Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

Addressing the key points in your proposal to the government

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Responding to a request for proposals is time consuming and, yes, tedious at times.  However, your proposal is your opportunity to demonstrate to the government: 1) that you understand their need, and 2) that you can meet, and perhaps exceed, their expectations.  Consequently, it is not enough to tell them that your business can do the job.  You must provide concrete evidence that you have what it takes to meet their demands.

While reputation, prior experience, and good will may get you additional business in the private sector, this is not true in government contracting.  Even companies who have exceeded performance expectations for years must provide details commensurate with the RFP in order to maintain their position as the government contractor providing the service.  Finally, a key difference between private sector work and government contracting is that the government’s decision is almost always subject to scrutiny.  Consequently, even if your proposal satisfies the government and you win the bid, you still run the risk of losing the award due to a properly filed protest, if the reviewing body determines you shouldn’t have received such high scores.

Below we offer some tips, based on years of defending award winners, protesting awards to others, and hands-on experience in government contacting. In our work, we have seen certain detrimental mistakes repeated – time and time again. While proposals include some subjective criteria, by implementing these tips, you can increase your chance of achieving a higher score which, in turn, increases your chances of an award, and increases your likelihood of surviving a protest later.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.bidprotestweekly.com/5-must-know-tips-for-preparing-a-bid-addressing-the-key-points-in-your-proposal-to-the-government

Pentagon’s commercial cloud will be a single award — and industry isn’t happy

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The Defense Department plans to issue a single award for a commercial cloud computing contract that some analysts believe could be worth as much as $10 billion over the next 10 years.

Pentagon officials released a draft request for proposal last week that coincided with an industry day regarding the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud procurement, an effort that began in September.

Companies have until March 21 to submit feedback as they position themselves to compete on what is assuredly an aggressive acquisition timeline. Pentagon officials said they plan to post the final solicitation in May before awarding a single indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract in September.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2018/03/pentagons-commercial-cloud-will-be-single-awardand-industry-isnt-happy/146482/

State and local government survey shows increased opportunities, overworked staffs, and implications for vendors

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Government business intelligence company Onvia has released a new report addressing key changes and shifts taking place in public purchasing today.

The report — based on a survey of 668 procurement professionals and key decision makers from state, county and city agencies, including school and special districts nationwide — provides insights to businesses seeking contracts with these units of government.

In the report, agencies describe their current contracting environment as generally healthy and improving.  39% of the survey respondents expect growth in bid volumes in the next 12 months.  The report notes the “recent surge in demand for infrastructure bids stemming from the $200 billion in tax initiatives for these projects approved by voters nationwide in November.”

The increase in opportunities is contrasted with agency staff’s collective recognition that the formal bid/RFP process is “one of the most challenging aspects of their job, particularly in the areas of research, planning and specifications.”  State and local government procurement teams report that since last year there has been an increase in the share of procurement staff that are stretched or overworked.  Onvia notes that when purchasing staffs are overworked it has a negative impact on businesses who have to navigate through poorly worded bid language, adding preparation time for bidders.

Given the current purchasing environment, Onvia’s report contains a number of meaningful observations for businesses in pursuit of contracts with state, local, and educational (SLED) institutions.  Among the observations:

  • The most successful government contractors do not wait around for a bid or RFP to be issued but are actively building constructive, consultative relationships with government agencies. Without demanding loyalty or future business, these proactive companies will offer helpful advice to busy, overworked buyers about market or product trends, best practices and pricing guidelines that can help procurement staff during the critical pre-bid phase of research and planning.
  • Forward-thinking and proactive contractors should pay attention to these trends and consider how to be sensitive to buyer and user needs in their outreach, communications and project management. Where there is greater uncertainty, stress or confusion on the buying side, vendors that become known for working well with agency teams as valued partners can help differentiate themselves and earn more business even if they are not typically the lowest-priced option.

A free copy of the complete survey results and report can be downloaded at: https://www.onvia.com/market-research/surveys/survey-government-procurement-professionals-2017

 

How to approach best value RFPs and protest improper award decisions

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Government contractors responding to RFPs understand the need to read the fine print.

Mostly commonly, we discuss this topic in terms of pure proposal acceptability. Protest decisions from the Government Accountability Office GAO and Court of Federal Claims (COFC) make it abundantly clear that the burden falls on the contractor to follow directions and include all of the required information in all of the right places. It is for that reason (among others) that we always recommend having an outsider (be it a consultant, a lawyer, or even just another person from your company not involved in preparing the proposal) do a quality check before a proposal is submitted.

A more nuanced issue – but just as important – is understanding the RFP’s evaluation scheme. That is, not only what information must be submitted, but how that information will be weighed and measured by the Agency.

For example, in the past, we’ve looked at low-price technically acceptable (LPTA) RFPs. The basic idea on an LPTA procurement is that a contractor need only achieve a minimum passing score on its technical proposal – the Agency will not give bonus points for added bells and whistles. The much more important part of an LPTA proposal is price. Among those offerors found to be technically acceptable, the award goes to the offeror with the lowest submitted price. So, the focus on an LPTA proposal should be on getting lean (while maintaining technical acceptability) so that you can get as low as possible (or practical) on price.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/563830/Government+Contracts+Procurement+PPP/How+To+Approach+Best+Value+RFPs+And+Protest+Improper+Award+Decisions

Lesson learned the hard way: Insufficient experience information sinks offeror’s proposal

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GAO-GovernmentAccountabilityOffice-SealAn offeror’s failure to provide the type of past performance information mandated by a solicitation led to the offeror’s elimination from consideration for a  major GSA contract.

