Are you a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), 8(a), or a Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) business?
Well, there’s good news for you: the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released the pre-solicitation notice for its third iteration of the multiple-award contract (MAC) IDIQ for non-IT services known as a Program Management, Administration, Clerical, and Technical Services (PACTS) III. DHS released this pre-solicitation notice on March 3, 2023, and based on the latest update, the virtual Industry Day will be held tentatively in the late May or early June (2023) timeframe.
The competition type is targeted for 8(a) Set-Aside HUBZone Set-Aside Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business Woman Owned Small Business Set Aside with 541611 and 541330 NAICS codes. The aggregate ceiling for PACTS III is $5.6 Billion.
DHS aims to establish a suite of Department-wide Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contracts for program management, administrative, clerical, technical, and engineering services that will enable the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to accomplish its mission objectives. PACTS III will establish a flexible and responsive capability to meet the customers’ needs by providing a base of pre-qualified contractors who can be rapidly accessed through both competitive and noncompetitive methods, as appropriate, to provide the required services described in the PACTS III Statement of Work (SOW). Each task order will precisely define the services required to be delivered by the contractor.
In this blog, we have explained everything you need to know about this current IDIQ in the market, focusing on small business acquisition.
Download the Understanding Document of PACTS III
What does PACTS III cover?
The Draft RFP states that the selected offerors will be required to provide the full range of program management, operations, technical, and administrative services in one (1) or more of the Functional Categories to meet the mission needs of DHS. This vehicle will not provide any information technology (IT) services. The PACTS III Statement of Work (SOW) comprises three comprehensive Functional Categories (known as FCs) of services. Each of these three FCs has specific requirements that will be further identified and defined at the Task Order [TO] level:
- FC1: Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
- FC2: Office Administrative Services
- FC3: Engineering Services
For each FC, the contractor is required to provide the full range of services as a separate and distinct requirement. The services provided under PACTS III will support DHS nationally, using these services within the 50 States and US territories. The contractor must furnish the necessary labor personnel, materials ( equipment, facilities, travel, ancillary labor), and other direct costs required to satisfy the TO requirements.
While the SOW identifies the FC, it does not preclude using other vehicles and contracts to meet specific needs. The primary North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code and size standard for FC1, FC2, and FC3 are as follows:
Proposal submission requirements
According to the submission requirements mentioned in Draft RFP, offerors are required to submit one proposal with sufficient information concerning all factors to enable government personnel to determine the offeror’s capabilities to perform the requirements fully. As per the instructions in the solicitation, the following volumes must be submitted.
All offers are required to be submitted to the following email addresses based on the functional category(ies) it would like to be considered for.
- Functional Category 1: Offers shall be submitted to the email address: FCl PACTSIII@uscis.dhs.gov
- Functional Category 2: Offers shall be submitted to the email address: FC2 PACTSIII@uscis.dhs.gov
- Functional Category 3: Offers shall be submitted to the email address: FC3 PACTSIII@uscis.dhs.gov
Some noteworthy points regarding PACTS III
- The PACTS III Multiple Award IDIQ (MA-IDIQ) may consist of four (4) separate and distinct MA-IDIQ contracts designated under the following small business set-aside programs for each of the three (3) functional categories: FCl, Administrative Management, and General Management Consulting Service; FC2, Office Administrative Services and FC3, Engineering Services.
- Under PACTS III, interested small businesses can submit one (1) proposal from each offeror for each Functional Category.
- The government anticipates the award in August 2024.
- The maximum ordering period for PACTS III is ten (10) years. The ordering period is defined as when task orders can be issued under this contract. The ordering period is broken out as follows: a three (3)-year base, plus three (3), two (2) year options and one (1), one( l)-year option, if exercised. The performance period of a task order shall not extend more than one (1) year beyond the 10-year limit.
- One proposal constitutes one or a set of self-scoring sheets including claims from one of the following: an individual business, a Joint Venture, a Teaming Arrangement, or a Mentor-Protege.
- If the offeror elects to be considered for more than one of the four (4) socio-economic tracks, the same one (1) proposal will be used and evaluated only amongst the other offerors within the respective socio-economic tracks.
- The government reserves the right to not award contracts under any of the small business set-aside programs if it is in the best interest of the DHS.
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) anticipates making several awards within each FC and small business socio-economic track to ensure beneficial competition occurs at the task order level while maximizing the effectiveness and efficiency of PACTS III.
How will your offer be evaluated?
The DHS will award a contract resulting from the solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will most benefit the DHS, price, and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:
The source selection process on PACTS III will neither be based on the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) nor Tradeoffs. For PACTS III, the highest Technically Rated Offerors with a Fair and Reasonable Price (HTRO-FRP) will determine the best value basis for awards. Competition based on the scope of work for each order will be held at the order level in accordance with FAR Part 16.505 and the ordering procedures. Past performance will not be evaluated as part of this source selection.
Benefits for small businesses
This IDIQ targets specific socio-economic categories, including 8(a) Set-Aside, HUBZone Set-Aside, Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business Set Aside, and Woman Owned Small Business Set Aside; hence it is a great opportunity for small businesses to do business with the DHS. The goals of PACTS III are to provide the Department and its Components a mechanism for quick ordering of professional services and solutions at fair and reasonable prices, to give qualified small businesses a greater opportunity to participate in these requirements and to assist the Department with continuing to achieve and exceed its small business and socio-economic goals.
PACTS III: Latest developments
On April 24, DHS provided an update that the department is working on responses to the questions from the initial draft RFP and will provide responses once available. A second draft RFP for PACTS III is also anticipated to be released. DHS is contemplating hosting a matchmaking event in the May to June (2023) timeframe. If pursued, details will be made available to the industry in advance. Additionally, DHS now anticipates hosting a pre-solicitation virtual Industry Day in the late May or early June (2023) timeframe, and the instructions on how to register for the Industry Day will be available as time gets closer.
Based on the update released by DHS on March 23, 2023, the agency mentioned that they had received 524 questions in response to the draft RFP and will respond to them in the order received. DHS also requested the interested contractors to inform them if they do not receive an email from the PACTS III team with responses to their questions by the time all questions and answers are posted publicly.
Also, DHS has informed in the latest update that the virtual Industry Day will no longer be held at the end of March 2023 but has been rescheduled for the end of April 2023. DHS will provide information related to Industry Day as it gets closer. The government plans to issue the awards in August 2024. According to APFS Record #F2022059380, the solicitation is still expected to be released on or about August 30, 2023.
PACTS III is a golden opportunity to work with the government, establish yourself in the federal market, and advance your company. Going after contract vehicles such as PACTS III can be a complicated process for small businesses; our team at iQuasar simplifies the process for our clients. We support small businesses bidding for complex contract vehicles such as Polaris GWAC, OASIS+ (GSA BIC MAC), CIO-SP4, 8(a) Stars III, and other GWACs. We are constantly tracking updates related to contract vehicles like PACTS III. Our team of experts will supervise the entire process by helping you evaluate your eligibility, increase your readiness levels, prepare a custom-made proposal development strategy to your firm’s unique requirements, and create a high-quality and compliant response to help you win.
