University Of Wisconsin System

University Of Wisconsin System's Accounts Payable Department, operating as a child entity of the University Of Wisconsin System parent, functions as a federal grant recipient and minor contract performer in environmental science, aquatic research, and higher-education support services. The organization competes predominantly in full-and-open federal funding vehicles without set-aside designations, reflecting its status as a U.S. state government educational institution headquartered in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

The Accounts Payable Department's capability footprint centers on aquatic biomonitoring, fisheries ecology research, water quality testing, and educational student-support programming. Recent prime contract work includes a $11,731.34 firm fixed-price purchase order from the U.S. Geological Survey's Office of Acquisitions and Grants for aquatic biomonitoring laboratory services at the Stevens Point facility (awarded September 2023, completion September 2025, exercise of option year one), and a $13,685 Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service purchase order for walleye genetics research in Green Bay, Wisconsin (awarded August 2023). The Department also performed macroinvertebrate sampling services under U.S. Geological Survey Midwest Region BPA calls valued at $6,155.92 and $8,962.92, and benthic invertebrate identification work for the USGS Office of Acquisitions and Grants.

The grant portfolio dwarfs contract activity in both volume and dollar value. The Department holds 141 prime grants across 34 customer agencies, anchored by the Department of the Interior (Fish and Wildlife Service Region 3 and USGS Office of Acquisitions and Grants) and the Department of Education. Representative recent prime grants include a $393,413 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Project Grant (CFDA 93.855) for engineered bacterial probiotic development targeting fungal pathogens (September 2026 through August 2029); a $272,364 Department of Education TRIO Student Support Services grant (CFDA 84.042) for low-income college student retention and graduation support (September 2025 through September 2026); a $474,980.22 Fish and Wildlife Service project grant for walleye recruitment and dispersal research in Green Bay using acoustic telemetry (January 2025 through December 2028); and a $399,928.90 Fish and Wildlife Service cooperative agreement for secretive marsh bird occupancy monitoring across the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge (August 2024 through May 2027). The Department also received a $349,072 USDA Forest Service project grant for Wisconsin Forestry Center careers outreach and online resource development (August 2025 through December 2029), a $160,420 Institute of Museum and Library Services grant for museum exhibit improvements (September 2024 through August 2026), and multiple NSF awards including a $379,908 chemistry research grant for organic light-emitting diode and molecular sensing device development (October 2023 through September 2026).

Customer concentration by award count skews toward Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (33 awards), Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 3 (26 awards), and USGS Office of Acquisitions and Grants (24 awards), which together represent 57% of all awards. By potential dollar value, the top five customers account for 88% of combined potential value, led by USGS Office of Acquisitions and Grants ($2.1 million), Fish and Wildlife Service Region 3 ($126 thousand), and National Park Service Midwest Region ($70 thousand). The USDA Food and Nutrition Service's large award count reflects recurring sub-award flows from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) pass-throughs rather than direct federal funding.

The Department subcontracts under two named blanket purchase agreements: the USGS BPA 140P6018A0004 (6 task orders, $35 thousand combined potential value) and BPA ING17PA00015 (1 task order, $47 thousand). Sub-award footprint includes 41 grants (23% of all awards), with primary sub-recipients being the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (NSLP and CACFP award flows), Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (Treaty Fishery Coordinator support and fish community production research), Iowa State University of Science and Technology (walleye cold-banking viability research, Asian carp muscle protein hydrolysate development for larval fish feeds), University of Maryland Baltimore County (Atlantic salmon broodstock quality research), and Southwest Wisconsin Technical College (Wisconsin K-12 Energy Education Program recruitment and outreach).

Award activity accelerated from 12 awards in 2022 to a peak of 28 in 2025, with 5 awards registered through September 2026. The combined obligated-dollars figure ($79.5 million) substantially exceeds combined potential value ($2.7 million), indicating heavy drawdown of multi-year grant periods. Four awards face completion within the next twenty-four months, creating modest recompete exposure. The top NAICS categories are Testing Laboratories and Services (21 awards), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6 awards), and specialized design services, reflecting the Department's research-laboratory and educational-programming identity.