Are You Ready for the USALearning® Bid?

Facts At-a-Glance

TOPIC	DESCRIPTION
Name	USALearning® Integrated Learning EcoSystem Support Products and Services Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contract
Agency	Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Period of performance	One 5-year base ordering period, with one 5-year optional ordering period and one 6-month optional ordering period
RFP date	FY24 Q1
Value	$3.3B
NAICS	541512
Competition type	Full and Open/Unrestricted
Number of winners	The government anticipates awarding a single IDIQ
Award date	FY24 Q2
Incumbents	New requirements according to the government, but the requirements were formerly part of the USALearning® (USAL) contract. There have been adjacent contracts for products and services supporting USAL.

USALearning® Overview

Under the new contract, offerors will provide support for the following 12 functional areas:

1. Learning and Talent Management Systems/Learning Records Store
2. Learning Content Management Systems
3. Hosting Environment(s) for (USAL provided systems)
4. Cybersecurity Support for Agencies (USAL provided systems)
5. Help Desk Support (USAL provided systems)
6. Technical and Project Support
7. Student Information Systems
8. Integration Services
9. Software Licensing & Integration
10. Formal and Informal Learning
11. Simulators–Live and Virtual
12. Organizational Training and Planning

Timeline

• 05/06/2022: Draft Request for Proposal (RFP)    
• 05/18/2022: Questions/Comments Due
• 10/2023: Solicitation Release (estimate)

Cost and Challenges to Bid

The cost to bid USALearning^® is relatively high. The bid is likely to be 100+ pages in length. Offerors will submit their proposals in two steps.

• Step One

• Factor 1: Corporate Experience (15 pages)
• Factor 2: Key Personnel (4 pages)

In Step One, all factors are of equal importance.

• Step Two

• Factor 3: Technical Approach
  • Technical Proposal (40 pages)
  • Sample Task Order Proposal (20 pages)
• Factor 4: Management Approach
  • Management Plan (25 pages)
  • Subcontracting Plan (no page limit)
  • Transition Plan (10 pages)
  • Conflict of Interest Management Plan (no page limit)
• Factor 5: Past Performance (page limits will be provided in the template)
• Factor 6: Price

In Step Two, Factor 3: Technical Approach is equal to Factor 4: Management Approach and, when combined, is more important than Factor 5: Past Performance. Factors 3, 4, and 5 are considered significantly more important than Factors 6: Price when combined.

Evaluation Criteria Summary

The OPM evaluation team will perform the evaluation process in three phases: compliance, Step One review, and Step Two review. Only proposals that fully meet the requirements during the compliance review will proceed to Step One.

Step One Evaluation Criteria: The government will grade the Corporate Experience using a high, some, and low confidence rating. High scorers will demonstrate an understanding of the requirements, a sound approach, and the likelihood of a successful outcome with little or no government intervention. The government will grade Key Personnel using a high, some, or low confidence rating. High scorers will verify that the proposed personnel have the required skills, experience, and certifications. The government will down-select offerors with a high or some confidence rating across all factors.

Step Two Evaluation Criteria: The government will grade the Technical Approach, Sample Task Orders, Management Plan, Transition Plan, and Past Performance using a high, some, or low confidence rating. In addition, the government will document each strength, weakness, significant weakness, or deficiency. Any offeror looking for a strength must demonstrate a significant, outstanding, or exceptionally positive aspect of their solution in the proposal. The government will evaluate the Small Business Subcontracting Plan and Organizational Conflict of Interest Plan on a pass-or-fail basis.

The government will evaluate Price Proposal based on the offeror’s understanding of requirements, ability to meet RFP requirements, and reasonable price. The government may determine that a proposal is unacceptable when, despite an acceptable total evaluated price, the price of one or more line items is significantly overstated or understated. The government may also reject a proposal if a submittal is missing or incomplete or if it determines that the lack of balanced pricing poses an unacceptable risk.

The government will use a Best Value tradeoff process in Step 2 to determine which offeror’s proposal provides the best value.

If you want to learn more about the USALearning^® IDIQ bid or how Lohfeld Consulting can help you create winning proposals, please CONTACT US.

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 Twitter.