By Global Services on September 25, 2020
By the end of 2020, GSA plans to release the Draft RFP for a replacement for the canceled Alliant 2 Small Business (A2SB) contract vehicle. In this post, we’ll take a look at what we know so far.
What was Alliant 2 SB?
Alliant 2 SB was the planned SB set-aside version of the Alliant 2 Government Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC). It was valued at $15B.
The unrestricted version, Alliant 2, is still active. It allows Federal agencies to purchase a wide range of Information Technology (IT) services and services-based solutions under a wide range of contract types (e.g., Firm Fixed Price (FFP), cost reimbursement, and Time and Materials (T&M), among others).
What happened to Alliant 2 SB?
In February 2018, GSA announced awards to 81 SBs, out of 493 proposals received. Protests from bidders who did not receive awards followed shortly after.
In March 2019, a court ruling upholding one of the protests required GSA to rescind all awards.
By August 2019, GSA had released a revised Alliant 2 SB solicitation, and the recompete appeared to be moving forward. In July 2020, however, GSA made the decision to cancel Alliant 2 SB altogether, and instead to focus on a new, replacement vehicle.
At the time of writing (September 2020), GSA has not yet released a name for the replacement, but has indicated that a Draft RFP is expected by year’s end.
Who will be able to compete for the new contract?
The planned replacement vehicle will emphasize Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) and Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB) set-asides.
GSA’s rationale for this emphasis is that HUBZones and WOSBs do not currently have their own GWACs, whereas other socioeconomic categories do (such as the VETS 2 GWAC for Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs)).
It is not yet fully clear whether the vehicle will be open exclusively to these businesses, or if it will simply favor them over other business categories in the evaluation process (for instance, by giving them dedicated pools within the contract).
Either way, HUBZone and WOSB contractors will want to pay special attention to the vehicle!
What kinds of services will it cover?
The GWAC will cover IT services including Emerging Technologies, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine-Learning (ML), As-A-Service Models, Cloud Computing, Edge Computing, and Cybersecurity.
What will be required in the proposal?
Until the Draft RFP is released, there is little information available about the proposal requirements. However, GSA has indicated that they are considering a new, more streamlined bid process. In addition, GSA is considering a new pricing model that will allow for pricing negotiations at the Task Order (TO) level, rather than at the overall GWAC level, much like GSA’s currently active ASTRO solicitation.
Have questions about which contract vehicles are right for your business, and how to win a space on them? Contact Global Services today!