Revised RFPs Set For Alliant IT Contracts GSA plans to issue a second round of draft RFPs in June for its $65 billion Alliant and Alliant Small Business governmentwide acquisition contracts and may make significant changes in the small business set-aside. Alliant program managers explained their new strategy in a video posted online on Feb. 21. (www.gsa.gov/alliantstrategyvideo.) The first draft RFP, issued nearly a year ago, set out two functional areas for Alliant Small Business: information systems engineering and systems operation and maintenance. Jim Ghiloni, the Alliant project manager, said more functional areas may be added in the second draft. He said the agency still expects to award as many as 40 contracts to small businesses. Alliant Small Business will be worth up to $15 billion over 10 years. The full and open Alliant GWAC has a contract ceiling of $50 billion over 10 years. The NAICS code for the small business set-aside – 541512, computer systems design services – is unchanged. Some contractors said a NAICS code for telecommunications should be added, but Ghiloni said GSA rejected that because Alliant is not a telecom contract. Still, he acknowledged there will be some overlap with GSA’s Networx telecom contract. After the initial draft RFP was released, some industry commenters protested that the overlapping requirements would force contractors to spend bid and proposal dollars on both Alliant and Networx. Ghiloni said it would be “difficult and counter-productive” to separate IT and telecommunications functions. Alliant, he said, is meant to complement Networx. After the comment period on the draft RFP closed last year, several top officials of GSA’s Federal Supply Service left the agency and responsibility for the Alliant GWACs was transferred to John Johnson, assistant commissioner of the Federal Technology Service, who also oversees Networx. Johnson ordered a review of the Alliant acquisition strategy in September. As a result of the review, Ghiloni said, “There were a number of gaps that needed to be addressed.” He said the revised acquisition strategy will align Alliant with the Federal Enterprise Architecture, which he described as a more flexible approach to IT acquisition. GSA is re-assessing the evaluation factors specified in the first draft RFP. The second draft may change those factors. Ghiloni outlined three elements of the revised acquisition strategy: •On- and off-ramps will be added to both Alliant and Alliant Small Business. That will allow GSA to terminate poor performers and to replace small firms that have outgrown their size standard or have been acquired by large businesses. •The role of the Alliant GWACs in GSA’s portfolio “will be rationalized.” Ghiloni said, “The Alliant contracts are not to replace the multiple award schedules or our telecommunications contracts.” •The new draft RFP will reflect “more consistency between Alliant and Alliant Small Business where it makes sense.” GSA invited contractors to comment on the revised strategy before the new draft is released in June. The final RFP is due to be released in October, with awards in the summer of 2007. GSA’s Small Business GWAC Center in Kansas City, MO, is managing Alliant Small Business.