The Council Oak, LLC

The Council Oak, LLC, a woman-owned small business based in Falls Church, Virginia, provides facilitation, professional planning, risk communication, and strategic analysis services to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a prime contractor (75% of recent awards) and as a subcontractor to environmental consulting and engineering firms on interagency coordination and public engagement work. The firm operates primarily as a prime on a $48.3 million multiple-award indefinite-delivery contract with the Corps' Institute for Water Resources running through March 2027, with delivery orders issued under a Partial Small Business set-aside.

The Council Oak's customer concentration is heavily weighted to Army Corps of Engineers components. The top five customers by award count account for 85% of recent awards, led by the Institute for Water Resources (12 awards, $100.9 million combined potential value) and the Corps of Engineers proper (14 awards, $6.3 million), followed by three additional regional engineering centers and districts with smaller individual order values. The rankings diverge markedly: IWR dominates the dollar value across a smaller award count, while regional engineering districts generate higher volume at lower ceiling values. The firm's primary vehicle is the Water Resources Analytical and Professional Support Services IDIQ, under which The Council Oak has executed 11 task orders valued at $6.6 million. Secondary vehicles include the USACE Water Resources Professional Consulting Services contract (10 task orders, $4.7 million) and several smaller indefinite-delivery contracts with regional engineering districts.

The Council Oak's capability portfolio centers on facilitation, meeting planning, risk communication materials development, and strategic advisory work for the Corps' civil works mission. Representative prime work includes a $972,117 delivery order for planning and communication services supporting the National Levee Safety Program (exercising optional tasks 5–7), a $1.78 million delivery order for facilitation support under the National Flood Risk Management Program, and a $1.27 million order for analytical and professional support services to the USACE Planning Community of Practice. The firm has supported the National Levee Safety Program, National Flood Risk Management Program, U.S. Coastal Research Program, and Planning Community of Practice initiatives since its initial award in 2009. In its subcontractor role, The Council Oak delivers environmental collaboration and conflict resolution services, public involvement planning and facilitation, and meeting support work to Eastern Research Group Inc., WSP USA Environment & Infrastructure Inc., ABT Global LLC, and AECOM Technical Services Inc., primarily on EPA and Department of the Interior programs involving stakeholder engagement, interagency coordination, and training development.

Activity has remained relatively flat year over year (ranging from three to six awards annually from 2022 through 2025), with five awards (combined potential value $6.3 million) reaching ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months and facing recompete exposure. Service Contract Inventory data captures minimal sub-engagement: one SCI record in FY2024 showing 0.2 FTEs delivered as a named subcontractor, reflecting the firm's predominant posture as a prime contractor with selective subcontractor exposure to larger consulting firms rather than as an active feeder of labor to other primes. Combined potential value across all awards stands at $111.3 million, though only $16 million (14%) has been obligated to date, indicating The Council Oak's reliance on the large IWR IDIQ ceiling to anchor its overall contract portfolio while executing smaller incremental delivery orders against it.

Specializes in assisting government agencies make scientifically-informed decisions, communicate program requirements and benefits, meaningfully engage stakeholders, and design programs and governance to efficiently and effectively administer programs.