The reasons why OASIS+ is the bid for you

GSA released the Draft OASIS+ Multi-Agency Contract (MAC) RFP on November 15, and vendors around the beltway and the country are reviewing it to make their bid decisions. What opportunity does OASIS+ present? What are the challenges to getting an award? What should be considered when making the bid decision?

OASIS+ upside

OASIS+ presents a great opportunity for any company, large or small, to get a foot into government contracting. It represents GSA’s “next generation Best-in-Class Multi-Agency Contracts for complex non-IT services.” With six contract programs (including five for small businesses), OASIS+ covers a broad spectrum of domains—eight for unrestricted (UNR) bidders and seven for small business (SB)—and dozens of NAICS codes. Domains in the initial contract include technical and engineering, management, R&D, environmental, enterprise services (UNR only), logistics, facilities management, and intelligence. Additional domains will be added later. Contractor teaming arrangements (CTAs) may include joint ventures and traditional prime/sub relationships with SB subcontractors.

On the plus side, awards are not competitive—contracts are awarded to all vendors who meet a threshold of points for the domain(s) they are bidding. Pricing is done at the task order (TO) level. There will be frequent on-ramps if you miss the initial submission. It has NO ceiling and a 10-year period of performance. The Symphony portal makes it easy to manage your submission and use artifacts for multiple domains.

Downside

The downside is the complexity of the scoring mechanism. There are many variations when selecting relevant experience projects and trying to discern which will yield the highest score. Points come from qualifying projects, non-qualifying projects, federal contracting experience, and corporate-level credentials such as certifications, clearances, and business performance systems.

Comments and questions to the government

The government has asked for comments and questions, submitted through the Symphony portal by December 31, 2022. After that, another draft will be released before the final.

While companies are examining their options to pursue Alliant 3 and OASIS+, one reason to lean towards a bid decision on OASIS+ is that, unlike Alliant 3, there is no cap on the number of awards. If you can claim (and substantiate) the minimum threshold of points, you are in. For SBs, that threshold is 36 out of a possible 50 points for any domain. For UNR, it is 42 out of 50.

Go for it!

Lohfeld Consulting Group can help guide you through your project selection, score analysis process, and proposal review process. Contact Brenda Crist at BCrist@LohfeldConsulting.com for more information and to get a copy of our score analysis/tracker spreadsheet.

By Maryann Lesnick, Managing Director at Lohfeld Consulting Group, CP APMP, PMP, CSM, MOS

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 Twitter.

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