The Department of Justice Information Technology Support Services (ITSS-5) multiple award contract vehicle is out. Its scope includes the acquisition of hardware, software, and other equipment as well as non-personal support services to support clients anywhere in the US and its territories. There will be 6 awards for SDVOSB companies and 6 awards for unrestricted (large) companies. It is a 5 year IDIQ, with an additional 5 year option, having a total ceiling of $1.6 billion.

How to Win this Bid

1. This procurement uses a two-phased approach. In the 1st Phase you will need to provide 1) Corporate Experience, 2) Past Performance, 3) Architectural Attributes Experience, 4) Management, and 5) Price. In the second phase, if selected, you will provide 1) Sample Task Quotations and 2) Technical Capability.

2. There are 2 catches here. One is that although they want you to provide pricing in Phase 1, they are going to review it in Phase 2. Also, when reviewing proposals in Phase 2, they are going to give more credit to highly rated proposals in Phase 1. So what does this mean?

3. Your proposal for Phase 1, both technical and price, must be your best shot, not only to have your foot in the door for Phase 2 but also to win Phase 2. You do not want to spend a lot of money, get selected for Phase 2 and then lose it. If you are going to go for it, go whole-hearted.

4. If you are planning to be a sub, or are a prime and planning to have subs, remember that a company cannot be sub to multiple primes or be prime in one proposal and sub in a second proposal.

5. In the evaluation of your proposal, Corporate Experience (i.e. providing 3 projects that are similar in size, scope, and complexity to the requirements of the RFP and that show your depth and breadth of experience) is the King. Make sure that the 3 projects your provide are the best and remember that you need to provide past performance for the same. So consider this when selecting projects.

6. Next in line are Past Performance and Architectural Attributes Experience sections of your proposal which have equal ratings and last is Management.

7. For your experience and thus Past Performance, you should have a combination of the best, using your subs’ as well. For past performance, in addition to the 3 you provide for the projects you gave for past experience, you are allowed to provide 2 more. Thus, use this opportunity to boost your ratings for past performance.

To sum up, the 1st phase proposal for ITSS-5 is critical not only for going to Phase 2 but also for winning the contract as a whole. In that, having 3 excellent project experiences is of utmost importance. The proposal page count is nothing substantial, around 40 pages but you should ensure that every word of it is well thought out and is reviewed and reviewed and reviewed again.