In This Week's Newsletter:

• Opportunity Spotlight of the Week: DoS Small Business IDIQ

• Four To Follow: Four Interesting Pursuits

• Pricing Insights: Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)-Why?

• Capture Corner: Why Contract Vehicles Are Essential for Federal Contracting Success

Opportunity Alert – DoS Small Business IDIQ

Contact Katie: [email protected]

Opportunity Alert – Department of State (DoS), Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Program Management for Global Aviation Services. 

DoS needs a contractor to provide program management support services, human capital, aviation support, responsiveness to customers, and strategic plans to meet its aviation needs. The projected release timeframe for this $240M Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business IDIQ is to be on or around December 2025, with the anticipated award timeframe of March 2026. Work is to be performed OCONUS. Contact Hinz Consulting today for Capture, Proposal Management, and Price-to-Win support.

Four to Follow

1. Department of the Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command, Ship Maintenance Performance Group (SMPG) Program Support. On August 29, 2025, the Contracting Office released a sources sought notice for small businesses that can provide scientific, engineering, technical, and analytical (SETA) support services for the SMPG Program. Responses are due no later than 4:00 PM EST on September 19, 2025.  The Final solicitation is anticipated for release in the 2nd quarter of FY2026 for this $17M effort. The estimated award timeframe is on or around July 2026. Continue to monitor SAM.gov for further information.

2. Department of Defense (DoD), Washington Headquarters Services (WHS), Facility Environmental Compliance, Planning, and Resiliency Technical Support. On August 22, 2025, the Contracting Office released a sources sought notice for a potential IDIQ, Single-Award contract. Responses to the sources sought are due no later than 12:00 PM EST on September 19, 2025. This notice was posted to both SAM.gov and GSA MAS. Based on responses received from the industry, the Government intends to release this IDIQ on or around December 2025, either through SAM.gov or GSA MAS. The estimated award timeframe is April 2026. Continue to monitor your eBUY portal and SAM.gov for any updates to the solicitation timeline.

3. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Identity Credential and Access Management Enterprise Services III (ICAM-ES III). DHS needs information technology, systems engineering, and other professional services for current ICAM applications and the technical environment. The anticipated release for the final solicitation will be via GSA MAS on or around September 19, 2025. The projected award date for this $50M, Small Business Set-Aside opportunity is December 2025. Continue to monitor SAM.gov and your eBUY portal for further information on this effort.

4. Department of the Air Force (DAF), Integrated Defensive Cyberspace System (IDCS), Secure Platform Architecture for Real-time Threat Analysis and Network Defense (SPARTAN). The DAF released an RFI on August 28, 2025, for capable contractors to provide responses to services that enable the IDCS program to deliver enhanced situational awareness, proactive threat detection, accelerated incident response, and effective cyber defense across the DAF enterprise. Questions and comments are due by 2:00 PM CT on September 5, 2025, with responses due no later than 2:00 PM CT on September 19, 2025. The final IDIQ RFP is expected to be released on or around December 2025, with a projected award timeframe of June 2026. Follow this effort on SAM.gov for updates to the timeline.

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)-Why?

Contact Tom: [email protected]

Pricing professionals, as well as other professionals in the federal contracting industry, should all know about the FAR.  One does not have to be a subject matter expert in the FAR, but having a basic understanding is very important to ensure compliance and to avoid financial and legal penalties.

The FAR is essentially the federal contracting bible, encompassing (but not limited to) the following areas:

• Acquisition planning

• Contract formation

• Contract management

• Contractor exclusions

• Acquisition team

• Learn and implement strategies to avoid defective pricing

• Prepare for audits

• Optimize strategies for different contract types

• Understand the competitive landscape

• Understand price and cost analyses

• Proposal evaluation techniques

There is also the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), which applies specifically to all proposals submitted under the Department of Defense (DoD)

The FAR is available via hard copy or online at: FAR | Acquisition.GOV.  I prefer accessing it online, as one can use the search function and download the FAR in different formats.

The FAR is complex, and there are actual college courses to help understand it.  There have been efforts in the past to update the FAR to make it easier to understand and streamline; currently, there is an effort to overhaul the FAR via Executive Order 14275, titled “Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement.”  This will be an ambitious undertaking, but concerns exist that eliminating specific processes could increase the risk of fraud and abuse. As long as revisions continue to ensure compliance, fairness, reasonableness, balanced offerings, and adherence to established guidance, there should be no issues.

