The CNA Corporation

The CNA Corporation, a non-profit federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, delivers independent research, strategic analysis, and technical advisory services to the Department of the Navy and broader federal government as a prime contractor across 133 customer agencies, with no subcontracting footprint and no SBA set-aside posture. CNA competes exclusively in full-and-open federal procurements, leveraging its FFRDC designation to support defense strategy, military operations analysis, force design assessment, and national security research across cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order vehicles and research grants.

Naval dominance defines CNA's customer concentration. The Office of Naval Research anchors the portfolio with 1,423 awards ($3 billion combined potential value), followed by the broader Department of the Navy (895 awards, $8.4 million), the Marine Corps (289 awards, $189.2 million), and the Chief of Naval Operations (273 awards, $120.9 million). Together, these Navy and Marine Corps entities represent the bulk of CNA's recent award activity. The second-tier customer base—Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration ($510.8 million, 24 awards), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response ($83 million, 29 awards), Federal Emergency Management Agency (disaster response and emergency management support), and Washington Headquarters Service—demonstrates expanding civilian agency footprint in justice research, emergency management, and interagency analytics.

CNA's contract vehicle position is Navy-specific. Four Navy IDIQ vehicles—Indefinite Delivery Contracts N0001416D5003 (716 task orders, $573.5 million), N0001411D0323 (678 task orders, $553.4 million), N0001422D7001 (506 task orders, $528 million), and N0001400D0700 (576 task orders, $3.9 million)—structure most of CNA's delivery order pipeline. The vendor also holds the OASIS+ Unrestricted Multiple Award Contract (multi-billion-dollar ceiling, awarded December 2024) through the General Services Administration, enabling task order work across federal agencies beyond Navy domain. The Navy vehicles carry cost-plus-fixed-fee pricing and no competition restrictions; CNA's position is stable and primary across these IDIQs.

Recent activity shows steady growth through FY2025, declining sharply in FY2026 and FY2027 as data collection lags. The source records 101 awards in FY2023, 136 in FY2024, and 146 in FY2025, with only 38 in FY2026 and 1 in FY2027 (reflecting data capture lag as of the snapshot date, mid-2026). Over 202 awards carrying combined potential value of $208.2 million face ultimate completion in the next twenty-four months, representing significant recompete exposure across Navy and Marine Corps studies programs.

Capability portfolio centers on wargaming, exercise design and analysis, military studies, and strategic assessments. Representative work includes a $6.77 million FY2025 Navy Scientific Analyst Program (delivery order, Office of Naval Research, cost-plus-fixed-fee); a $16.4 million FY2025 Navy Field Representative Program (1,400+ FTEs embedded across Navy commands); CNA Field Representatives to the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab ($6.056 million, three-year engagement through June 2028); and major studies on fleet warfighting assessment ($2.5 million, U.S. Fleet Forces Command), Arctic operations analysis ($850 million, naval tabletop exercise support), and vessel traffic assessment for Pacific Fleet. CNA also delivers tactical software-defined network technology assessments ($1.12 million), AI-enhanced predictive readiness modeling ($650 million), and critical infrastructure threat assessments ($750 million) for the Office of Naval Research. Beyond defense, CNA serves as a prime recipient on five National Institute of Justice grants examining prison activities and health outcomes ($898 million through 2029), transgender hate crime policing ($694 million through 2029), active bystandership training effectiveness ($1.001 million through 2028), procedural justice in correctional settings ($500+ million through 2029), and body-worn camera impact in prisons ($500+ million through 2027). CNA also partners with the Community Oriented Policing Program on police organizational assessment and university community policing toolkit development.

Service Contract Inventory data reveals modest but growing federal services footprint. SCI-reportable invoicing across prime contracts totaled $8.5 million in FY2022, $13.6 million in FY2023, and $16.7 million in FY2024, with corresponding FTE delivery of 20–57.9 across those years. Median government-paid rates sit at $130/hr, with senior roles (director-level) reaching $377/hr; GSA Schedule offerings span interviewer ($39.76/hr) through management consultant ($191/hr) and director ($377/hr), with education requirements from high school through bachelor's degree and no security-clearance positions listed. SCI sub-engagement averages 21% of contractor hours on prime contracts, with 76 named subcontractors, indicating selective use of teaming rather than self-delivery dominance.

CNA operates as a pure FFRDC prime contractor with no sub-award footprint in recent years—18 sub-award records exist across the full dataset (4,095 awards), yielding 0% of recent activity. The vendor subcontracts sparingly to ICF Incorporated (FEMA agile support), Dewberry Engineers (supply chain analysis for tropical cyclone response), HX5 LLC (MIT Lincoln Laboratory research), and The Urban Institute (grant co-leadership on correctional facility research). CNA's operating model is in-house capability delivery with occasional specialized partnerships rather than prime-heavy teaming dependency.

Federal grant work anchors justice research and emergency management. CNA acts as direct recipient on NIJ Research, Evaluation, and Development grants (CFDA 16.560) covering incarceration outcomes, LGBTQ policing, and active bystandership training; as cooperative agreement recipient on Community Oriented Policing Program (CFDA 16.710) initiatives on police organizational assessment and university campus safety; and as sub-recipient to The Urban Institute on correctional contraband cell phone mitigation. Award dates span January 2024 through January 2025, with performance periods extending to 2027–2029.

The recompete cliff presents material exposure. Two hundred two awards completing in the next twenty-four months carry $208.2 million in combined potential value, heavily concentrated in Navy and Marine Corps studies IDIQs. Recompetes will likely occur on Standing Navy IDIQ vehicles and on emerging civilian-agency work in emergency management and justice research.