Introduction to HCaTS-8(a) SB GWAC
The HCaTS-8(a) GWAC is one of the most important opportunities for 8(a) companies to ensure their success in the coming years. On November 27, the General Services Administration (GSA) released the final solicitation for the Human Capital and Training Solutions for 8(a) Small Business or HCaTS-8(a) GWAC. This time, it is being released in two pools: Pool 1 for companies with NAICS codes 611430, 611699, 624310, and Pool 2 for NAICS codes 541611, 541612, 541613, 541618, 611710. But, you must be an SBA certified 8(a) to be able to bid on this GWAC.
The scope of this GSA bid is to acquire customized training and development services, customized human capital strategy services, and customized organizational performance improvement services for all Federal agencies at all levels.
Here is a brief introduction to this GWAC:
Agency: General Services Administration (GSA)
Ordering Period: 10.5 years (With Period of Performance up to 16 years)
Pool 1:
NAICS:
– 611430: Professional and Management Development Training
– 611699: All Other Miscellaneous Schools and Instruction
– 624310: Vocational Rehabilitation Services
Size Standard: $12 million
Number of Awards: 20
Total Budget: $3.45 billion
Pool 2:
NAICS:
– 541611: Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
– 541612: Human Resources Consulting Services
– 541613: Marketing Consulting Services
– 541618: Other Management Consulting Services
– 611710: Educational Support Services
Size Standard: $16.5 million
Number of Awards: 20
Total Budget: $2.3 billion
HCaTS Self Scoring System and the Evaluation Criteria
Similar to GSA’s GWACS such as OASIS, Alliant, and VETS, HCaTS is a self-scoring system in that you do not “write” a proposal; rather, you do a lot of document management and provide your proposal as a series of forms and documents. In essence, you self-score yourself based on set criteria given in the RFP and then provide the proof in the form of the required documents. In turn, the GSA evaluators sort the received proposals based on the scores and then check the documented proof for verification. This might sound easy, but in practice, companies have extreme difficulties in properly understanding the requirements and preparing the proof properly. Due to this complexity, in the previous submission of HCaTS, nearly 75% of the proposals received from small businesses and nearly 50% of the proposals received from large businesses were disqualified due to being non-compliant with the requirements of the RFP.
The Requirements:
Essentially, you need to provide 6 past performed contracts that speak toward the individual Key Service Areas (KSAs). The KSAs are:
- Customized Training and Development Services
- Customized Human Capital Strategy Services
- Customized Organization Performance Improvement
Prior performed contracts must have been completed within the last 5 years with a performance period of at least 3 months. Past performed contracts must be as Prime.
So essentially the minimum requirements for bidding on the HCaTS GWAC are:
- Must be Small Business under NAICS 611430
- Must be Prime on the submitted Relevant Experience Project Contracts
- Scope: Contracts must have a customized component and cover at least 1 KSA
- Annual Contract Values must be over $25,000
- Contracts must have been performed during the past 5 years and the period of performance be at least three (3) months
- 4 out of 6 Contracts must have on the specific Pool NAICS codes that you are targeting
- JVs and CTAs (Prime/Sub) are not allowed
- Past Performance Rating of 3.00 (Satisfactory) or higher
The Scoring System:
The total possible score for HCaTS is 28,470. The division of the scoring is:
– Past Performance: 15,000
– Experience (KSAs): 8,200
– Other Attributes of Projects: 5,110
– Accreditations: 160
For more information on this contractual opportunity, please refer to HCaTS-8(a) SB Pool 1 and Pool 2 Page.
How Can GDI Consulting Help You?
GDI Consulting is an expert in Self-Scoring proposals. We have done over 60 OASIS proposals (full development and review), 8 Alliant, and 8 HCaTS. Specific to HCaTS, we helped 5 companies on the original HCaTS with 4 awards and 3 companies on the SB Pool 1 in 2018 and 2019, with all of them being awarded, so our win rate of 87% speaks for itself. We provide full development as well as review for companies who have their internal proposal shop and are familiar with self-scoring systems. Either way, we conduct at least 2 rounds of detailed compliance reviews. The reviews cover both format and content to ensure that the proposals are fully compliant and at the same time, have been optimized to get the maximum score for our client.
HCaTS Go/No Go Evaluation Questionnaire:
GDIC is providing a free Audit (Go/No-Go) Review. This is a simple decision support tool that will enable our consultants evaluate your capabilities with respect to HCaTS-8(a) SB’s core requirements and inform you about the result. You can reach the tool at the below link:
Proposal Support:
For those 8(a) companies that decide to enter the competition, GDIC is offering full proposal development (only if our audit review tells us that you have a good chance to get awarded) or proposal review for prepared proposals.
GDIC has years of experience helping prepare over 3,000 proposals for our customers. Please contact Maron Freedy at [email protected] for more information.
Webinar:
GDI Consulting held a webinar on HCaTS-8(a) SB Pool 1 and Pool 2 on Thursday, December 5, 2019, at 2 pm.
GDIC held a webinar in the previous round of HCaTS SB solicitation a year ago. It was well received by all companies participating in the solicitation. You can watch the reply here.
