in recent years: 8 awards in 2020, 44 in 2021, 32 in 2022, 3 in 2023, and 1 award closed as of 2024. Among recent awards, about 5% carry no reported potential value, characteristic of Schedule task orders, BPA calls, modifications, or below-threshold purchase orders. Across the 245 distinct prime contractors in the portfolio, competitive concentration is highly fragmented by potential value; the top five by-value awardees account for only 12% of combined potential value. Dell Marketing L.P. leads by reported value at $8.4 million on a single award, followed by Herrick Technology Laboratories Inc. at $3.6 million across three awards and Idirect Government, LLC at $3.1 million. By award count, Franconia Real Estate Services, Inc. leads with 10 recent awards, followed by Reliance Relocation Services, Inc. with 9, though these awardees account for minimal reported value ($593 thousand and $265 thousand combined respectively). Ninety-six percent of awards carry no set-aside designation; 2% are total small business awards and 2% are 8(a) sole source, with token representation of service-disabled veteran-owned small business.

NSA's grant portfolio comprises 1,445 awards with $252.1 million in federal dollars obligated (and $269.3 million total obligated including non-federal share). Grant activity has been sparse and episodic over the observation window, with 2 awards in 2016, 6 in 2018, 13 in 2019, 3 in 2020, and 1 in 2022; no grants have closed since 2022. Among 346 distinct recipients, The Johns Hopkins University is the sole recent awardee (1 award, $421 thousand federal share) over the last five years, though this represents minimal portfolio weight. Historically, Project Grants dominate the assistance-type mix at 82% of all awards, with Block Grants accounting for 17% and Cooperative Agreements for 1%.

Recent contract activity has slowed substantially; no contract solicitations are listed as currently open. Grant making has been inactive for over four years.

The National Security Agency and Central Security Service are the "codemaker and codebreakers" of the intelligence community, providing foreign signal and communications intelligence to decision makers.