Volume 100: Hinz Sight Turned 100!

Author

Kit Conway
November 06, 2025

In This Week's Newsletter:

Hinz Sight Turned 100 - Thank You!

We just hit 100 editions — and we’re just getting started! THANK YOU for making this newsletter a success across both LinkedIn and email subscriptions.

It’s incredible how many people tell us they read each edition from start to finish. Thank you for all the support and feedback as we try to make this a good investment in time for you and a useful ‘quick read’.

Fun Metrics:

Hinz Sight has been read over 136,908 times!

400+ opportunities got a highlight – most of which were not cancelled by DOGE!

Interestingly, the most opened article was Volume 60, a Special Edition covering Hinz Consulting’s Strategic Pipeline analysis. This provided much debate, internally, about content, and led us to…

2 new sections in 2025: Tool Time with Tyler, and The Interesting Section.

Thank you for being a subscriber to the Hinz Sight!

-Dan Marsh

Opportunity Alert – DHS USCIS BPA III

Contact Katie: [email protected]

Opportunity Alert – Department of Homeland Security (DHS), US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Cloud Hosting BPA III. 

USCIS requires Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS) hosting services in a commercial cloud. The government released an update on October 28, 2025, during its fourth-quarter Engagement with Industry, announcing that the Contracting Office intends to issue an RFI in Q2 FY2026 via SAM.gov. The final $566M Full and Open/Unrestricted BPA is due for release in June 2026, with an estimated award date of October 2026. Contact Hinz Consulting for Capture, PTW, and Proposal support today.

Four to Follow

  1. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Enterprise Cloud. On October 28, 2025, the Contracting Office released an RFI to receive industry input on a Cloud Service Provider (CSP) Strategy. Responses are due no later than 10 AM EST on November 12, 2025. The final solicitation is expected to be released on or around January 2026, with a projected award timeframe of April 2026. The contract value and competition type are currently unknown. Continue to monitor SAM.gov for updates to this opportunity.

  2. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Technical Assistance Services in support of the Initiative to Support Promising Research Program (INSPIRE). The HHS is seeking a trusted contractor to provide technical expertise to support research and development activities related to healthcare delivery and payment reform. This $15M Full and Open/Unrestricted opportunity was estimated initially for release in December 2025 via GSA MAS, with a potential award date of January 2026. This timeline may change depending on the government shutdown. Continue to monitor SAM.gov and your eBUY portals for further updates.

  3. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Budget and Finance Support Services. DTRA requires assistance in financial and program management support services agency-wide. The final solicitation for this $65M opportunity is currently estimated for release via GSA MAS around January 2026, with an award scheduled for June 2026. The competition type for this effort is currently unknown. Continue to monitor SAM.gov and your eBUY portals for updates in the procurement schedule.

  4. Department Information Systems Agency (DISA), Electromagnetic Spectrum Engineering Analysis and Services (EMS EAS). DISA requires a contractor to conduct engineering analyses to support changes in national and international spectrum strategies; develop prototypes; provide engineering support for regulatory activities, spectrum reallocation, and spectrum sharing studies; and provide other support services. This $50M Small Business Set-Aside IDIQ is expected to be released in January 2026, with a potential award date of May 2026. Continue to watch SAM.gov for any changes. Contact Us

Maximizing Price Evaluation Criteria

Contact John: [email protected]

When focusing on maximizing the pricing evaluation criteria within the Capture Methodology, the goal is to shape, influence, and position both price and solution so the customer views your offer as the best overall value—not merely the lowest cost. Maximizing pricing strength in capture requires strategic positioning and intelligence gathering before the RFP is released, including integrating pricing into the overall win strategy, aligning cost with the value proposition, and anticipating the customer’s budget, priorities, and competitive landscape.

Key Steps to Maximize Pricing Criteria

Here are the critical steps to maximize pricing criteria:

1. Early Intelligence and Price-to-Win (PTW):

  • Determine the Customer's Budget: Use pre-solicitation engagement and historical award research to identify the customer’s realistic funding range and establish the acceptable price ceiling.

  • Analyze Evaluation Criteria Weight and Factors/Sub-Factors: Review draft RFPs, historical solicitations, and agency preferences. Determine the relative importance of cost/price compared to technical and past performance factors.

  • Develop a PTW Target Range: Use competitive intelligence (competitors' historical pricing, rates, and likely bid strategies) combined with the customer's budget to model a target price that is both competitive, viable, and profitable.

2. Integrate the Price with Your Technical Solution:

  • Establish a Strong Value-Price Justification: Your pricing must directly reflect the unique value of your technical solution. If your solution is higher-priced, the proposal response must clearly articulate a superior return on investment (ROI), lower total cost of ownership (TCO), reduced risk, or faster implementation that will justify the higher rate.

