OASIS Untangled
The primary features of One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) Unrestricted and OASIS Small Business are summarized in the table below.
| Requirement | OASIS Unrestricted | OASIS Small Business |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | $10 - 12 Billion contract, industry estimate, not yet published by GSA | $10 - 12 Billion contract, industry estimate, not yet published by GSA |
| Contract Period | 5 years, with one 5-year option | 5 years, with one 5-year option |
| Number of Awards | Up to 240 | Up to 240 |
| Services | A wide range of professional services including consulting, finance and accounting, information technology, and engineering | A wide range of professional services including consulting, finance and accounting, information technology, and engineering |
| Pricing | Fixed rate by labor categories | Fixed rate by labor categories |
| Project Experience | 5 large projects with emphasis on federal projects | 5 large projects with emphasis on federal projects |
| Personnel | A resume for Corporate Program Manager and a resume for a Corporate Contract Manager are required | A resume for Corporate Program Manager and a resume for a Corporate Contract Manager are required |
| Solicitation Status | The draft OASIS solicitation was posted on FBO.gov in March and the final solicitation posted on August 1, 2013. The solicitation is also posted at the Fedmarket.com home page for easy reference. | The draft OASIS solicitation was posted on FBO.gov in March and the final solicitation posted on August 1, 2013. The solicitation is also posted at the Fedmarket.com home page for easy reference. |
| Proposal Requirements | Six electronic volumes submitted through a web site Heavy emphasis on project experience, certifications, financial capability, and business size No technical proposal or management plan required | Six electronic volumes submitted through a web site Heavy emphasis on project experience, certifications, financial capability, and business size No technical proposal or management plan required |
| Model Proposal by Fedmarket | Click here | Click here |
All questions concerning the draft solicitation are due no later than Monday APRIL 29, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. Central Time via e-mail submission to oasis@gsa.gov.
Overview
OASIS procurements are designed to address federal agencies' need for a full range of professional service requirements with the flexibility for all contract types and pricing at the task order level.
With OASIS GSA has the opportunity to grab a major portion of the professional services procurement market. OASIS has the flexibility to cover any professional service and any contract type. OASIS allows for all contract types at the task order level (e.g., Cost-Reimbursement (all types), Fixed-Price (all types), Time-and-Materials, and Labor-Hour).
Task orders may also combine more than one contract type (e.g., FFP/Cost, FFP/Labor Hour etc.). Additionally, task orders may include incentives, multi-year or option periods, and commercial or non-commercial items.
As a result, OASIS could be used to change the procurement method for procurements initially awarded as single awards or under other multiple award contracts.
The draft OASIS Unrestricted RFP and OASIS Small Business are basically identical, except the project experience qualification requirements. The proposal requirements are complex with six volumes but are essentially red tape with no requirement for a technical approach or management plan.
The GSA budget for OASIS has not been published but is expected to be $ 10 - 12 Billion for both contracts. The period of performance will be 10 years. Proposal costs are relatively low for a contract of this size so what's not to like? But many companies will find it difficult to qualify.
GSA is accepting proposal submissions from prime contractors only. Subcontractor experience and teaming arrangements are not part of a proposal submission.
The solicitation evaluation criteria are weighed in favor of:
- Large, multiple professional services contract experience
- Federal contract experience
- The education and experience of the two required contract management resumes
- The sophistication of the offerors account and purchasing systems and professional certifications
Scope of Work
By design the Scope of Work for OASIS in exceptionally broad. The objective of OASIS is to provide Government agencies with total integrated solutions for a multitude of professional service based requirements on a global basis.
Bureaucratically, GSA wants to grab a major potion of the professional service procurement market.
The scope of OASIS spans many areas of expertise and includes any and all components required to formulate a total solution to a professional services based requirement. The areas of expertise include the following service categories.
- Accounting
- Budget
- Communication
- Compliance
- Defense
- Disaster
- Energy
- Environment
- Health
- Intelligence
- Security
For task orders placed under OASIS, professional services are defined as those categories of services provided under one or more of the following Core Disciplines.
- Program Management Services
- Management Consulting Services
- Engineering Services
- Scientific Services
- Logistics Services
- Financial Management Services
- Ancillary Support Services
Stated simply, you can do about anything under the sun through OASIS as long as you qualify under the solicitation.
The qualification requirements to receive an OASIS and OASIS Small award are restrictive and should be a company's primary focus in deciding to make an OASIS offer.
