Office of Military & Federal Affairs

The Maryland Department of Commerce’s Office of Military and Federal Affairs (OMFA) engages with federal agencies, military installations, and communities throughout Maryland through a variety of programs and initiatives. Maryland is home to more than a dozen military installations, over 60 federal agencies and twice as many federal labs than any other state in the nation. Given its robust presence throughout the state, the Office’s goal is to support this thriving industry, which encompasses every critical industry sector and generates millions of dollars in contracting opportunities for large and small businesses. 

Support for Maryland Military Installations & Surrounding Communities 

Military installations in Maryland contribute $61.4B in economic activity and support nearly 400k jobs. To further OMFA’s work at a defense community level, Commerce partners with and provides grant funding to seven local military-affiliated community alliances. Collaboration with communities surrounding installations fosters a greater championing for the state’s top economic driver.

• Get to know Maryland's Military Alliances 
  

Led by OMFA, ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The Maryland Military Installation Council is a public forum bringing together those from inside and outside the gate to identify the public infrastructure, potential impact on local communities, and support needed for military installation development and expansion. The Council reviews State policies to support military installations and maximize economic benefits to local communities​.

OMFA, in collaboration with the Department of Planning, initiated the Maryland Military and Community Compatible Use Project  to help civilian communities and military collaborate on compatible land use planning and coordination. Military-Civilian compatible use is important as military installations  are increasingly interconnected to their host communities via shared infrastructure, a commuting workforce, and oftentimes environmental issues that extend beyond the fenceline. The project provides a website full of resources and informative tools that state and local leaders, planners, military communities,and the general public can access for compatible use planning and coordination.

Support for Maryland Businesses

OMFA works to ensure that Maryland companies are supported in their efforts to grow their business through government contracts and other partnering vehicles, or on the other hand to assist in diversifying their business to limit defense dependence in order to strengthen their capabilities. 

The team compiles and promotes various Business-to-Government contracting resources, intended to help Maryland businesses better understand how to secure government contracts and work with the government. This content can be found online here, and in the monthly B2G email. 

Together with strategic partners, OMFA leads several projects to support Defense Business Growth in Maryland. These projects include support of DefTech, which promotes the commercial use of defense technologies developed in Maryland's Department of Defense labs; and online tools like the Maryland Defense Network. Information about all of these initiatives can be found within these Defense Business Growth Resources.

Showcase Maryland's Federal and Military Assets

OMFA works to showcase Maryland’s military and federal assets statewide and nationwide. Working closely with economic experts, the team conducts regular studies to evaluate the economic impact of Maryland’s military installations and associated defense ecosystem. The latest report showed the industry continues to grow and be a significant contributor to Maryland’s economy. Key results: 

• Economic output has grown from $55.5B in FY16 to $61.4B in FY21.
  
• In total, the defense ecosystem supported 389,949 jobs, $61.4B in economic activity, and $33B in employee compensation.
  
• Economic activity associated with the military in FY 21 was 13.8 percent of the value of Maryland's GDP and 8.6 percent of the total economic activity in Maryland.

The team has compiled directories with federal facilities and military installations to help demonstrate the concentration of impact of these institutions. A high-level introduction of the industry can be viewed here. 

Contact Us 

The OMFA team is comprised of professionals to help connect you to resources you need for success in the federal and military sector.