New Alliant RFP: 60 or More Small Firms May Win Awards GSA is inviting industry comments on the drastically revamped draft RFP for the Alliant and Alliant Small Business governmentwide acquisition contracts. In more than three years of planning, the Alliant contracts have passed through several management teams. The new team “essentially rewrote it from scratch,” said Program Manager Jim Ghiloni. He and other officials spoke and answered questions at a June 12 forum sponsored by Federal Sources Inc. in McLean, VA. He said from 40 to 60 or more contractors might be chosen for Alliant Small Business, depending on the number and quality of offers. GSA has repeatedly emphasized that it is seeking best-in-class companies. Alliant Small Business, said to be the largest set-aside in history, 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. Among the major changes in the new draft: Functional areas were eliminated from Alliant SB. Instead, contractors will be allowed to propose on one or more of three “component areas:” IT infrastructure, application and management. “There is no benefit in artificially segregating the work into functional areas,” Ghiloni said, because “there’s always a lot of gray areas” that cross functional lines in a contract for IT solutions. “The main message I want to get across is…you don’t have to check every box to win an award,” he added. “…You don’t have to do everything to win. You have to provide best-in-class solutions” in one or more component areas. “Excellence in one area is better than mediocrity in all,” according to the slide presentation accompanying Ghiloni’s remarks. Evaluation factors will not penalize an offeror who has no past performance references in one or two of the component areas. Any area left blank will be considered neutral, not negative. However, Ghiloni said companies must include a plan for supplementing their core capabilities to provide a complete solution. That could mean subcontracting, teaming or hiring people with the needed expertise. “I don’t care [how you do it],” Ghiloni said. “Just tell me you’ve got a plan.” GSA will consider only past performance on prime contracts, but Ghiloni asked for comments on whether performance as a subcontractor should also be considered. The minimum task order under Alliant SB is set at $100,000. Ghiloni said that figure was chosen so the new GWAC will complement the GSA IT schedule and the set-aside GWACs for 8(a) companies, disabled veterans and HUBZone firms, which can be used for smaller tasks. The minimum task order under the full-and-open Alliant GWAC is $1 million. Ghiloni said the figure is designed to give mid-sized companies a chance to win some work. However, the Alliant contracting officer, Cathy Beasley, acknowledged that allowing larger companies to bid on $1 million jobs might be seen as a ceiling for small business set-asides. She invited industry comment on the issue of minimum order sizes. An approved cost accounting system will be required for all offerors. Ghiloni said that will ensure that all small firms on the GWAC are eligible to bid on all task orders. He said a survey of small contractors that had expressed interest in Alliant found 80% of them either had an approved system or soon would have. A facility clearance is required at the Secret level. Offerors must comply with the earned value management system, as mandated by the Office of Management and Budget. Ghiloni said each offeror must supply documentation from a federal agency showing that it is in compliance. The draft RFP sets a goal of 50% small business subcontracting on the full-and-open GWAC. Several executives of mid-sized companies complained that the goal was too high and would limit their subcontracting opportunities. Comments on the draft are due June 30. GSA plans to issue the final RFP in October, with awards in the summer of 2007. “In general, we want to acquire anything IT, anywhere, on both these vehicles,” Ghiloni said. For more information, go to www.gsa.gov/alliant.