The RFP for the Department of the Navy, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) for its Initiative Program Management Contractor Support Services Multiple Award Contract (IPMCSS MAC) is expected to be issued in September 2017. This is a $960 million, multiple award (20 awardees estimated) IDIQ contract, with a 5-year base duration that is a Total Small Business set-aside.

Primary NAICS Code for this opportunity is 541330 (Engineering Services) with the Size Standard being $15 million annual receipts except for $38.5 million annual receipts for Military and Aerospace Equipment and Military Weapons and Contracts and Subcontracts for Engineering Services Awarded Under the National Energy Policy of 1992 and Marine Engineering.

Functional Areas and Labor Categories Required:

  • Program Management

– Program/Project/Management Analyst (SOC 13-1111)

– Manager/Operations Manager (SOC 11-1021)

– Configuration Management Analyst/Management Analyst (SOC 13-1111)

– Acquisition Specialist/Management Analyst (SOC 13-1111)

– Foreign Military Sales Analyst/Management Analyst (SOC 13-1111)

  • Financial Management

– Budget Analyst (SOC 13-2031)

– Financial Analyst (SOC 13-2051)

– Financial Manager (SOC 11-3031)

  • Corporate Operations

– Public Relations Specialist (SOC 27-3031)

– Public Relations Manager (SOC 11-2031)

  • Administrative

– Administrative Assistant (SOC 43-6011)

The Proposal:

Those who were involved in the GSA Alliant II initiative (A2SB) last year, will notice that the proposal preparation and evaluation system is the same as A2SB. It has six volumes:

Volume 1 – General

Volume 2 – Responsibility

Volume 3 – Technical

Volume 4 – Past Performance

Volume 5 – Systems, Certifications, and Clearances

Volume 6 – Cost/Price

Forget About …

As this is exactly like the A2SB proposal in 2016, I will write a few more articles on the intricacies of writing proposals for this RFP, what to expect and how to increase your win rate. In this post I will provide some general observations:

  1. Forget about teaming with subs! You can only use your own past experience/performance. Of course, you can perform task orders with subs once awarded, but there is nothing to gain from teaming with subs for winning the main contract, at least as far as the latest draft RFP proclaims (they might change this in the final RFP).
  2. Forget about new Joint Ventures! If you are going to bid as a JV, you can only use past performance/experience that is in the name of the JV and NOT in the name of the member companies.
  3. Forget about writing! This proposal preparation effort has very little writing but a huge effort involved in document management and quality control.
  4. Forget about underpricing to win the contract! They just check that your price is in range; otherwise, it will not affect the selection decision.

My next article will be on how to manage the self-scoring worksheet and how to prepare for it from now before the final RFP is out.

GDI Consulting has helped 4 companies win the VETS II contract (similar), and we managed the A2SB proposal for 6 companies (waiting for award); so we can certainly help your company get a seat on this plane.