Why Contract Vehicles Are Essential for Federal Contracting Success

Contact Nick: [email protected]

In federal contracting, effective capture management aligns strategy, offerings, and customer needs to ensure optimal results. Contract vehicles like General Services Administration (GSA) OASIS+, Army Marketplace for the Acquisition of Professional Services (MAPS), or Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Dynamic Operational Multiple Award Environment (DOME) are critical frameworks that streamline procurement. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, over $420 billion—more than half of federal contract dollars—flowed through multiple-award vehicles like GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS), OASIS, NASA SEWP, and others. Without vehicles like Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts, Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs), Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs), or Other Transaction Authority (OTA) Consortia, your ability to compete is severely limited.

Why Contract Vehicles Matter

Contract vehicles are pre-competed frameworks enabling agencies to access qualified vendors. They are indispensable because they:

• Provide Market Access: Vehicles like OASIS+ or SeaPort-Next Generation (NxG) provide direct channels for buying organizations and enable your organization to bid on task orders, unlocking multi-billion-dollar markets.

• Reduce Procurement Barriers: Vehicles streamline purchases, allowing faster, compliant acquisitions that agencies prioritize.

• Enhance Credibility: Best-in-Class (BIC) vehicles like OASIS+ or MAPS, designated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), signal pre-vetted, high-quality solutions.

• Support Diverse Vendors: Vehicles like DOME, Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Gateway to Sustainment (G2S) include set-asides, leveling the playing field for small businesses.

Without a vehicle, innovative offerings risk being sidelined. To secure a spot, monitor SAM.gov, agency forecast lists, and platforms like GovWin or GovTribe. Attend industry days, vendor outreach sessions, and review draft RFPs to shape your strategy and join during open seasons.

Integrating Contract Vehicles into Capture Strategy

Securing a contract vehicle is the foundation. To capture task orders in a $400+ billion market, integrate vehicles into your strategy:

1. Map Offerings to Vehicles: Align products or services with vehicle scope, ensuring Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) or Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs) are enabled—for example, position cybersecurity solutions on CISA’s DOME or DLA’s C5ISR G2S.

2. Prioritize High-Impact Task Orders: Use tools like GovWin, USAspending.gov, or Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS.gov) to analyze task order data and target opportunities aligned with your capabilities.

3. Engage Early: Build relationships with agency stakeholders through industry days, Request for Information (RFI) responses, and meetings to influence vehicle requirements for vehicles like MAPS (Q1 FY2026) or DOME (February 2026).

4. Forge Teaming Strategies: Partner with primes or subcontractors to strengthen bids and fill capability gaps.

5. Outmaneuver Competitors: Use competitive intelligence tools to track competitors on vehicles like SeaPort-NxG or NASA SEWP VI, developing differentiators like innovative pricing.

6. Optimize Proposals: Create vehicle-specific playbooks with templates, compliance matrices, and past performance libraries for efficient bidding.

These steps position your company to compete effectively and win task orders.

Key Contract Vehicles

Below is a list of contract vehicles that are expected to be solicited or opened for on-ramp in the near future:

• GSA OASIS+: Government-wide IDIQ for professional services. On-ramping expected Q1-Q2 FY2026.

• DoD C5ISR G2S: Multiple-award IDIQ for C5ISR equipment and services. On-ramp RFP expected in March 2026.

• Marine Corps Installation Command (MCICOM) Professional Services: IDIQ for management and technical support. Solicitation expected Q2 FY2026.

• Army MAPS: $50B IDIQ for logistics, engineering, and Information Technology (IT) modernization. Solicitation expected Q1 FY2026.

• CISA DOME: IDIQ for cybersecurity and IT services. RFP Q2 FY 2026; review March 2025 RFI on SAM.gov.

• Census Bureau Transformation & Application Modernization (CenTAM): Small Business BPA for cloud applications and data science, ceiling over $1B. Solicitation expected Q1-Q2 FY2026.

Conclusion

Contract vehicles like OASIS+, MAPS, DOME, and CenTAM are cornerstones of federal contracting, unlocking a multi-billion-dollar market, streamlining procurement, and enhancing credibility. By integrating vehicles into your capture strategy, you ensure accessible, compelling offerings.

• September 16-17th: COVITS in Richmond, VA

• October 2nd: 2025 Intel Summit in McClean, VA

• November 5-6th: GovAI Coalition Summit in San Jose, CA

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