Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

Can a small business take over DISA’s $1 billion perimeter security contract?

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The Defense Information Systems Agency’s perimeter cybersecurity has been managed by a large contractor for almost 10 years and now the agency wants to know if a small or underutilized business can take over.

The agency released two requests for information June 20 for its Gateway Security Engineering program: one looking for responses from small businesses, including 8(a), service-disabled veteran-owned and women-owned; and another soliciting information from vendors in historically underutilized business zones, or HUBZones.

The Gateway Security program manages security at the intersection of the Defense Department’s non-classified network, known as NIPRNet, and the public internet. “It provides support by developing, testing, implementing, and maintaining secure interoperable solutions at the Gateways,” according to the RFIs.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2018/06/can-small-business-take-over-disas-1b-perimeter-security-contract/149152/

Vendors can still weigh in on GAO’s 5-year tech contract

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The Government Accountability Office is looking for an industry partner to help shepherd its technology improvements over the next five years, and prospective vendors now have a little more time to shape that acquisition.

GAO issued a request for information in December, with an original response date of Jan. 24. That due date has been extended to 2 p.m. on Feb. 2. As this is only an RFI and not an official solicitation, vendors don’t need to participate in order to be considered for the final award. However, the acquisition is still in the formative stages, and information provided through the RFI will affect the scope and form of the final solicitation.

The RFI and other market research being conducted now will inform the eventual strategy for upgrading all of GAO’s IT systems, with a focus on moving to the cloud—where appropriate—and advancing the office’s mobile capabilities.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2018/01/vendors-can-still-weigh-gaos-5-year-tech-contract/145408/

GAO: Agency’s oral advice didn’t amend solicitation

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An agency’s oral advice, given at a pre-proposal conference, did not amend the solicitation or legally bind the agency.

In a recent bid protest decision, the GAO reiterated that offerors rely on oral advice from agencies at their own risk–particularly when the oral advice in question appears to contradict the plain language of the solicitation.

GAO’s decision in Technology and Telecommunications Consultants, Inc., B-415029 (Oct. 16, 2017) involved an Air Force solicitation seeking IT services in support of the Air Command Personnel Recovery Division.  The solicitation was issued as a competitive 8(a) set-aside under the GSA’s 8(a) STARS II GWAC.

The solicitation provided a list of tasks that the awardee wold be expected to perform.  Under one of these tasks, the solicitation stated that the awardee would be expected to provide support to the Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Florida.  However, the solicitation did not state that offerors were required to propose an employee specifically dedicated to AFSOC support.

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/gaobidprotests/gao-agencys-oral-advice-didnt-amend-solicitation/

DoD seeking input from industry on defense contracting regulations

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The Department of Defense (DoD) is seeking input from “entities significantly affected by federal regulations” on the contents of the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS).

The DFARS are DoD’s rule for implementing and supplementing the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) in the Defense acquisition.

Small businesses are especially being encouraged to submit comments and opinions about the current DFARS, especially Part 252 solicitation provisions and contract clauses.

See the Federal Register notice about this matter here:  Federal Register notice DARS RRTF 2017-01

Comments are due not later than August 21, 2017.  Consult the link above for details.

 

 

Technology company lambastes Army over $206 million contract bidding

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Army - CopyPalantir Technologies, Inc. has sent a letter to the U.S. Army saying it intends to sue over the way the Army solicits bids for its data intelligence technology used on battlefields worldwide.

Palantir claims the Army’s solicitation is “unlawful, irrational, arbitrary and capricious,” according to the letter of intent Palantir sent to the U.S. Army and the Department of Justice, which was obtained by Bloomberg.  The letter is a legal courtesy, which states Palantir will file a formal protest in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims next week and requests the Army delay awarding the first phase of the contract until litigation is resolved. The contract is slated to be awarded by the end of 2016.

Palantir declined to comment on the case, and the Army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Co-founded in 2004 by Peter Thiel, Palantir makes software that finds patterns in complex data to aid in decision making. The tools have been used to help detect human sex traffickers, analyze the cholera outbreak in Haiti and convict white collar criminals.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.stripes.com/news/us/palantir-lambastes-army-over-206-million-contract-bidding-1.415593

GSA issues RFP for new leasing support services contract

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The General Services Administration (GSA) has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the third generation of its broker and leasing support services contract — formerly the National Broker Contract Program (NBC program), now GSA Leasing Support Services (GLS).  The new contract provides broker and leasing support services (i.e., market surveys, site visits, document preparation, negotiation) for GSA’s contracting officers, and is expected to generate approximately $100 million in rent credits to tenant agencies and significantly reduce lease cycle times by eliminating workload redundancy.

In November, GSA issued a draft solicitation for Leasing Support Services, which resulted in nearly 300 comments and questions from stakeholders. As a result of these comments, GSA revised the following components of the contract.

  • Strategic Planning Services: Revised strategic planning services language to give contractors more flexibility in reporting information about changes in market conditions, renegotiation opportunities, or changes in ownership rights within the shared portfolio.
  • Commission Agreements: Revised commission agreement language to make it more in line with normal broker industry practices.
  • Small Business: Added an additional evaluation factor so contractors who qualify as small businesses have more opportunities to compete.
  • Training: Clarified training language to specify who is required to take training, what type of training is required, and how the training will be offered.

