Navy public safety contract pushes price competition down to the task order level
By
Nick Wakeman
The Navy has released a solicitation for a $220 million public safety communications contract that pushes price competition down to the task order level.
The Navy has released the final solicitation for a $220 million contract to support interoperable communications for public agencies at the federal, state and local levels.
The contract will support the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command in San Diego, which in turn provides technical support to the rest of the Defense Department as well as the Homeland Security Department and state and local public safety agencies that rely on interoperable communications.
Proposals are due Dec. 15. The Navy will not consider price in its evaluation of proposals, according to the solicitation documents. Instead, price will be a factor when picking winners of individual task orders.
The contract is a follow-on to the current set held by Science Applications International Corp. and Lafayette Group. Everyone knows SAIC, of course.
But Lafayette is a Vienna, Virginia-based company founded in 1994 by Scott Green and Charles Dewitt that specializes in serving public safety agencies in the federal, state and local markets.
The Navy is looking for technical assistance, programmatic and strategic support, outreach, software engineering, and other command and control related efforts that support public safety and emergency communications programs.
Like the predecessor contract, the Navy expects to make multiple awards.
The Navy will use a three-step methodology in its evaluation process. Step one is determining acceptability of the offer. Step two is evaluation of capability including experience, past performance, and small business participation. Step three is the source selection decision.
Awards will be made to all bidders who:
- Provide an acceptable offer.
- Are determined to be a responsible source.
- Submit a technically acceptable proposal that meets the solicitation’s requirements.
- Give the contracting officer no reason to believe the bidder would be likely to offer other than fair and reasonable pricing.
The Navy will not perform a trade-off analysis.