How Do Government Agencies Hire PR Firms?

Government agencies hire PR firms to build public trust, prepare for crises and run campaigns that in-house teams cannot staff alone. The work covers federal, state and municipal communications, from public information officers to outside firms on specialty mandates. EPR's analysis puts federal PR spending at roughly $4.5 billion a year, about $2.5 billion of it in outside contracts. This page maps the contracts, RFPs, firms and cases that shape the field.

By EPR Research. Originally published April 29, 2015. Updated October 20, 2026.

Summary: what should you know about government PR?

Government communications is a category, not a byline, and it runs on three things: public trust, procurement rules and public disclosure.

• Federal agencies, states and municipalities all buy PR, public affairs, crisis and digital work.
• New agency work usually starts with a Request for Proposals (RFP).
• Government staff are often titled communications specialists or public affairs officers, because some agencies limit the use of the term PR.

What does government communications cover?

Government communications covers the public relations, public affairs, crisis communications and digital work that federal, state and local governments run or buy. It includes the permanent in-house teams and the outside firms hired for specialty mandates. Towns and cities have been adding communications staff to keep an open line with their constituents, and the work now looks more like permanent infrastructure than one-off contracts.

How much does the federal government spend on PR?

EPR's flagship feature estimates that the U.S. federal government spends roughly $4.5 billion a year on PR, about $2 billion in salaries and $2.5 billion in outside contracts, and employs more than 3,000 press officers and public affairs specialists. The full breakdown, including the contractors and the 2013 State Department episode that exposed the spending, is in Uncle Sam Is the World's #2 PR Firm.

Why do government agencies hire PR firms?

Government agencies hire PR firms because public trust is the asset that lets an agency operate, and a good firm adds knowledge, experience and contacts that an in-house team rarely has enough of. Good news that reaches the public builds a connection between the agency and the community, and that connection speeds recovery when something goes wrong. People are less likely to resent the cost of a PR specialist if they already know the value of the work.

Function	What the firm does	Typical output
Anticipating outcomes	Develops messages, monitors media and trains public information officers	Message guides, media training, monitoring reports
Counseling management	Handles day-to-day relationships with reporters, community groups and elected officials, and keeps a crisis plan ready	Stakeholder maps, crisis playbooks
Research	Runs polling, message testing and stakeholder mapping to inform policy positioning	Survey results, message tests
Execution	Writes press releases and speeches, plans events and runs digital campaigns	Releases, speeches, events, campaigns

Crisis readiness is a core part of the offer. See EPR's crisis communications coverage for how agencies and firms prepare.

Where does government communications work come from?

Government communications work mostly comes from RFPs and master service agreements, which is why the RFP cycle is where new agency business starts. The deadline, the incumbent firm, the evaluation criteria and the likely bidders all matter. EPR's guide to how cities and government agencies award PR and marketing RFPs walks through the process, and the EPR RFP page collects current requests. To compare firms, use the PR firms directory.

How does government communications differ from lobbying?

Government communications informs the public on behalf of an agency, while lobbying tries to influence what lawmakers and agencies decide. Lobbying is filed under the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act, and work for foreign governments is filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Public affairs sits between the two and overlaps both. For the lobbying side, see EPR's lobbying firms directory, the K Street power structure, the FARA guide and the Public Affairs and Political Communications pillar.

Which government communications cases are worth studying?

Crisis cases show what happens when public trust is tested, and campaign cases show what works when strategy beats noise. EPR covers the Flint water crisis in its PR scandal analysis, and public affairs campaigns that worked in 25 U.S. public affairs campaigns that proved strategy still beats noise.

Related EPR coverage

• Uncle Sam Is the World's #2 PR Firm
• Public Affairs and Political Communications pillar
• Lobbying firms directory
• Crisis communications
• PR firms directory