“The stakeholder feedback we received on the draft solicitation was used to make GLS an even better contract for both the government and contractors,” comments GSA’s Assistant Commissioner for Leasing Chris Wisner.  “In addition to previous improvements made to GLS, contractors will now have even more flexibility when it comes to providing strategic planning services and commission agreements will be structured in accordance with normal broker industry practices. Small businesses will also have more opportunities to compete for prime awards.”

To submit a proposal, click here to find details.   The deadline for submitting proposals is Thursday, May 21, 2015. More information about previous improvements made to GLS can be found here.

VA manager in NC involved in $4 million deal that benefited relatives

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A Veterans Affairs manager in North Carolina created a conflict of interest when she participated in a project that netted millions for her family members, according to the department’s watchdog.

The VA bought 35 acres of land for $4.25 million in 2010 from the Gillis family to build a new outpatient medical facility in Fayetteville, N.C. Wendy Gillis, a VA project manager and professional engineer, was part of the team that assessed and ranked five properties owned by her extended family members for the project. Wendy married into the Gillis family in 2001; two of her husband’s cousins submitted plots of land for consideration in response to a 2010 solicitation in FedBizOpps.

“Although she was not the final selecting official, she was intimately involved in the process, discussed the sites with team members, and was in a position to influence the team,” the IG concluded. The watchdog also criticized four other high-ranking VA officials involved in the project – Daniel Hoffmann, Elizabeth Goolsby, James Galkowski and Jessica Kaplan – for failing to take sufficient action over the conflict of interest, or appearance of, when they learned about it.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/management/2015/03/va-manager-involved-4m-deal-benefited-relatives/107487/

Listing solicitation’s NAICS code not required in SAM

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Contrary to a common misconception, a contractor need not list the solicitation’s NAICS code in its SAM profile in order to qualify for contract award.

In a recent bid protest decision, the GAO confirmed that the government may award a contract to a small business even if the awardee does not list the solicitation’s NAICS code in its SAM profile.

The GAO’s decision in High Plains Computing, Inc. d/b/a HPC Solutions, B-409736.2 (Dec. 22, 2014) involved a Social Security Administration procurement for video teleconferencing support services.  The solicitation was issued as an 8(a) set-aside under NAICS code 517919.

After reviewing competitive proposals, the agency awarded the contract to National Cable Contracting, LLC.  An unsuccessful competitor, High Plans Computing d/b/a HPC Solutions, filed a GAO bid protest.  HPC contended, in part, that NCC was ineligible for award because NCC did not list NAICS code 517919 on its SAM profile.

The GAO noted that it had examined a similar question in 2007 under the old ORCA system.

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/gaobidprotests/naics-codes-sam-listing-solicitations-code-not-required/

Past performance: Agency reasonably considered quantity

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An agency reasonably considered the quantity of offerors’ relevant past performance, even though the solicitation only stated that the relevance and quality of past performance would be considered.

In a recent bid protest decision, the GAO held that the quantity of an offeror’s past performance is logically encompassed within a review of the quality of past performance, and need not be separately identified as an area of evaluation.

The GAO’s decision in A&D General Contracting, Inc., B-409296 (Feb. 24, 2014) involved an Army Corps of Engineers solicitation for services to support military construction and repair projects.  The solicitation was issued as a small business set-aside.  Evaluation was to follow a two-phase process.  In the first phase, the Corps would consider past performance and technical approach.  The most highly rated proposals would be invited to participate in phase two.

The solicitation stated that offerors’ past performance would be evaluated for relevance and quality.  In this regard, offerors were instructed to provide up to five examples of their recent, relevant projects.  The solicitation stated that the Corps would assign an overall performance confidence assessment rating based on the overall relevance and quality of the offeror’s past performance.

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/gaobidprotests/past-performance-agency-reasonably-considered-quantity

How to win government contracts the ‘EZ’ way

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Note: Last year, the Small Business Administration launched an experimental web site called “EZ-RFP” to solicit streamlined bids for some low-cost technology projects as a way of assisting small, high-growth technology firms to do business with the federal government.  This article reports on the status of this pilot project.

A novice might think The MIS Department, a Chicago technology firm, would have no trouble winning government contracts.

The company has a proven track record engineering complex computer systems and building websites. It has done the arduous legwork of getting authorized to provide services to the federal government, the state of Illinois, Cook County and the city of Chicago. It’s even filed paperwork for 8(a) certification, which allows the company to compete for a special class of contracts reserved for minority-owned small businesses.

And, get this: Company president Rajeev Chopra was chief information officer for President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, responsible for keeping a suite of information technology tools up and running for more than 2 million staffers and volunteers across 813 field offices.

But even with all that going for it, MIS, which stands for Management Information Systems, for years was unable to take a government contract to the finish line.

Why? Most of the company’s dozen or so employees were busy, for one thing, working on IT contracts with Chicago businesses and political groups in Washington that Chopra encountered during the campaign. That left only Devlin Kane, director of business development, to try to drum up government work.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2013/08/how-win-government-contracts-ez-way/69704

 

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