Winning Navy’s SeaPort NxG

Background

The Naval Special Warfare Development Group issued SeaPort NxG, whose goal was to provide modernized naval operations through broad-based engineering and program management services. It facilitated support to the Department of the Navy (DON) through innovative solutions that deliver world-class technical capabilities and advanced adaptive services for continued naval readiness to sustain a strategic advantage, providing outstanding mission areas from software engineering to logistics support.

Summary Description of SeaPort NxG 2021

The SeaPort NxG solicitation, hence, represented the pivotal movement in which the Department of the Navy intended to procure specialized services in engineering and program management, critical for maintaining and elevating the operational capabilities of the naval forces. The services under this solicitation covered the full spectrum of naval mission requirements: engineering support services in system engineering, software development, and reliability maintenance; and program management services consisting of financial analysis, quality assurance, and logistics support.

Key to this solicitation were two major service categories: the Engineering Services and Program Management Services. The two service areas, then, were divided into twenty-three functional area subcategories. Indeed, a full overview that brought in place all the required services for implementing naval missions, right from research and development of new capabilities to integration and support of those already put to practice. The contract was indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) in nature, to have the flexibility of meeting the evolving needs of the Department of the Navy.

The SeaPort NxG initiative disallowed the direct sourcing and procurement of supplies or hardware; any sourced materials must have specifically aided the services provided. That is to say, this limitation indicated that the solicitation focused on service-based solutions and not on tangible products. Further, the contract specified specific security requirements to be given when dealing with Facility and Personnel Clearances, which were necessary for any contractor who wanted to have an assurance that the firm was indeed capable of responsibly and cautiously handling information and materials that may have been sensitive and relevant to national security.

Proposal Requirements

Responses to the SeaPort NxG Solicitation were to detail the offeror’s plan to provide engineering and program management services to meet Department of the Navy overall operational objectives. The offerors were asked demonstrate sound knowledge of the naval mission areas and technical capabilities, be innovative in proposing effective solutions for service delivery. The Offeror should have provided his experience in relevant service categories supported by past performance examples and success stories.

In addition, the proposal had to respond to the mandatory security and clearance requirements, providing clear evidence of how the offeror met the capacity to handle classified information and materials. Further, the proposal needed to outline the organizational structure, resource allocation, and plans for management, all directed at making sure that the contracted services were executed to meet the expectations of a successful implementation. Breakdown in costs, with transparently displaying each and every penny spent, clearly reflected responsibility and adherence to budgetary constraints by the offeror.

Evaluation Criteria

Basis for Award:

Under the SeaPort NxG solicitation, the award basis included a comprehensive evaluation of experience depth and relevance ability of the offerors in meeting or exceeding the requirements of the solicitation in defined Service categories. Emphasis was on past performance and demonstrated capabilities in engineering and program management services directly supporting Department of the Navy missions. The idea was to go in for contractors who had in-depth knowledge of not just the naval operations, but also the kind of technical aptitude which can actually take the capabilities of the navy forward.

Basis of Score:

Scoring of proposals was systematically aligned with the functional areas and critical service categories, which had been delineated in this solicitation. Proposals with clear, innovative approaches to the Navy service requirements fulfillment and demonstrating efficiency, effectiveness, or value-added approach were given high evaluation scores. An evaluation of organizational capability was carried out through the scoring system, which included staffing, security clearance, and compliance with security protocols by the naval ensuring that the contractor had the ability to provide services for tasks of consequence towards meeting the strategic criterion for naval operations.

Evaluation Procedures:

The evaluation process was multilevel and started with screening for compliance with submission requirements and basic qualifications. Subsequent, more detailed analysis reviewed the technical merits of each proposal, including the proposed methodologies, technologies, and solutions that were proffered to meet the solicitation service requirements. Particularly, the evaluation included the consideration of the past performance and experience of the contractor in work directly related to missions of the Department of the Navy.

Finally, the proposal underwent risk assessment to determine the potential for successful performance with due consideration to cost realism and financial stability of the proposers.

Problems & Challenges

Preparing a proposal in response to the SeaPort NxG solicitation was heavy with many challenges, perhaps the greatest daunting one being our ability to fully scope our client’s vast service capabilities in order to meet some that were most specific to the Department of the Navy. This included a very detailed review of the previous work, with the aim of providing detailed experience in direct support of Navy missions and, equally, comprehensively assessed to assure our personnel and facilities are in compliance with the strict security and clearance requirements.

The other challenged area was the complexity of the scope; it was quite difficult to articulate in such a way that it fits within the constraints of the proposal format while, on the one hand, it communicates the depth and breadth of our client’s approach to delivering such a wide range of services.