Evaluate Oasis+ or Bid on Oasis – That is the Question

Option A –  Submitting a Proposal for the Oasis+ Solicitation 

The Oasis solicitation has dropped and as expected there are a number of tracks depending on your status for unrestricted, small business, Women-Owned, SDVOSB and HubZone. GSA addressed the question on whether all the solicitations were identical.  I did not read all of them, so I am going by what GSA stated in the questions and answers.  And to that point your questions are due by July 6, 2023, by 4:00 pm ET.  Yes, there is a cost component too even though we all know the real pricing is done at the task order level.  

Q: Are there major content differences between the RFPs (e.g. SB, WOSB, HUBZone, SDVOSB, 8(a), UR)? 

A: The total small business RFP is nearly identical to the other small business socioeconomic RFPs with the same scoring threshold and available credits, apart from a few distinctions regarding business type certification status as well as applicable clauses and provisions that are specific to the separate socioeconomic categories. The Unrestricted RFP does not contain small business set-asides allowing for full and open competition and, therefore, has a higher threshold for awards (i.e., small businesses as well as other than small businesses (OTSBs) may submit proposals to the Unrestricted RFP). 

Note: Obtaining an award on the total small business contract does not automatically grant competition among the separate socioeconomic categories. A Contractor must still propose for those separate socioeconomic RFPs to obtain an award and compete under those separate categories. 

Option B – Submitting a Proposal to Evaluate the Oasis Proposals 

For those (few) of you who are not bidding on Oasis, there is still a place for you in federal contracting.  GSA has a solicitation out from its Office of Professional Services and Human Capital (PSHC) for a contractor to work with the GSA team on evaluating the Oasis proposals from all of you who took Option A. From the Statement of Work: 

The Contractor shall assist the Government in conducting technical quote evaluations during the OASIS+ source selection. All functions related to OASIS+ Support shall be on an advisory basis only. Please be advised that, since the awardee of this task order will provide evaluation services, some restrictions on future activities of the awardee may be required in accordance with FAR 9.5. Contractor personnel performing such services shall be required to sign a nondisclosure agreement. (See “Source Selection Non-Disclosure Agreement”). Of additional note, in line with FAR 9.505-3: a contractor performing evaluation support services shall not evaluate its own offers, or those of a competitor, without proper safeguards to ensure objectivity to protect the Government’s interest.

There may be an Option C of bidding on both the Oasis solicitation and the solicitation to evaluate Oasis proposals as long as you don’t evaluate your own proposal.  Per the RFP, offerors are required to submit and Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) plan. And so it goes.