The Decisions Still Get Made.
The Players and Layers Methodology (PALM)® is the decision framework Summit Insight uses to help government contractors identify who holds authority now — and how to engage across mission, program, and contracting layers before requirements lock.
Decision Architecture Behind Every Federal Award
Federal business growth can break down when vendors engage the wrong people, in the wrong way, at the wrong time — or when engagement is uneven across the decision environment.
Responsibility for federal acquisition — particularly as dollar value increases — is distributed across distinct roles.
Mission requirements, small business positioning, acquisition strategy, and solution integration originate in different parts of the organization.
PALM® provides a structured way to identify who matters in a specific pursuit — and how and when engagement shapes outcomes.
The Five Layers That Influence Every Federal Award
Stakeholder
The senior leader accountable for mission outcomes and strategic direction.
Small Business Specialist
The advisor who influences access pathways, set-aside strategy, and acquisition posture.
End User
The operational voice defining requirements, constraints, and performance expectations.
Contracting
The authority that governs process, vehicle selection, and compliance.
Industry / Prime
The integrators, incumbents, and teaming partners shaping solution architecture and positioning.
Where Pursuits Quietly Lose Ground
Strong relationships in one office do not guarantee alignment across the buying structure.
A program sponsor might be on board.
Contracting could adjust the acquisition strategy.
The small business shop might narrow access.
A prime may shift integration expectations.
Which is why successful vendors need relationships across the board.
Firms with durable relationships across the buying structure receive early signals when customer plans begin to shift — and can adjust their engagement before decisions harden.
Firms without strategic breadth of engagement often discover critical changes after the vehicle is set, the acquisition pathway defined, or the team assembled — and they are no longer able to compete effectively.
PALM® provides a disciplined way to build and maintain the full mix of relationships required to stay viable as decisions evolve.
How PALM® Is Applied
PALM® is not a contact list.
It is a disciplined approach to mapping and maintaining engagement across the five layers of players.
Applied well, it requires:
- Identifying who holds authority within each role for a specific pursuit
- Understanding how influence shifts as acquisition strategy evolves
- Sequencing engagement so that trust builds before structure hardens
- Maintaining visibility across layers as roles and priorities change
The objective is not volume.
It is durable access and sustained influence.
Who This Resonates With
This framework tends to resonate with firms that:
- Are protecting or preparing for significant recompetes
- Are reducing reliance on a single contract or vehicle
- Are increasing enterprise value by building a broader and more durable federal revenue base
- Are entering unfamiliar agencies or buying structures
- Sense that long-standing relationship maps are shifting
It is less relevant for firms seeking volume bidding strategies or transactional outreach.
If you are navigating structural complexity rather than chasing activity, this conversation may be useful.
A Strategic Conversation
If this reflects the environment you are navigating, a focused conversation can clarify where engagement is concentrated — and where influence may need reinforcement.
I offer a limited number of 30-minute conversations each month for firms operating within complex Federal buying structures.
If that would be useful, you’re welcome to request one.