In This Week's Newsletter:

• Opportunity Spotlight of the Week: Department of the Army, Marketplace for the Acquisition of Professional Services (MAPS)

• Four To Follow: Get the lowdown on four interesting pursuits

• AI Corner: Proposal Evaluation Tools and Software

• Pricing Insights: Service Contract Act (SCA)/Davis Bacon Act (DBA)

• Capture Corner: Capture Approach: Win Themes

Hinz Event Alert

Hinz is partnering with GovBrief to feature a presentation on How to Create a Compliance Matrix: A Webinar for Government Contracts.

Navigating the complex landscape of government contracting can be challenging, especially when it comes to meeting regulatory requirements. Join our exclusive webinar, "How to Create a Compliance Matrix," designed specifically for professionals in the GOVCON market. Our industry experts will walk you through the process of developing a comprehensive compliance matrix tailored to the unique needs of government contractors.

Why Attend:

• Expert Guidance: Learn from seasoned professionals with extensive experience in government contracting and compliance management.

• Interactive Q&A: Get your questions answered in real-time by our expert panel.

• Practical Tools: Walk away with templates and resources to help you create and maintain your own compliance matrix.

For more information, visit the website.

Department of the Army, Marketplace for the Acquisition of Professional Services (MAPS)

Contact Katie: [email protected]

On March 21, 2025, the Army released a statement that Draft 4 of the MAPS Solicitation will be released early next week. This is the last planned draft before the final RFP is released in April 2025. This $50B multiple award IDIQ is a merging of the RS3 and ITES-3S contracts. This IDIQ will be competed as both a Small Business Set-Aside and Full and Open/Unrestricted. The Government will conduct a pre-solicitation conference for MAPS via a MS Teams Live Event on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at 10:30am EST. Reach out to Hinz Consulting for Proposal and Pricing support.

Four to Follow:

1. Department of Defense (DoD), Information Technology (IT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML) Programmatic Support Services. On March 20, 2025, the Contracting Office issued a Sources Sought notice for personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, materials, tools, transportation, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform IT, AI & ML Programmatic Support Services. The Sources Sought is due April 4, 2025, by 10:00 AM EST. This $140M 8(a) Set-Aside is estimated for release on or around July 2025. Continue to monitor SAM.gov for further information.

2. Department of Justice (DOJ), Enterprise application Design and Development. On March 13, 2025, The DOJ released an RFI with a Draft Statement of Objectives (SOO). Responses are due no later than April 3, 2025, by 2:00 PM EST. This $250M BPA is anticipated for release in or around June 2025, with an estimated award date of January 2026. The current competition type is unknown. Continue to monitor SAM.gov for additional information.

3.  Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), Global Electromagnetic Spectrum Information Systems Sustainment and Enhancement (GEMSIS). On March 20, 2025, the RFP for $62M Small Business Set-Aside IDIQ was released, with Phase One proposals due no later than April 1, 2025. Awards are anticipated no later than July 11, 2025, with contract start to begin on or around July 11, 2025. The Phase Two proposal will be  in the instructions provided to offerors selected to proceed to Phase Two. Continue to monitor SAM.gov for updates.

4.  Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Managed Enterprise Network Support Services (MANNUS). On March 21, 2025, DARPA issued Amendment 1, RFI amendment for MANNUS IDIQ in order to post an updated Draft Solicitation and Solicitation attachments. This $350M IDIQ has been changed from Full and Open/Unrestricted to 100% Small Business Set-Aside with an estimated release timeframe of April 2025 and projected award date of June 2025. Continue to monitor SAM.gov for future updates.

Proposal Evaluation Tools and Software

Contact Josh: [email protected]

In case you have been wondering…

Yes, the federal government is actively seeking proposal evaluation tools and software. For instance, DARPA has issued a Request for Information (RFI) for end-to-end automation and evaluation tools, including robust source selection software that aids decision-makers with abstract and proposal evaluations. Additionally, various government procurement software solutions are designed to help manage the request for proposal (RFP) and vendor management processes.

The timeline for testing and implementing these tools can vary. Typically, the process begins with the issuance of an RFI or RFP, followed by a period for vendors to submit their proposals. Once a vendor is selected, the testing phase can commence, which may include developmental test and evaluation (DT&E) and operational test and evaluation (OT&E) to ensure the software meets all requirements. This phase can take several months to over a year, depending on the complexity of the tool and the specific needs of the agency.

