Top Federal Civilian Opportunities to Pursue in 2021

Last week, we joined forces with G2Xchange and Mile Marker 10 to present our findings on the key Federal Civilian opportunities that should be in your 2021 pipeline. In this hour and a half webinar, our GovCon experts, Jeff Shen and Tris Carpenter, highlighted 30 opportunities and the key takeaways from each contract. Jeff and Tris spent hours upon hours digging through RFPs, SOWs, and protests to find the golden nuggets that will help you prepare for these opportunities.

In the webinar, we polled more than 100 attendees on which opportunities they were most keen on. Below, are the top five opportunities that contractors are paying attention to in 2021.

1. Polaris Small Business GWAC

• Agency: GSA Federal Acquisition Service (FAS)
• Status: Pre-RFP
• Solicitation #: 47QTCB21N0002
• Solicitation Date: June 2021
• Award Date: February 2022
• Competition Type: Small Business Set-Aside (HubZone, WOSB)
• Type of Award: IDIQ – GWAC
• Value: $20 billion (est.)
• Duration: 5-year base period plus 1 x 5-year option
• Expected Award(s): Multiple – TBD
• Primary NAICS: 541512
• Contract Type: FFP, CR, T&M, and LH
• Requirements: Provide Federal agencies with customized IT services and IT services-based solutions, both commercial and noncommercial
• Latest Update(s): Contracting Office released a Draft RFP on December 31, 2020. Feedback on the Draft RFP was due on January 29, 2021.
• Incumbent(s): None, this is technically a new requirement (previous iteration was the canceled Alliant 2 Small Business (A2SB) procurement)

Key Takeaways for Polaris Small Business GWAC

1. Take an inventory of existing projects. Create a spreadsheet to map all of your projects against the score criteria. It’s a good idea to use CIO-SP4 projects as a starting point to assess which available projects you might have. Map your projects to the scoresheet to identify gaps that exist based on your existing experience.
2. Review existing small business teaming partners and Mentor-Protégé Joint Ventures (MPJV) that you have worked with previously. Begin reviewing their Relevant Experience against the Primary and Emerging Technology Areas.
3. Consider new MPJV and Prime/Subcontractor teaming possibilities.
4. Determine which certifications are viable to attain between now and the Final RFP release.
5. Here was the breakdown of A2SB: Relevant Experience (20%), Leading Edge Technologies (7%), Past Performance (21%), and Risk (9%). For Polaris, anticipate Emerging Technologies to increase, Past Performance to go down, and Risk Assessment and Relevant Experience to stay relatively the same.

2. Agile Technology / Web Apps Support Services

• Agency: Treasury Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
• Status: Pre-RFP
• Solicitation #: 2032H5
• Solicitation Date: April 2021
• Award Date: July 2021
• Competition Type: Small Business Set-Aside
• Type of Award: IDIQ – GWAC Task Order
• Value: $1.0 billion
• Duration: 1-year base period plus 4 x 1-year options
• Expected Award(s): Multiple – TBD
• Primary NAICS: 541511
• Contract Type: Firm Fixed Price
• Requirements: Provide rapid Web Apps delivery services for software development utilizing Agile tools and methods
• Latest Update(s): Contracting Office stated the Solicitation is anticipated to be released in April 2021 via a GWAC
• Incumbent(s): Booz Allen, Maximus, and Deloitte

Key Takeaways for Agile Technology / Web Apps Support Services

1. We’re seeing a lot of press on this upcoming re-compete. Ali Pourghassemi, the Industry Liaison Officer for IRS, has been very active on LinkedIn. We recommend following Ali if you don’t already.
2. The incumbent master BPA combined dollars obligated to-date of $101 million; with Deloitte the leading vendor (61%), followed by Booz Allen (35%), and Maximus (4%).
3. This is the confirmed set of tools IRS will use for this contract – IBM Rational Team Concert, Red Hat JBoss, and Oracle.
4. Having staff with this experience will not be sufficient. Contractors will need to show how they have used these tools on prior projects.
5. Key themes in your capture should include partnership with IRS, supporting the taxpayer, simplifying how customers engage with IRS, and agile innovation (helping IRS continue to modernize their approach to agile development).

