FDA OAGS Knowledge Partnership Da y Industry Perspectives: Strengthening Acquisition Planning Through Proactive Industry Engagement December 12, 2018 @PSCspeaks
About t th the Professional Se Servic ices Council il The Professional Services Council (PSC) is the voice of the government technology and professional services industry, representing the full range and diversity of the government services sector. PSC is the most respected industry leader on legislative and regulatory issues related to government acquisition, business and technology. PSC helps shape public policy, leads strategic coalitions, and works to build consensus between government and industry. PSC’s more than 400 member companies represent small, medium, and large businesses that provide federal agencies with services of all kinds, including information technology, engineering, logistics, facilities management, operations and maintenance, consulting, international development, scientific, healthcare, environmental services, and more. Together, the trade association’s members employ hundreds of thousands of Americans in all 50 states. • Founded in 1972 • Five Councils • Acquisition Business Policy • Technology Acquisition Business Technology • Defense & Intelligence Policy • Civilian • International Development • Three Core Functions • Advocate • Educate • Facilitate Defense & Civilian Agencies International Intelligence Development 2
In Industry ry Panelis ists • John Larkin, Atlas Research, LLC (Small - SDVOSB) • Kathy Taylor, DRT Strategies (Woman-Owned) • Andy Cohen, Salient CRGT (Mid-Tier) • Julie Hunter, IBM (Large) • Moderator: Bradley Saull, PSC 3
Topics Requested from FDA Staff • What is the brand or reputation among industry about FDA? • How can FDA reach out to industry within the allowable rules? • What are the rules of engagement? • What is GovWin / Bloomberg Government? • Should I talk with them if they call me? • What is the role of forecasts in industry planning? • How can we better market to small business and other set-asides to meet our goals? Federal employees and contractors must work together to best support healthy outcomes. 4
Choic ice of In Instrument – Contract or Grant? • The Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act of 1977 (41 USC 501) guides government agencies in their use of federal funds to distinguish between contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements. • The central issue is the “principal purpose” of the action or relationship. • Principal Purpose • For federal grants, the principal purpose is to transfer something to “carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law.” • For federal contracts, the principal purpose is “to acquire . . . property or services for the direct benefit or use of the United States Government.” • Contract Type • PSC Taxonomy for Services Contracts • Different Tools = Different Partners • Some private sector companies bid on both grants & contracts; however, many companies do not compete for work when a grant mechanism is used instead of a contract. Be the Trusted Business Advisor to Program Offices on which Tool is Appropriate 5
Government/I /Industry ry Actio ions Alo long Program Li Lifecycle Government/Buyer Industry/Seller 6
In Industry ry Pre-Award Actions Alo long Program Lif ifecycle 1. Understand the Need 5. Industry Day/Objective 2. Define Requirements 6. Prepare Proposal 3. Market Research/RFI Response 7. Debriefing 4. Formulate Team Government/Buyer Industry/Seller 7
Post-Award Actio ions Alo long Program Lif ifecycle 1. Onboard Staff 4. Invoice/Payment 2. Program Execution 5. Recompetition/Exercise Options 3. Contract Administration 6. Contract Closeout Government/Buyer Industry/Seller 8
Capture Team & Management Lead Evolu lution Capture Manager Proposal Marketing Manager Manager Program Manager Solution Architect Identification & Long-Term Positioning Strategy Proposal Performance Assessment “Corporate” Staff Business Development Contracts Marketing Manager Subcontracts Marketing Analyst Pricing Sales Manager Accounting Capture Manager Talent Acquisition Capture Team Proposal Development Line Operations Technical Proposal Manager Solution Architect Production Manager Proposal Authors Writing Program Manager Graphics 9
