Army MAPS Bid: What You Need to Know Now

The Army conducted an industry day on Friday, November 8, for the Marketplace for the Acquisition of Professional Services (MAPS) procurement. The event’s purpose was to summarize the MAPS objectives, scope, and timeline, review Sections L and M, host a live Q&A session, and conduct one-on-one meetings to solicit feedback on the procurement. Since then, the Army released six procurement documents on December 13, 2024. These documents provide offerors with further insight into the MAPS bid and will help them prepare their draft offer. These six documents include: 

1. Executive Summary of Changes 

2. Draft Sections L and M 

3. Attachment 0001 Gate Questions 

4. Attachment 0002 Past Performance Question Template 

5. Attachment 0003 Scorecard for Large Business 

6. Attachment 0003 Scorecard for Small Business

A summary of the contents of each document follows.  

Document 1: Executive Summary of Changes

The Army MAPS Draft Request for Proposal (RFP) introduces several significant changes to offerors. One key addition is the requirement for large businesses to submit a Small Business Subcontracting Plan per FAR 19.704, evaluated on an Acceptable/Unacceptable scale.  

Offerors must also use the CHESS Portal for full-package proposal submissions, and a primary or alternate registered user must submit each proposal. Additionally, the Government has updated its gate criteria, emphasizing active facility clearance, certifications like ISO 9001:2015 and CMMC Level 2 or higher, and past CPARS ratings, with specific thresholds for marginal ratings that could disqualify an offeror. 

Another significant change involves the evaluation process. The RFP replaces the confidence-level scoring system for technical evaluation with a point-based rating scale, ranging from Outstanding to Unacceptable, assessing recruitment, retention, and risk management. For performance quality, offerors now earn points based on past performance ratings, with higher scores awarded for Exceptional CPARS/PPQ elements. Furthermore, changes to qualifying project submissions now restrict offerors from using their teaming partners’ qualifying projects, emphasizing independent capability. 

Finally, the Government’s evaluation methodology includes tie-breaking mechanisms based on CPARS ratings and revised award criteria focused on compliance, technical acceptability, and ranking among the top 20 scores within a domain. The removal of ANSI/EIA-748 certification requirements and the inclusion of an Earned Value Management System (EVM) verification process introduce additional compliance challenges. These updates reflect a stricter and more detailed evaluation framework, requiring offerors to ensure rigorous preparation and submission accuracy. 

Document 2: Draft Sections L and M 

Section L Instructions 

As per Section L1, Offerors will prepare the proposal in the following volumes: 

• Cover Letter (one-page maximum) 

• Gate Criteria (Attachment 0001) 

• Volume I – Systems, Rates, and Certifications  

• Volume II – Past Performance (three-page maximum per qualifying project (QP)) 

• Volume III – Technical (six-page maximum or two pages each for the recruitment, retention, and risk sections) 

• Small Business Subcontracting Plan (for large businesses only) 

Section M Gate Criteria 

Section M states that the evaluation begins with assessing the Offerors’ gate criteria responses and all supporting documentation in Attachment 0001. To continue, the Offeror’s proposal must meet all gate criteria. The Gate Criteria consist of: 

• Active Security Clearance  

• Industry Certifications: ISO 9001:2015 and CMMC Level 2 or higher (or documentation of a scheduled CMMC Level 2 review) 

• Government-Approved Account System 

• CPARS Ratings for all five NAICS codes over the last three years  

• Small Business Certification (as relevant)  

Section M Volume 1 – Systems, Rates, and Certification Evaluation Criteria  

Using a points-based system, the Government will evaluate Volume I – Systems, Rates, and Certifications. Offerors will earn points for having government-approved systems or rates:  

• Approved Rates: The Offeror will receive one (1) point for having two (2) approved systems or rates. If the Offeror has three (3) or more approved systems or rates, they will receive one (1) additional point. The maximum points the Offeror can receive is two (2) points. To earn points for Systems and Rates, the Offeror must ensure all the requested proposal submission information is current, accurate, and complete, as per Section L.2.2. 424  

• Certifications: The Offeror will receive one (1) point per additional certification outside the required Attachment 0001 certifications for having CMMC Level 2 or higher and ISO/IEC 27001:2022.  

Section M Volume II – Past Performance Evaluation Criteria 

The Government will evaluate the Offerors’ QPs for relevance, NAICS alignment, recency, and performance quality for each domain-specific NAICS. For example, the offeror may submit a maximum of three (3) QPs per domain. Offers can earn points on a graduated scale depending on whether 0-24%, 25-49%, 50-74%, 75-99%, or 100% of their past performance is relevant to the technical capabilities required for each domain in the performance work statement (PWS). The government will use an adjectival rating scheme to score past performance on a scale of 5 = Exceptional, 4 = Very Good, 3 = Satisfactory, 2 = Marginal, and 1 = Unsatisfactory.  

Section M Volume III – Technical  

Offerors will earn separate ratings for their recruitment, retention, and risk sections. The government will rate each section on a scale of 1 to 5 points, with 5 = Outstanding, 3 = Good, 2 = Acceptable, 1 = Marginal, and 0 = Unacceptable.  

Section M Small Business Subcontracting Plan  

The government will evaluate the Small Business Subcontracting Plan using FAR Subpart 19.7 for the top 20 offerors in each domain and give them a rating of Acceptable or Unacceptable.  The Army unveiled the proposed timeline and noted it is subject to change.

Document 3: Attachment 0001 Gate Questions 

This document provides a quick checklist to verify that an offeror has all the documentation needed to verify they pass the RFPs’ gate criteria.

Document 4: Attachment 0002 Past Performance Question Template 

This document provides a past performance evaluation questionnaire for your customer. It asks the customer to rank an offeror’s performance as Exceptional, Very Good, Satisfactory, Marginal, or Unsatisfactory across factors including quality, timeliness, cost control, management, small business subcontracting, and regulatory compliance. 

Documents 5 and 6: Attachment 0003 MAP Scorecards for Large Business and Small Business 

These documents provide a self-scoring sheet for Offerors to rank their total score. Offerors can use the score to help make bid/no-bid decisions or identify where and how to improve their score.

Conclusion

To succeed, offerors must align closely with the Army’s outlined requirements, particularly those in Sections L and M, and demonstrate a high level of preparedness and adaptability. For contractors, meeting the MAPS criteria is not just about technical expertise but about proving their operational maturity and commitment to the Army’s mission.

If you need help supporting your MAPS proposal, Lohfeld Consulting offers capture managers, proposal managers, proposal writers, and graphic artists, complete our contact form.

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By Brenda Crist, Vice President at Lohfeld Consulting Group, MPA, CPP APMP Fellow

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).