After successful testing, the implementation phase begins, which involves integrating the software into existing systems and training personnel. This phase can also vary in duration but typically takes months to a year.

The impacts on our industry may vary. It is likely the software will not impact your proposals directly; however, you are likely to receive more form-fill feedback rather than feedback from the final human review panel. Government procurement software will enable government organizations to keep pace with the increased bidding velocity attributed to GenAI. For companies in the GOVCON space, your competitors are poised to leverage GenAI or cost-effective hybrid solutions, like Draft Proposal Packages, to bid more. Hinz AI Center of Excellence wants to know: how will you bid more when human connections and capture weigh less than scale and velocity?

Service Contract Act (SCA)/Davis Bacon Act (DBA)

Contact Tom: [email protected]

This section offers a high-level overview of SCA/DBA and is not intended to be comprehensive. SCA/DBA are mandated by the Department of Labor to ensure fair and reasonable wages, benefits, and other fringes for non-professional labor categories/job functions.

SCA covers a long list of categories, while DBA focuses on construction-related work. Each mandates minimum pay and benefits. Some companies choose to bid at those minimums; however, others bid with best practices while ensuring that their employees' offering is better than SCA/DBA mandated amounts. Go to their website for additional information. SCA/DBA wage determination documents are searchable by state and then by county. There is also a library at the SCA link so users can read the labor category descriptions.

SCA

As a prime contractor with subs: It is the prime’s responsibility to instruct subcontractors on which SCA categories to use. Direction to subs should include the minimum pay and health & welfare amounts.

• Health & Welfare (H&W)

  1.  An hourly benefit that may or may not change annually

  2. Companies have options besides paying an H&W amount

     • "Bonafide" benefits; packages like other full-time salaried employees

  3.  In pay stubs, H&W benefits must be shown separately from basic compensation

  4.  It may be paid out in cash or contributed to 401k

  5. Offerors may load H&W costs like labor or load them with a prorated fringe amount

•  Allowances like uniforms are also included

DBA

• Basic principles like SCA, however, H&W are referred to as “Fringe costs"

In summary, ensure at least that the minimums are proposed. Monitor updates to the wage determination documents, as changes can happen at any time. Also, keep an eye out for Executive Orders because some may affect federal minimum wages.

Capture Approach: Win Themes

Contact Nick: [email protected]

Win themes are at the core of a compelling capture strategy – they are the central messages that link your solution to the customer’s needs and when done correctly make it clear that your organization provides the best value. Win themes are the “why us” of your proposal and they need to be woven in throughout your proposal response. Strong win themes are concise, customer-focused statements that can be and are substantiated; they are not generic claims which cannot be proven by past performance. Win themes are not just fluff content in the proposal--they tie your win strategy into the narrative, focus content on customer needs, and give evaluators clear reasons to score you highly.

Win Theme Development: In the early phases of the capture process, you engage with the customer to  understand their pain points, while also assessing the competitive landscape. During this stage you also begin to develop an understanding of what it will take to win and formulate your win strategy. The win strategy serves as the foundation of your win themes; however, they cannot be set until the final solicitation is released. Once it is issued, you need to measure your win strategy against the customer’s evaluation criteria. If they align, you can finalize your win themes. Some key ingredients to compelling win themes are:

• Customer Centricity: Start from the customer’s perspective, what do they value most (low-risk, innovation, speed, reliability, cost, etc.)?

•  Alignment to Evaluation Criteria: Win themes based on what you think the customer cares about-- but are not part of the evaluation criteria--provide no value. Highlighting how you meet or exceed evaluation criteria is what will help you win.

•  Differentiation: Win themes should be focused on the qualities of your solution and organization that set you apart from the competition. Avoid basing your win themes on features or capabilities that the competition can also claim.

• Evidence Based: Win themes must be able to be substantiated by past performance and/or metrics.

• Keep it Simple: Keep your win themes concise and to the point. They allow you to use the theme consistently throughout and make it easy for evaluators to remember.

• March 27: Small Business Expo in Washington, DC

• April 1-2: AFCEA 2025 Spring Intelligence Symposium in Springfield, VA

• May 13-16: VETS25 Conference in Orlando, FL

• May 18-21: BPC Nashville 2025 in Nashville, TN

About Hinz Consulting

Hinz Consulting provides services across the full business development cycle:

• Proposal Consulting

• AI Services

• Strategic Pricing

• Training

• Capture

• Competitive Intelligence

• BD Transformation Consulting

• Process/Methodology Consulting

• Tools and Templates

• Production Services

• Small Business