A recent GAO bid protest decision highlights the importance of fully reading and adhering to a solicitation’s requirements–including those involving the type of past performance or experience information required.

GAO’s decision in Dougherty & Associates, Inc., B-413155.9 (Sept. 1, 2016) involved the GSA “HCaTS” solicitation, which contemplated the award of multiple IDIQ contracts to provide Human Capital and Training Solutions across the federal government. The solicitation was divided into two Pools based on the offeror’s small business size status. The GSA established a target of 40 awards for each Pool.

The solicitation provided for award based on best-value, and included a requirement for past experience, which stated:

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/gaobidprotests/insufficient-experience-information-sinks-offerors-proposal/

Don’t play hide-and-seek with technical details in your proposals

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Contractors that want to improve their proposal drafting skills (and win more contract awards) should always keep an eye on the news and learn from others’ mistakes. Understanding an agency’s award rationale can provide a competitive advantage and keep you well-positioned to receive the next contract.

And, sometimes, simply following instructions and staying within the lines can make the difference between winning and losing.

GAO-GovernmentAccountabilityOffice-SealTake, for example, a recent GAO decision discussing the merits of an agency’s technical evaluation. The protest argued that the agency unreasonably overlooked technical details included in the “past performance” and “personal experience” sections of the contractor’s proposal.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=516702

Survey reveals trends in government spending

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Onvia Report 07.2016Business intelligence firm Onvia has released the results of its first annual survey of government procurement practitioners, polling more than 500 pros from city, count and state governments, as well as school districts across the US.

For each insight gained through the survey, the report actually separates what each lesson means for both buyers and suppliers.

For instance, 42% of respondents said that on average, their requests for proposal (RFPs) don’t receive enough bidders.

According to the report, a big reason for the lack of competition was “cumbersome” or difficult regulations that scare off potential bidders, and that the largest agencies face more trouble in this area.

Keep reading this article at: http://publicspendforum.net/onvia-survey/

Visit Onvia’s site to download the report for free.

A future where price is no longer a factor for many RFPs

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The General Services Administration first brought up the concept of having an “unpriced” schedule a year or so ago.

GSA logoThe idea is to evaluate vendors for their capabilities, past performance and overall skillsets, and not on their prices. And then let the price competition happen at the task order level.

This concept would be a huge change in the federal market where price has always been a factor in the evaluations of bids.

But the recent success of governmentwide multiple award contracts such as OASIS, and the acceptance of a similar approach for the recent $11.5 billion Human Capital and Training Solutions (HCaTS) procurement and the soon-to-be released solicitation for Alliant 2, there is a growing recognition that this may be the future of federal contracting for multiple award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity vehicles.

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2016/06/future-price-no-longer-factor-many-rfps/

Here is Air Force’s $49.5 million plan to outsource cyberweapon and counterhack software

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Air Force SealThe Air Force is finalizing a $49.5 million plan to hire private sector coders who, by developing software, can sabotage adversary computer systems and thwart incoming hack attacks.

An official contract for the “Offensive Cyberspace Operations Defensive Cyberspace Operations Real-Time Operations and Innovation Cyber Development Custom Software Engineering Services” program is slated for publication Jan. 29, 2016.

SHELTER, the nickname for the mouthful of a project title, is a 5.5-year deal that would add to the Defense Department’s growing arsenal of cyberweapons.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2015/12/here-air-forces-495m-plan-outsource-cyberweapon-counterhack-software/124066

See draft RFP Documents for Offensive Cyber Operations (OCO)/Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO) and Real Time Operations and Innovation (RTO&I) Shelter Project at: https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=b76b22fac14eef97d94e90ee8cd4d982&_cview=0.  Interested Contractors may submit questions concerning the draft RFP no later than 3:00 pm CST on 18 December 2015.

GAO: Protest filed within 10 days of debrief still untimely

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The Government Accountability Office’s recent decision in Protect the Force Inc.—Reconsideration demonstrates the importance of understanding GAO’s prior case law and carefully following the rules set out in its bid protest regulations.

GAO-GovernmentAccountabilityOffice-SealIn the September 30, 2015 decision, GAO denied a request for reconsideration by Protect the Force, Inc. (PTF) finding that, though PTF filed within 10 days of a required debrief, its protest was untimely because PTF did not file within 10 days of an alleged solicitation impropriety on which its protest was based.

On July 27, 2015, after the submission of final proposal revisions, the U.S. Army notified offerors it was amending the maximum dollar amount for a line item in the request for proposal (RFP). The Army declined, however, to provide offerors with an opportunity to submit revised proposals in response to this amendment. Two days later, the agency notified PTF that it was eliminated from the competition. PTF timely requested a debriefing, which the agency provided on August 5, 2015. Five days after the debriefing, PTF filed a bid protest at the GAO challenging the agency’s amendment to the RFP. To recap the timeline of PTF’s protest: PTF filed 14 days after the agency amended the RFP, 12 days after PTF was eliminated, and 5 days after it was provided with a required debriefing.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=440708

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