How to Win Army MAPS: Strategy, Scoring, and Risk

The Army’s Marketplace for the Acquisition of Professional Services (MAPS) is not just another IDIQ; it is a decade-long gateway to mission-critical work across technical, management, Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E), and Information Technology (IT) services. With MAPS tentatively scheduled for release on February 2, 2026, companies that delay their bid preparation risk missing one of the most strategically significant professional services vehicles the Army has released in years.

Within days of the final RFP release, Lohfeld Consulting has released its free MAPS Proposal Management Tracker Tool to help companies verify their scores and support proposal assets. Lohfeld Consultants are currently available to help companies develop their MAPS strategies and review their MAPS responses. Contact us for assistance.

For GovCon firms, MAPS represents both opportunity and risk: opportunity for sustained growth, and risk for those who underestimate the rigor of its self-scoring, verification-heavy evaluation model.

Understanding MAPS Requirements

MAPS is a Multiple Award IDIQ with a potential 10-year ordering period (a five-year base plus a five-year option). Awards will be made across five domains, each aligned to specific NAICS codes:

• Technical Services (541330)
• Management and Advisory Services (541611)
• RDT&E Services (541715)
• Emerging IT Services (541512)
• Foundational IT Services (541519)

Offerors may propose to one or multiple domains, but only one contract per entity per domain is permitted. Proposals are submitted through the Army’s Digital Market Portal and must include one complete package of volumes, including a cover letter, self-scoring scorecard, systems and certifications documentation, qualifying projects, and cost information.

Critically, MAPS is designed as a competitive marketplace. Contract holders are expected to bid on at least 50% of task orders in their awarded domain or risk being off-ramped during contract performance.

How MAPS Will Be Evaluated: Large, Small, and Commercial Businesses

MAPS uses a self-scoring evaluation model followed by strict government verification. Scores can only decrease, never increase, during verification. The MAPS scorecard is divided into two areas: Section 01 – Gate Criteria, which addresses corporate capabilities, and Section 02 – Scorecard, which assesses the offerors’ past performance. After passing the gate, offerors earn points in two major areas:

• Government-Approved Systems, Agreements, and Certifications: Government-approved rate agreements, accounting, purchasing, estimating, earned value management systems (EVMS), and property systems can be worth thousands of points depending on business size.
• Past Performance (Qualifying Projects): Up to three qualifying projects per domain are scored for recency, relevance, NAICS alignment, performance quality, dollar value, vacancy rate, and time-to-fill.

Separate scorecards apply to large, small, and commercial-sector vendors, with awards given to the top-ranked offerors in each category within each domain.

The Risks of Bidding MAPS

MAPS is not a casual bid. Common risks include:

• Misinterpretation of the score sheet criteria.
• Overstated self-scores that cannot be verified, resulting in score reductions.
• Weak or misaligned qualifying projects that fail to demonstrate domain relevance.
• Incomplete systems documentation, especially for DCAA/DCMA-approved systems.
• Underestimating off-ramp risk, including bid-rate requirements, vacancy rates, and CPARS performance during contract execution.

Because MAPS uses rolling evaluations, even strong proposals can be displaced if other offerors submit better-documented, higher-scoring packages.

What It Takes to Win MAPS

Winning MAPS requires discipline, strategy, and early preparation:

• Score strategically, not optimistically; every claimed point must be defensible.
• Select qualifying projects with intent, including relevance, staffing stability, and performance quality.
• Align systems and certifications early because gaps in accounting, purchasing, or cybersecurity maturity are costly.
• Tell a consistent story across all documents, as evaluators will cross-check everything.

Successful MAPS bidders treat the proposal as both a compliance exercise and a competitive strategy.

Conclusion

MAPS will shape how the Army acquires professional services for the next decade, and the companies that secure a position on this vehicle will gain access to a sustained pipeline of mission-critical work. With a self-scoring model, rolling evaluations, and no opportunity to recover lost points, MAPS leaves little room for error. Success will depend on disciplined scoring, defensible documentation, and a strategy that anticipates verification, not just submission.

Lohfeld Consulting helps GovCon teams approach MAPS with clarity and confidence. From developing a winning MAPS strategy and validating scorecard claims to selecting and positioning qualifying projects and conducting compliance reviews, our experts know what it takes to compete and win on complex, self-scored IDIQs. If MAPS is on your capture plan, now is the time to act. Contact Lohfeld Consulting to ensure your MAPS proposal is built to score, withstand scrutiny, and secure a place on this critical Army vehicle.

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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).