The General Services Administration is finalizing the call for Alliant 3 IT services contracts.
But one section that GSA has already completed is a new approach to attracting small and medium-sized businesses with new and emerging technology capabilities.
Large businesses can start meeting GSA's Small Business Emerging Technology Solutions contract requirements today under the Alliant 3 contract.
Paul Bowen, director of GSA's GWAC Program Center, said this assessment element is the first of its kind.
“'Non-Small Business' offerors have the opportunity to engage small businesses with emerging technology solutions that qualify in any of these 11 areas. We'll have the opportunity to interact with up to five small businesses that offer , meet them and have them sign a form saying we've met and we've spoken,'' Bowen said Friday. , spoke at an event sponsored by ACT-IAC. “Small businesses must provide evidence that they own a covered product when a non-small business submits it to GSA. Receive 200 points, up to a total of 1,000 points.
As part of the Alliant 3 solicitation draft published last December, GSA detailed this new approach to holding large companies accountable for learning about small businesses in specific emerging technology areas. It includes 11 fields including big data, cloud, cyber, AI, zero trust, and quantum computing.
GSA focuses on 11 emerging technology areas
Emerging technology solutions initiatives for small businesses require large companies to meet with at least five small businesses working on one of these 11 areas. The 11 emerging technology areas grew out of the work that GSA's IT category office has done and continues to do.
Mr Bowen said the GSA is not prescriptive about how engagement works or what you can or cannot get from it.
“The GSA does not dictate how these meetings are set up, how long they last, or the terms of the meeting. It's completely up to you all to think and agree with each other,” he said. “There's no expectation that you've done business together in the past. It also doesn't create an obligation for GSA to do business together in the future. It's a make-up match.”
However, the GSA has provided some parameters for the size of emerging small businesses. Companies must have at least $100,000 worth of business or participate in the Small Business Innovation Research or Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program.
Under the terms of the program, large companies can only get credit if they meet with another small business on all five initiatives, and meet with a small business at least twice in one of 11 categories, including cyber and AI. I can't. According to Bowen, this means that if large company means.
Matchmaking made easier
Small businesses bidding on Alliant 3 are not required to participate in this portion of the evaluation. GSA says you will automatically receive 1,000 points.
Bowen said GSA's decision to take this approach makes sense for several reasons.
First, it makes sense to make small business matching part of the evaluation factor.
“We know that small and medium-sized businesses are leaders in emerging technologies that are of great interest to everyone, including governments. It's a win-win for everyone to have the evaluation element of being able to meet with small and medium-sized businesses.” Bowen said. “It’s a win-win for small businesses that take advantage of emerging technologies, as they can go to companies that would have previously been difficult to get into. For non-SMEs, it’s a win-win. They're proving to the government that they have the ability to find small businesses to take advantage of emerging technologies, because at the moment a lot of emerging technologies are done mostly at the garage level and above. Masu.”
Bowen said this approach gives small businesses some leverage over larger companies in terms of holding meetings and explaining their technology and value.
In addition to this 1,000-point evaluation factor, GSA holds vendors accountable for meeting subcontract goals as part of the contract, Bowen said.
GSA plans to make a final solicitation for Alliant 3 in late May or early June.
One of the big changes to Alliant 3 is the number of awards GSA expects. GSA is targeting about 76 awards, an increase from the 60 awards it won under Alliant 2 in 2018, Bowen said.
One reason GSA is seeking more awards is the number of contractors who ultimately left Alliant 2. GSA started with him winning 60 awards, but in the last six years he has lost 22 awards. Of those 22, 11 were lost to mergers and acquisitions, and in another 11 the companies “voluntarily'' terminated the contract because they did not meet certain bidding or award requirements.
There are currently 38 vendors under the Alliant 2 umbrella, and GSA expects the increased number of award winners will create better competition.
Alliant 2 continues to be a popular deal among distributors, and Alliant 3 adds significant attention and excitement.
According to GSA data, in 2022, agencies owed more than $8.6 billion across 117 mission orders. In 2018, he was awarded Alliant 2 by GSA, and the agency has since owed him more than $26 billion.
Due to the popularity of Alliant 2, GSA increased the Alliant 2 cap from $50 billion to $75 billion in August 2022, seeing an upward trend in spending.
Over the past four years or so, Alliant 2 has become the go-to deal for many of the big-ticket and big-ticket programs agencies have pursued. The average task order at Alliant 2 is approximately $120 million.
The industry and GSA expect Alliant 3 to be just as popular and that spending will continue to rise.
Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not directed to users within the European Economic Area.