What’s With All of the Colors? • Most companies use a structured business development process • Designed to increase win probability and keep bid and proposal costs down • Systematic gate reviews along acquisition lifecycle based on known info • Color reviews* occur during the proposal development process; early reviews can occur before RFP is released Gate Reviews Exist at Multiple Points *Drawn from Shipley Associates as one example 10
Competing for Resources Wit ithin the Company Opportunity Pipeline RFP Release RFP Due Expected Expected Name Priority Date Date Award Date Value HHS Do Cool 1 10/10/2018 12/7/2018 9/30/2019 $10M Things BAA CMS Agile Work 2 3/29/2019 4/29/2019 5/31/2019 $700K CDC Pandemic 3 1/15/2019 3/1/2019 6/28/2018 $1.5M Modeling NIH NCI Research 4 6/10/2019 7/10/2019 9/30/2019 $1M Support Services DHA Wellness 5 3/15/2019 4/29/2019 9/30/2019 $3M Program FDA Tobacco 6 12/15/2018 1/15/2019 4/30/2019 $500K Control Generally, higher priority items have more insight into scope and customer needs, but could also be strategic. Does the timing conflict with our other priorities? What if the timeline of your opportunity slips one or two months? 11
Analy lyzing the Competit itiv ive Landscape FDA Tobacco Control Support Services Evaluation Factors Innovate R Cheap The Big Ol ’ Our Us Cheap Dog Faithful Company Technical Understanding & 4 3 4 4 4 Capability Technical Experience 3 3 4 5 3 Management Approach 3 3 4 3 3 Past Performance 2 3 4 5 4 SB Utilization 5 5 5 5 5 Price 2 5 3 4 4 Total 19 22 24 26 23 W hile this company is 3 rd on the list competitively, they want to increase their technical understanding and management approach with a further customer conversation to validate and vet some of their ideas on the solution to see if they are on the right track . 12
Industry In ry Vie iew of FDA Acquisit ition Envir ironment ▪ About $1.6 billion in obligations annually; small business set-aside goal of 40% and achieved goal for each of the past seven years; FDA is small business friendly ▪ Top priorities for Office of Acquisition & Grants Services (OAGS) include: ▪ Greater adoption of Category Management; this is a Department mandate ▪ Ensuring contracting officers and specialists have necessary skills and tools; turnover drives need for new hiring and training ▪ The following vehicles will help industry compete at the FDA: NITAAC, SEWP, IT 70, OASIS, MOBIS ▪ FDA may employ more GWACs as Agency multi-award BPAs expire in the near future ▪ Acquisition planning occurring earlier in cycle. Centers/Offices increasingly need to backwards plan to achieve timely acquisition. ▪ FDA forecast part of HHS forecast - https://procurementforecast.hhs.gov/Contract - not current ▪ FDA does not have OTA (other transaction authority) at this time. 13
FDA’s Perceived Messages to Industry ▪ If you promise something in your proposal, be prepared to deliver . ▪ Don’t forget to focus on change management . Rolling out new or enhanced software requires time and energy to convert users. ▪ Understand the customer . Please don’t come to the government to get educated on what the FDA does. ▪ For incumbents: Train your delivery staff. They should keep learning and bringing new skills and ideas to the government. ▪ Share innovations . Show how new technologies can work for the government. Combining your value proposition with successful past performance is more meaningful. ▪ Ask questions of the government. An industry forum may be a more powerful way to ask a question than as an individual firm. 14
Se Sele lect FD FDA Contr tract Vehicle Use FY FY2015-17 17 15
FDA: FY18 Spending by Top 10 Professional Service Categories 16
Evalu luation Crit iteria ia (Section M) • Evaluation criteria has a significant impact on competition and acquisition outcomes • Order of factors is important • Use a meaningful rating system that justifies decisions • Use criteria that matter for execution not just for source selection • Identify the discriminators • What would you be willing to pay more for, if anything? • Does the evaluation criteria reflect those discriminators? • If innovation is desired, is innovation addressed in requirements and in evaluation criteria? • Trade Offs • Best Value vs. LPTA • Past Performance/Experience • Management vs. Technical Excellence • Does small business utilization matter? Does the solicitation describes how this will be evaluated? • Who you have on source selection committee is key • Make sure they understand the mission impact of program • Should not simply be who is available to work on a source selection 17
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