OASIS Minimum Experience Requirements
| Requirement | OASIS Unrestricted | OASIS Small Business |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Projects | Five (5) distinct projects, each as a prime contractor *Subcontracts with Prime Contractors do not qualify | Minimum of 3 and up to 5 distinct projects, each as a prime contractor *Subcontracts with Prime Contractors do not qualify |
| Type of Project | Single Contract, Single Task Order under a master Single Award or Multiple Award IDIQ, Single Task Order under a Federal Supply Schedule, Single Task Order under a master Single Award or Multiple Award BPA, one project can be a collection of task orders | Single Contract, Single Task Order under a master Single Award or Multiple Award IDIQ, Single Task Order under a Federal Supply Schedule, Single Task Order under a master Single Award or Multiple Award BPA, one project can be a collection of task orders |
| Type of Customer | U.S. Government, U.S. State Government, International Public Sector, Non-Government/Commercial projects | U.S. Government, U.S. State Government, International Public Sector, Non-Government/Commercial projects |
| Project scope of work involves performance and/or integration of core disciplines (Core disciplines: Program Management Services, Management Consulting Services, Scientific Services, Engineering Services, Logistics Services, and Financial Management Services) | At least four (4) out of the six (6) core disciplines | At least three (3) out of the six (6) core disciplines |
| Project award value | At least $ 5 Million Per Year | At least $ 750,000 Per Year |
| Project closing date | Have been completed within the past five (5) years prior to the solicitation closing date or be ongoing with at least one (1) year of performance completed prior to the OASIS solicitation closing date | Have been completed within the past five (5) years prior to the solicitation closing date or be ongoing with at least one (1) year of performance completed prior to the OASIS solicitation closing date |
Labor Categories and Standard Occupational Classifications
OASIS uses a labor category structure that is unique in federal service contracting. Awardees must price task orders using standard labor categories defined in the solicitation. The fully loaded hourly rates used to price task orders have to be determined at the task order level based on the geographic location of the place of performance.
OASIS specifics standards provide standardized labor categories that correspond to the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) for which the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) maintains compensation data.
Detailed information on pricing labor categories is presented in Solicitation Section J.1., Attachment (1).
The Puzzle of Who Gets the Task Orders After Award
Pools, NAICS Codes, and small business side standards and how they apply to task order awards are confusing in the draft OASIS solicitations. The following is Fedmarket's current interpretation of the draft solicitation and our interpretation could change when the final RFPs are issued.
OASIS task orders will be assigned a specific NAICS Code and each task order will designate the code. For OASIS GSA has established 6 NAICS Pools under which task orders can be solicited and each pool has been assigned a small business size standard for the NAICS Codes.
The NAICS Codes and small business size standards for each pool are provide: CLICK FOR TABLE
The NAICS Codes in Pool 1 & 2 are the codes for most big dollar task orders. An awardee can qualify for more than one pool and most large prime contractors will qualify for most of the pools. Accordingly, most large task orders will be procured under Pool 1 & 2.
Each pool will have a list of awardees contractors qualified to receive task orders under the NAICS Codes of the pool.
The Task Order Contacting Officer (OCO) has the responsibility to determine which predominant NAICS code applies to a task order solicitation, whether or not the task order is unrestricted or set-aside, including the type of socio-economic set-aside if applicable, and whether or not the solicitation is sole-source or competitive.
The OCO must identify the NAICS Code Number, Title, Business Size Standard, and Pool Number in the task order solicitation and report the NAICS Code in the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS).
The purposes of the size standards for each pool are to:
- Establish the size standards if the OCO elects to set-aside the task order
- Provide a way for OCO to take credit for a small business purchase if a business under the size standard is awarded a task order.
Offer Evaluation
The OASIS offer evaluation process and criteria are described in Section M of the OASIS solicitation and summarized below.
OASIS will consist of 6 Pools based upon size standards as identified in Section H.4.2.1. Multiple awards in each Pool will be made from the selection of the highest technically rated Offerors that have a price that has been determined fair and reasonable to the Government.
The Government intends to make 40 awards in each OASIS Pool resulting from this solicitation. In the event of a tie at the position of number 40, all Offerors tied for this position shall receive a contract award. A Contractor may be eligible for award in multiple Pools under a single Contract Number.
Cost/Price Proposal
For Cost/Price proposals, Offerors will use the Spreadsheet in Section J.8., Attachment (8), entitled, "COST/PRICE TEMPLATE". The template consists of 15 years of Government-Site and 15 years of Contractor-Site pricing.
Proposed labor rates must be based upon the highest qualified employee within a given labor category or group, working in the highest paid area within CONUS, on a highly complex requirement, excluding Secret/Top Secret/SCI.
Offerors are required to provide the ceiling rates for Year 1 of the contract only.
Competition at the task order level will establish fair and reasonable pricing for task orders placed under OASIS for all contact types. For those relatively rare instances when competition does not exist for T&M/L-H task orders, these ceiling rates will be available for the OCO to consider and use. The OCO has the flexibility to exceed these rates, but are cautioned only to do so when justified, such as for requirements requiring special security clearance or OCONUS related work.
Fedmarket OASIS Model Proposal
Your OASIS proposal will stand out from the pack - start with a template specially designed by Fedmarket's proposal team to address the OASIS solicitation requirements and ensure compliance with the OASIS solicitation document.
Formats and detailed instructions of the required six (6) proposal volumes
Model text for:
- Professional Compensation Plan
- Uncompensated Overtime Policy
- Small Business Subcontracting Plan and
- Other proposal sections
Proposal Submittal Instructions
Click Here for a description of the OASIS model proposal.
Call Richard White at 301.980.0564 if you have questions about the OASIS procurement.
Call Fedmarket's sales team at 888.661.4094, Ext. 2, for more information and pricing for the model proposal.
