How to Win the $927M DISA ModEL BPA

If you’re a General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract holder looking for an opportunity to work with other expert companies to provide services and grow your business, the search is over! The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Modernization, Engineering, Lifecycle Refresh (ModEL) Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) is a hidden treasure amongst upcoming solicitations.

At a Glance

DISA is issuing a BPA for the modernization of its Joint Service Provider (JSP) through the ModEL program. Offerors must participate in a Contractor Team Agreement (CTA), which permits up to five GSA schedule contractors to be part of the agreement. Among these, only one member, designated as the CTA lead, may submit a request for quote (RFQ). Each CTA participant must have their own GSA Master Services Agreement (MSA). Tracking and solicitation information details are outlined in Tables 1, 2, and 3 below.

Table 1: Tracking Information

Item	Identification Number
GSA Tracking Number/Sam.gov Notice ID	832369812
GovWin ID	229720
Task order title	ModEL
NAICS code	541512
Order type	Firm-Fixed Price
Period of performance	One-year base plus four one-year option periods
Method of evaluation	Best Value Trade Off
Contract value	$927M
Number of awards	Up to five CTAs will be selected for an award. Each CTA team member must have their own GSA schedule

Table 2: Solicitation Information

Date	Description
November 27, 2024	Draft solicitation issued
December 4, 2024	Pre-solicitation conference
April 25, 2025	Expected RFP release date
TBD	Expected award date

Table 3: Solicitation Requirements

RFQ Item	Page Limit	CTA or Each Member
Organizational and Consultant Conflict of Interest (OCCI) Mitigation Plan	No limit	Each member
Section 508 Compliance	No limit	Each member
GSA Schedule	No limit	Each member
Attachment 5, FARS-DFARS Provisions and Clauses	No limit	Each member
Top-Secret Facility Clearance	5 pages	Each member
CTA Agreement	No limit	CTA
SAM.gov Screen Shot	No limit	Each member
Technical/Management (Factor 1) Subfactor 1: Contractor Teaming Agreement StructureSubfactor 2: Staffing PlanSubfactor 3: Contractor Teaming Agreement ManagementSubfactor 4: Zero Trust DeploymentSubfactor 5: Cloud Engineering ServicesSubfactor 6: Customer and Mission Partner Requirements Analysis	30 Pages	CTA
Price Factor (Factor 1) BPA Pricing Worksheet	N/A	CTA
Small Business Participation (Factor 3) Small Business Participation Plan	N/A	CTA

Performance Work Statement

The draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) released in October 2024 outlines four distinct task areas for this contract. These task areas are as follows:

Task Area 1: Program Management

Overview: Manage and oversee the BPA and related call orders.

• Integrate project activities effectively.
• Coordinate cost, schedule, and scope across multiple concurrent projects.
• Collaborate with CTA members to ensure alignment with requirements and objectives.

Task Area 2: Solutions Development

Overview: Modernize the Government’s enterprise IT infrastructure to meet current and future needs.

• Conduct a lifecycle refresh (LCR) to reduce technical and cybersecurity debt.
• Optimize the existing IT architecture for improved efficiency.
• Design and implement new technological systems, including cloud services, zero trust, and IPv6.

Task Area 3: Customer Engineering Projects

Overview: Support mission requirements for specific customers.

• Deploy Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) and Government Off-the-Shelf (GOTS) applications.
• Establish network connectivity between customer and government networks (e.g., Site-to-Site VPN, cloud).
• Upgrade and deploy customer-owned IT equipment in compliance with J6 Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Cyber Capability (C4E) standards.

Task Area 4: Telecom and Networking Professional Services

Overview: Assist in onboarding new customer agencies or organizations into the Government IT environment.

• Migrate accounts, applications, and configurations from legacy environments.
• Extend physical network connectivity to new office locations.
• Deploy J6 C4E workstation equipment to new users.

Draft Evaluation Criteria

This BPA will be awarded based on the best value to the government. Proposals will be evaluated in two phases. Phase 1 will evaluate Technical Subfactors 1 and 2 on a pass/fail basis. Definitions are provided in Table 4 below:

Table 4: Phase 1 Subfactors and Pass/Fail Requirements

Rating	Definition
Pass	Quotation meets the requirements of the solicitation
Fail	Quotation does not meet the requirements of the solicitation

In Phase 2, evaluators will evaluate responses to the PWS requirements for Subfactors 3-6, which are considered equally important during the evaluation process.

The rating requirements for Technical Subfactors 3-6 are provided in Table 5.

Table 5: Evaluation Criteria for Subfactors 3-6

Phase 2 will also include the evaluations of Factor 2 (Price) and Factor 3 (Small Business Participation). The evaluation criteria are provided in Table 6.

Table 6: Phase 2 Evaluation Factors for Factors 2 and 3

Factor	Evaluation Criteria
Factor 2: Price	Prices will be evaluated for reasonableness and completeness using cost and price analysis techniques as described in FAR 15.404.
Factor 3: Small Business Participation Plan         Removing Barriers to Entry for Small Businesses	The Small Business Participation Plan will be evaluated on the level of proposed participation of small businesses. To be acceptable, the quotation must demonstrate an adequate approach of the small business objectives.   DISA wants to remove barriers to entry for small businesses. One of those barriers is the requirement for a facility site clearance (FCL). This solicitation rand any resultant contract/BPA/order requires the prime contractor/CTA to sponsor at least two FCL’s for small businesses during the first year. To be rated “Acceptable,” the CTA must provide a written guarantee that they will sponsor two or more FCL’s to small business during the first year of performance of this BPA.

Hints to Offerors

Interested offerors should be prepared to launch full proposal activities on April 25^th. Although you may have done preliminary work, you will still need to revisit the solicitation for changes that could affect what has been prepared. Consider bringing in outside support to provide a set of fresh eyes. Offerors need to focus on achieving an Outstanding rating on Technical Subfactors 3-6. Utilize what you’ve learned in our Strength-Based Winning^Ò class to ensure your strengths are easily identifiable to evaluators.

Conclusion

The DISA ModEL provides the government with a quick way to acquire network, telecommunications, and engineering services. Interested offerors must review the solicitation documents carefully and ensure they have the right teammates on their CTA.

Relevant Information

• Use Mega Bids to Drive Business Growth in 2025

• Time Traps: Breaking Free from Proposal Gridlock

• VIDEO: Proposal Services: Your Winning Government Bid Solution

By Dana Katalinas, Vice President, APMP Member, GPA Member

Lohfeld Consulting Group has proven results specializing in helping companies create winning captures and proposals. As the premier capture and proposal services consulting firm focused exclusively on government markets, we provide expert assistance to government contractors in Capture Planning and Strategy, Proposal Management and Writing, Capture and Proposal Process and Infrastructure, and Training. In the last 3 years, we’ve supported over 550 proposals winning more than $170B for our clients—including the Top 10 government contractors. Lohfeld Consulting Group is your “go-to” capture and proposal source! Start winning by contacting us at www.lohfeldconsulting.com and join us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube^(TM).