The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued the final solicitation for Program Management, Administrative, Clerical, and Technical Services (PACTS III), an $8.4 billion suite of contracts aimed at enhancing DHS’s operational efficiency and service delivery.
Questions are due February 14, and proposals are due March 29.
PACTS is set aside solely for small business. Don’t miss this opportunity the win a PACTS III contract! Call us.
Key Changes and Highlights
Lowered Project Value Threshold: The minimum obligated value for projects has been significantly reduced from $1M to $250K for all three Functional Categories.
Past Performance Eligibility: Past performance projects must be ongoing or have been completed within 2 years of the solicitation date: February 5, 2024.
Competitive Scoring Ranges: DHS has provided results from their market research across various types of bidders and subtypes. It seems like these point totals came from the responses to the RFI and likely did not include scores from teammates. These point totals also do not include the bonus scores that bidders can receive. However, here are the minimum point thresholders that DHS provided:
- Functional Category 1 (FC1):
- 8(a) Prime Contractors: Minimum of 3,844 points
- HUBZone Prime Contractors: Minimum of 5,090 points
- WOSB Prime Contractors: Minimum of 2,096 points
- SDVOSB Prime Contractors: Minimum of 2,816 points
- JV (all categories): As low as 220 points
- Prime/Subcontractors (all categories): Starting at 158 points
- Functional Category 2 (FC2):
- 8(a) Prime Contractors: Minimum of 620 points
- HUBZone Prime Contractors: Minimum of 468 points
- WOSB Prime Contractors: Minimum of 476 points
- SDVOSB Prime Contractors: Minimum of 1,740 points
- JV (all categories): As low as 68 points
- Prime/Subcontractors (all categories): Starting at 256 points
- Functional Category 3 (FC3):
- 8(a) Prime Contractors: Minimum of 5,820 points
- HUBZone Prime Contractors: Minimum of 15,624 points
- WOSB Prime Contractors: Minimum of 4,520 points
- SDVOSB Prime Contractors: Minimum of 9,612 points
- JV (all categories): As low as 122 points
- Prime/Subcontractors (all categories): Starting at 1,144 points
OST consultants have reported much higher point totals than these minimum thresholds. Winning point totals will be many times higher than these totals.
What You Need to Know About PACTS III
Scope: PACTS III encompasses services across three functional categories (FCs):
- FC1: Administrative and General Management Consulting Services – 541611
- FC2: Office Administrative Services – 561110
- FC3: Engineering Services – 541330
Awards: DHS expects to issue eight awards per functional category and socioeconomic track. Of the eight awards, DHS will offer two awards per type of teaming arrangement, including the Prime Offeror, Prime/Sub, Joint Venture, and Mentor Protégé. DHS reserves the right to have as many awardees for each track within each Functional Category as it deems appropriate.
Teaming Arrangement Commitment: For prime/sub and JV arrangements, a minimum of 40% of submitted projects must come from the prime contractor or the protégé member of the JV.
Performance Period: The contract spans 15 years, with a maximum ordering period of 10 years.
Critical Deadlines
- Questions due: February 14, 2024
- Submission Deadline: March 29, 2024
Past Performance Requirements:
Projects must have been executed by the offeror either as a prime contractor or as a first-tier subcontractor. When the offeror has acted as a prime contractor on federal projects, several documents are required for submission, including the following:
- Self-scoring sheet
- Project cover sheet
- Conformed contract
- FPDS report
In cases where there are discrepancies in these documents, or if the offeror claims to have managed a team of similar size, additional documents like the Project Verification Form, SOW/PWS, and partner/subcontractor agreements must be submitted.
For projects that are non-federal or where the offeror was a first-tier subcontractor, a project verification form and a contract requirement document are also necessary, in addition to the above documents.
Source Selection Process
Initially, each offeror will be grouped based on functional category, socioeconomic track, and type of teaming arrangement. Following this, DHS will identify Proposals Qualified for Procurement (PQPs), determining the number of awards appropriate for each track and selecting the highest-scoring offerors for each type of teaming arrangement.
These selected proposals, referred to as PQPs, will undergo an acceptability review. The final stage of the process is a comprehensive evaluation, which includes a Price Evaluation to assess fairness and reasonableness, along with a review of supporting documentation for all past performance, accounting system, and facility clearance verification.
OST is here to Support Your PACTS III Proposal
As you prepare for the PACTS III bid, OST Global Solutions is ready to offer comprehensive support:
Scorecard Analysis & Teaming Support: We’ll help you maximize your scorecard and find the right teammates.
Subcontractor Portal: Connect with potential partners through our OST Teaming Partner Match Portal.
Strategy Sessions: Book a time with our team for tailored advice on your PACTS III bid.
Check out our free PACTS III resources: Webinars and PACTS III Newsletters.
Consulting Services: From capture management to proposal writing, we offer a range of services to ensure your bid stands out.
Ready to develop a winning proposal?
OST Global Solutions is a professional business development consulting firm. We have extensive experience in winning large, strategic bids like PACTS III. We can provide capture and proposal teams to develop a complete, winning proposal. Or we can provide consultants on a case-by-case basis to fill gaps on your business development team. Our services related to PACTS III consist of capture management, cost volume development, team identification/negotiation, proposal management, proposal writing, editing, graphics, and desktop publishing.
Contact us to discuss your bids, so we can help you develop a winning proposal.
Upcoming Bid & Proposal Academy Classes
Winning Government Cost Proposals Including AI Essentials
OST Global Solutions 7361 Calhoun Place, Suite 560, Rockville, MD, United StatesDeveloping a Winning Cost Volume course helps you increase your federal contract win probability. We focus on Government contract evaluation, pricing fundamentals such as cost buildup and cost volume elements, price strategy, developing basis of estimate (BOE), coming up with assumptions, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), cost volume narrative, winning in lowest price technically acceptable proposals (LPTA), and much more.
Proposal Editing With & Without AI
OST Global Solutions 7361 Calhoun Place, Suite 560, Rockville, MD, United StatesThis class teaches how to edit Government proposals while working with a proposal team. Not another English grammar class, this course teaches proposal-specific professional editing skills to improve your proposals' Pwin.
Foundations of Proposal Management Integrating AI
OST Global Solutions 7361 Calhoun Place, Suite 560, Rockville, MD, United StatesThis course provides must-have skills in managing Government proposals. It includes the proposal process, federal RFP analysis, and steps of the proposal development process from kickoff to color reviews (Pink Team, Red Team, Gold Team, White Glove) and submission. The class focuses on agile proposal management principles beyond traditional reviews that work in the current page-limited, short-deadline environment.
