With all the unexpected challenges of 2020, many are jesting it may be best to approach the new year cautiously and not make grand pronouncements about plans for 2021. That’s not us. At NetImpact Strategies, we have adapted to new challenges and continued our growth despite a difficult year. We’re also not afraid to look forward to big moves in 2021.
Growth in 2020
This year saw significant wins with new and existing clients for NetImpact. A continued focus on our core value of providing reliable, responsive, and collaborative service resulted in winning several significant recompete contracts. These contracts allow us to continue providing enterprise performance lifecycle services, data management, and project management office support to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and National Cancer Institute (NCI), respectively. We also won our first contract with the Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and expanded our existing work with the Department of Defense’s Medical Community of Interest (MED-COI) to centralize all clinical systems under the Defense Health Agency (DHA).
In preparing to scale with our continued rapid growth, we started 2020 with early internal investments and strategic staffing. As rated by Washington Business Journal (WBJ), we are now the 9th largest women-owned business in Greater Washington, an exciting milestone for our formerly small business founded just 11 years ago!
Leaders in 2020
We celebrated the professional achievements of the fierce women of our leadership team: Kavita Kalatur’s Minority Business Leader Award and her Finalist downselect as GovCon’s Executive of the Year as well as Elizabeth Ahrens’ Women in Leadership in Federal IT and Consulting Impact Award. We welcomed new executives such as Chief Innovation Officer Chad Sheridan, former Information Solutions Service Delivery and Operations Branch Chief at USDA Farm Production and Conservation Mission Area’s (FPAC) Business Center, to bring us to the leading edge of IT and business solutions that support customers’ emerging mission needs, and Vice President of Proposals Victor Wither, former Vice President of Proposal Operations at Cognosante, to continue our growth with an expanded proposal team and capture efforts.
Recognition in 2020
Our strong performance and track record did not go without notice. NetImpact was recognized by the Washington Post, WBJ, Department of Labor, and Inc. Magazine, among others. These accolades include being a top place to work in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the U.S., and a recipient of a HIRE Vets Medallion Award. We were also inducted into FedHealthIT’s Hall of Fame, competed for GovCon’s Contractor of the Year as a Finalist, and received the Small and Emerging Contractor Advisory Forum’s (SECAF) Government Project of the Year Award for our work with FinCEN.
Challenges in 2020. As we all know, 2020 was a year marked with the COVID-19 global pandemic, political tension, and an increasing recognition of racial injustice. NetImpact did have its own share of challenges. We doubled and renovated our office space with an opening in March 2020…right before the pandemic took hold and forced a pivot to remote work. Because NetImpact is dedicated to being loyal and supporting our employees, we provided employees with masks and increased flexibility to deal with the demands of living and parenting through a global pandemic. We are closely monitoring federal and local guidance and look forward to safely welcoming our staff back into our new brand-new office space in 2021.
In a year focused on racial injustice, we also renewed our commitment to ensuring a diverse, inclusive workplace where all feel comfortable bringing their whole selves. With 49 percent of our employee population identifying as a minority, we are well above the tech industry’s national average of 34.3 percent. We believe that collaboration of our employees with varied backgrounds and experiences fosters new, innovative solutions to the complex problems we encounter daily.
Giving in 2020
Another of our core values is contributing to the community. This was especially important to us in 2020 as so many were affected by economic insecurity related to COVID-19. We immediately recognized the disproportionate impact on those already struggling and even before all lockdowns occurred, contributed over 25,000 meals to food insecure residents in the Washington, DC area by partnering with the Capital Area Food Bank. To raise the spirits of those fighting the virus in the frontlines, we prepared care packages and appreciation gifts for first responders and essential workers. In the spirit of the holiday season, we supported Wreaths Across America, fulfilled holiday wish lists of local children via Northern Virginia Family Service’s (NVFS) Giving Tree, and made donations of $15,200 each to three employee-voted charities, Mental Health America, Melwood, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Beyond financial support, NetImpact strives to facilitate meaningful volunteer opportunities for our staff. In 2020, we developed partnerships with NVFS and UPchieve for employees to provide virtual mentoring and tutoring. This past fall, five employees volunteered as mentors in an eight-week program through NVFS.
Grand Pronouncements in 2021
It wouldn’t be a new year without resolutions and plans for the future, and NetImpact is no exception. Here, we’re giving a sneak peek of what’s to come in 2021, from increasing investments and growth, to preparing to support clients with the latest in digital transformation services.
We’re looking forward to capitalizing on our internal investments in the Innovation Hub, which showcases our innovative capabilities in low-code/no-code solutions, robotic process automatic, and data analytics and plan on maximize our utilization of Microsoft Dynamics and other emerging technologies for our own modernization and as service offerings.
We even have an eye out for acquisition opportunities to expand our capabilities and services for our current and prospective clients.
Overall, we’re looking forward to continuing our rapid growth while staying true to our core values and helping the federal government embrace innovation and digital transformation amidst whatever challenges 2021 brings.
