A New Wave in Government Contracting: OASIS

Back in March we talked about the new contracting vehicle being proposed called One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS).  The RFP for OASIS has just been released as of July 31, 2013.  This represents the first government-wide hybrid contract for commercial & non-commercial services.  The estimated market available for OASIS across all agencies is about $80 Billion.  There are two RFP's: one exclusively for Small Business and the other for open competition.  Companies can start working on proposals for this new unique contracting vehicle.  The deadline for questions is August 20, 2013 and the due date for proposals is September 17, 2013.

 This contract vehicle is really a unique and new way to do business with the Federal Government.  There are a number of things that people should understand about this new vehicle.  First, it is not a "Lowest Price, Technically Acceptable" type of contract.  The Government will evaluate proposals on the "Highest Technically Rated, Fair and Reasonable Price" basis.  In other words, the government is looking for the "cream of the crop".  They are looking for the best suppliers of services.   This is borne out in their evaluation system.  The government will evaluate proposals on a point system with a maximum score of 10,000 points.  Points are awarded only on certain sections of the proposal (Sections 3, 4 & 5 of the proposal) which cover Experience, Past Performance and Systems, Certifications and Clearances.  The other sections (General, Responsibility and Pricing) are evaluated on a "pass/fail" basis only.  For instance, under the General section the offeror must have an accounting system that is compliant with FAR requirements or a recommendation that a follow on audit by the DCAA after the contract award.  This recommendation is usually based on a third party using the SF-1408 checklist that the DCAA uses.   This requirement is not negotiable.  If the offeror answers that they do not currently have an acceptable accounting system, they will be removed from consideration.  If the offeror fails the DCAA audit, they will be ineligible for an OASIS SB MA-IDIQ contract award.  This would be a perfect opportunity for the offeror to talk to ReliAscent to get this system up to speed. 

The contract is divided into 7 different groups based on different size standards and NAICS codes and are called Pools.  The top 40 offerors in each of Pools 1,2,3,4 and 6 will be selected and the Top 20 companies in each of Pools 5.A and 5.B will be selected for a total of 240 awards.  Each of these companies selected must also pass the Acceptability Review of requirements and all the "Pass/Fail" criteria such as an approved accounting system.

In order to select the Top 40 and the Top 20 in each Pool, the government will evaluate all offers and then sort the offers from highest score to lowest.  The scoring system is outlined in the solicitation and it does get somewhat complex.  Especially when you consider that you may only supply 5 projects in the experience field and each project has a maximum point total.  If you are not careful, the point total might exceed the maximum allowed in that section.  It makes sense to evaluate this "game" to maximize your point potential.  

Once selected as an OASIS SB MA-IDIQ contract awardee, then the awardee must compete and win task orders under the contract.  So winning the contract is the first hurdle, then the real marketing and sales efforts start.  This is definitely a "new game" in town and there is now a time ticking for proposals.  ReliAscent can help you with managing your proposal effort, certifying your accounting system and figuring out how to maximize your point total.  It is also worth noting that you will be required to maintain your accounting system throughout the order (anywhere from 5 to 15 years) and ReliAscent can help with that too.  Call me today if you need some help with this.  If you are a service provider to the Federal Government, this is a critical proposal for you.

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