3. Information Technology Support Services (ITSS)

• Agency: DHS Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE)
• Status: Pre-RFP
• Solicitation #: F2020052356
• Solicitation Date: March-May 2021
• Award Date: June 2021
• Competition Type: Small Business Set-Aside
• Type of Award: GSA MAS IT-70 Task Order
• Value: $122 million
• Duration: 1-year base period plus 5 x 1-year options
• Expected Award(s): Single Award
• Primary NAICS: 541513
• Contract Type: Firm Fixed Price
• Requirements: Provide Service Desk; Financial Management System; IT Field Ops; Operations Infrastructure Deployment and Hardware Maintenance (HW) Support
• Latest Update(s): Previous procurement process used the EAGLE II contract vehicle; likely that a different vehicle or GSA Schedule could be used as a part of a follow-on procurement
• Incumbent(s): Inserso

Key Takeaways for Information Technology Support Services (ITSS)

1. There is extensive history on this contract. This was previously three primary contracts (plus four others) including IT Field Operations, Network Cabling, and OCIO Enterprise Operations held by GD, ByLight, and Venture Netcomm.
2. When Inserso was originally awarded this contract in September 2017, four companies protested (ERPI, 360 IT Integrated Solutions, Ace Info Solutions and Innovative Solutions Inc.). Inserso was the highest technically rated, but also the most expensive at $192 million (others ranged from $147 million to $191 million).
3. The contract is now getting off the ground with a $46 million option exercised in February 2020; incorporated within $75 million in total obligations to-date.
4. We anticipate extensive competition on this re-compete, especially given the size and significance of this contract for ICE (11 proposals received during the last competition).

4. Digital Innovation & Development IT III (DID IT III)

• Agency: DHS US Citizenship and Immigration Services
• Status: Pre-RFP
• Solicitation #: F2020050261
• Solicitation Date: April 2021
• Award Date: July 2021
• Competition Type: Small Business Set-Aside
• Type of Award: CIO-SP3 SB GWAC Task Order
• Value: $100 million
• Duration: 6-month base plus 4 x 1-year options
• Expected Award(s): Single Award
• Primary NAICS: 541512
• Contract Type: T&M
• Requirements: Provide Human-Centered Design, Lean Product Management, Agile/Continuous Delivery, DevSecOps, and other practices
• Latest Update(s): RFP is now set to be released on or about April 27th via CIO-SP3 SB with an award in Q4 FY 2021
• Incumbent(s): Peraton / Perspecta (Knight Point)

Key Takeaways for Digital Innovation & Development IT III (DID IT III)

1. This contract is to be competed via Task Area 10: Software Development on CIO-SP3; previously SDVOSB Set Aside on EAGLE II.
2. The prior scope involved web and mobile-based application development of COTS proprietary OpenSource Technology, J2EE, and Section 508 compliant user interfaces.
3. Previously, this contract had challenges given the high turnover because the staff with experience in OpenSource tools could command higher salaries elsewhere. As a result, this past contract emphasized an Offeror’s ability to recruit and retain personnel as opposed to a traditional staffing plan approach. Knight Point had numerous strengths, including their ability to hire the best talent with problem solving skills and their experience with DevOps and with a wide range of tools used in software development.
4. Given the recent acquisition by Perspecta and then Peraton, this contract is open in terms of the next winner. Offerors will need to emphasize mobile application development, DevOps experience, and recruiting and retention strengths in their company.

5. CIO Business Operations Support Services (CBOSS)

• Agency: DOE Chief Information Officer
• Status: Pre-RFP
• Solicitation #: TBD
• Solicitation Date: December 2022
• Award Date: December 2023
• Competition Type: Full and Open / Unrestricted
• Type of Award: Agency BPA
• Value: $2.0 billion
• Duration: 1 year base plus 4 x 1-year options
• Expected Award(s): Single Award
• Primary NAICS: 541512
• Contract Type: FFP, T&M, LH
• Requirements: Provide cybersecurity and IT operations function support, including Enterprise Operations and Shared Services
• Latest Update(s): Current incumbent contract option is scheduled to expire on March 6th
• Incumbent(s): Accenture

Key Takeaways for CIO Business Operations Support Services (CBOSS)

1. There is lots of history with this contract. Back in 2005, Energy Enterprise Solutions was the incumbent and won via F&O Competition. In 2011, ActioNet won via GSA Alliant SB. In 2018, Accenture won via a F&O GSA Schedule BPA.
2. Over the years, the scope has remained consistent with Policy, Strategy, Cyber, and Enterprise Operations (ITSM, Data Center, and End User Support), with average annual spend of $170 million.
3. During the prior re-compete, there were six companies that competed for this contract. The evaluation factors in descending order were past performance, management approach, technical approach, and price. Six projects were required, two of which required moving a customer from an onsite IT environment to a cloud-based environment. Relevance was based on 13K users. The other projects required working with a CIO in cyber/security operations.
4. If you bring CIO-level, enterprise-wide security and IT operations support, then consider priming or teaming. While customer intimacy will help, companies will need more than one outsourced IT operations projects for past performance.