  • Align Labor Categories and Level of Effort (LOE): Ensure proposed labor categories and hours realistically match the technical solution. This alignment supports cost realism reviews and proves the pricing is reasonable, executable, and not artificially low.

3. Competitive Analysis and Differentiation

  • Assess Competitor Pricing Strategies: Research competitors' known strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and preferred contract vehicles. Predict whether they will bid high (value-focused), low (market-share focused), or mid-range.

  • Find Your Pricing Differentiators: Use your capture competitive intelligence to identify areas where you can be more cost-efficient than your competitors without sacrificing quality. This type of savings will give you a competitive advantage.

  • Strategic Teaming Partnerships: Leverage teaming partners to fill capability gaps, strengthen past performance, and provide competitive labor categories or rates where appropriate, reducing overall evaluated price while enhancing solution strength.

4. Price Proposal Narrative:

  • Create a Clear Price Narrative: Write a compelling section in your business/cost volume that explains how your price was derived, why it represents the best value, and how it aligns with the solicitation's requirements and your technical solution.

  • Ensure Compliance and Accuracy: Pricing must fully comply with solicitation instructions and applicable regulations (e.g., FAR requirements for Federal customers). Even minor pricing errors can result in disqualification, regardless of the strength of the technical solution.

In short, to maximize pricing strength in capture: shape early, model realistically, justify assumptions clearly, and ensure your pricing reflects your organization’s value.

Pricing for Language Services

Contact Dr. Tom: [email protected]

Pricing for language services differs significantly from IT and other service areas, mainly because language support includes multiple distinct service types, such as:

  • Translation

  • Transcription

  • Interpretation (with three primary modes of interpreting).

Pricing for translation, transcription, and interpretation services is typically determined by different metrics and influenced by factors such as language complexity, specialization, and turnaround time.

Here is a brief description of the typical pricing models for each:

  • Translation (Written Text):

    • Per-Word Rate: The most common model. Human translation can cost up to $0.50+ per source word, depending on the language pair (common languages are typically lower-cost), subject matter (technical/legal content commands higher rates), and urgency.

    • Per-Page or Hourly Rate: Less common, but used for non-editable files, scanned documents, or projects requiring complex formatting or layout.

  • Transcription (Audio/Video to Text):

    • Per-Audio Minute/Hour: The most frequent model. Human transcription often costs up to $5.00+ per audio minute (roughly up to $300+ per audio hour), while automated/AI transcription is significantly cheaper.

    • Factors influencing cost include audio quality, number of speakers, required turnaround time, and whether it's verbatim or clean-edited.

  • Interpretation (Spoken Language):

    • Hourly Rate (with a Minimum): Interpreters are typically billed hourly, often with a two- to four-hour minimum. Rates can reach $160+ per hour, depending on language and specialization.

    • Per-Minute Rate: Common for on-demand services (e.g., over-the-phone interpretation), with rates that can reach $3.00+ per minute.

    • Factors include the type of interpretation (simultaneous is typically more expensive than consecutive or escort), the language, required certifications (e.g., legal or medical), and whether the service is virtual or on-site.

Prices will vary widely by language, with low-density languages (such as Pashto) generally costing more than high-density languages (such as Spanish). Your pricing support team will understand these differences and apply the correct rates.

What’s Behind the Buzz About SNAP and What Happens If Funding Stops?

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, has long stood to combat hunger and promote economic resilience. Established under the Food Stamp Act of 1964 and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, SNAP was designed with a dual mission: to strengthen the agricultural economy and improve nutrition among low-income households.

Initial funding was modestly $75 million in its first year, rising to $200 million by year three. Early projections anticipated participation by 4 million families at an annual cost of $360 million. The program’s intent was clear: to offer temporary support to individuals and families facing hardship, helping them regain stability, not foster long-term dependency.

Today, SNAP remains a vital safety net to families in need and provides economic activity for local stores and businesses. 

SNAP was never intended to be a permanent solution for all, but it continues to serve as a bridge for those navigating economic uncertainty. According to recent USDA SNAP Activity reports (2023), 42 million Americans rely on SNAP benefits each month, including nearly 16 million children.1

Its reach is both national and deeply personal, ensuring that children don’t go to school hungry, that seniors on fixed incomes can afford groceries, and that families facing unexpected hardship have a lifeline to put food on the table.

1 Source: USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, State Activity Report FY 2023.

About Hinz Consulting

Hinz Consulting provides services across the full business development cycle:

  • Proposals

  • Capture

  • Price To Win

  • Competitive Intelligence

  • Strategic Pricing

  • Production

  • AI Services

  • Training

  • BD Transformation 

  • Process/Methodology 

  • Tools and Template

  • Small Business