OASIS+ On-Ramps on the Horizon: Securing a New Foundation for Growth

As 2024 winds to a close, Federal contractors find themselves, once again, looking at a new calendar year and planning for the next round of significant business opportunities to come. For professional services firms, GSA’s One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services Plus (OASIS+) contract, in particular, stands out as a key 2025 acquisition target given the success of the OASIS program to date.

OASIS+ serves as the successor to OASIS and provides federal customers with a comprehensive suite of services-based solutions with enhanced competition at the task-order level with a focus on professional services including engineering and consulting services. It is a Tier 3 Best-in-Class (BIC) Contract, meaning the contract exhibits certain preferred characteristics on the tiered ratings scale the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) uses to evaluate agency spending.

A welcomed change from its predecessor, OASIS+ will offer continuous open enrollment through an on-ramp solicitation that is slated to come in government fiscal year 2025. This is different from the closed-contract format we saw in OASIS, where if a contractor did not get on, they were effectively locked out until the next on-ramp.

At Baker Tilly, we are regularly asked for updates on the current status of the OASIS+ awards given that initial proposals were submitted in October 2023. Below we offer an overview on the latest:

OASIS+ Rolling Awards

GSA has been diligent in keeping industry up to date on its progress. In late November 2024, GSA posted a comprehensive update, showing the following:

In September 2024, GSA formally announced plans to reopen solicitations for OASIS during FY 2025. This on-ramping period offers prospective vendors who did not submit proposals during the initial offer period another chance of securing an award on the highly anticipated vehicle.

OASIS+ Timeline

The final OASIS+ Request for Proposal (RFP) was released on June 15, 2023, with an initial due date of September 13, 2023. After five amendments, the due date was extended to October 20, 2023, and a sixth amendment was released after the offer period closed.

GSA announced the first contract awards on July 30, 2024. To date, awards have been made in the following socioeconomic categories (as of the time of the writing of this article). Contractors that have received awards are available right now for agency ordering in GSA eBuy.

• Women-Owned SB (WOSB)
• Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) SB
• Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned SB (SDVOSB)
• 8(a) Small Business

Total Small Business and Unrestricted Awards

Total Small Business (SB) and the Unrestricted (UNR) categories have yet to see awards, however those are coming soon as shown above. Proposals are still being evaluated and awards will continue on a rolling basis. Offerors who have not heard back on their proposal should expect to be notified of an award decision via email.

OASIS+ Proposal Overview

Prospective vendors interested in taking advantage of the upcoming OASIS+ on-ramp are encouraged to begin familiarizing themselves with the OASIS+ RFP and evaluating whether they can meet the qualification requirements.

The OASIS+ RFP utilizes a scorecard format where offerors must meet or exceed a qualification threshold to be considered for an award. There are eight domains that offerors can apply for:

1. Technical & Engineering
2. Management & Advisory
3. Facilities
4. Intelligence
5. Logistics
6. Research and Development
7. Environmental
8. Enterprise Solutions (Only available to vendors on OASIS+ Unrestricted)

Each domain has a qualification matrix and threshold. To earn credits, offerors perform a “self-scoring” assessment and claim credits based on the criteria met in the relevant qualification matrix. The RFP requires the offeror to provide specific support artifacts to substantiate the credits claimed. Example scoring criteria include:

• Relevant Project Experience
• Approved Business Systems
• Sustainability Practices and Disclosures

Offerors that meet or exceed the qualification threshold for the domain(s) they are pursuing will be considered for award, provided the proposal contains all the other required components.

Awardee Responsibilities

Offerors who have already secured an award are responsible for ensuring ongoing compliance with the requirements prescribed in the master contract. Additional requirements may be prescribed at the task order level.

Example requirements from the master contract include:

• Business Systems: Offerors who claimed credit for any business system in their proposal must monitor for any material changes or changes in approval/adequacy status and notify the government of changes.
• Contract Management: Offerors must appoint a Corporate OASIS+ Program Manager and Contract Manager to represent the company in all OASIS+ related matters until the contract is closed out.
• Cybersecurity and Supply Chain Risk Management: Offerors must submit a C-SCRM plan annually, beginning 90 days after receipt of the Notice to Proceed.

Awardees should also familiarize themselves with the GSA eBuy system, where all OASIS+ task order Requests for Quotation (RFQ) will be administered.

Looking Forward to the OASIS+ Future

As GSA prepares to release the OASIS+ on-ramp solicitations next year, now is the time for federal contractors to start laying the groundwork and ensuring they are positioned to compete effectively. Starting now ensures that your team has ample time to gather the necessary resources, build strategic partnerships, and address any potential gaps in your capabilities, ensuring you're ready to submit a winning proposal when the opportunity is announced. With our extensive experience in supporting OASIS+ proposal preparation, we are uniquely equipped to help you navigate the complexities of the upcoming contract opportunity, ensuring that your submission is both competitive and compliant.

Awards to offerors who submitted proposals during the initial offer period are anticipated to continue until April 20, 2025, when initial offers are currently slated to expire.

OASIS+ activity will continue to ramp up as the ordering periods of the original OASIS contracts come to a close, with the Small Business and 8(a) contracts ending December 19, 2024 and the Unrestricted contract ending March 1, 2025.

Contractors are encouraged to monitor the OASIS+ GSA Interact page to stay up to date with all things OASIS+.

Additionally, Baker Tilly has its own Multiple Award Contract (MAC) Solutions Resource Center where it tracks major GWAC/MAC IDIQ procurements closely in order to help its clientele. If you would like to learn more about Baker Tilly and how it can help your OASIS+ proposal preparation efforts, please feel free to reach out.

About the Authors

Leo Alvarez, a Principal at Baker Tilly, has 18 years of experience advising on a broad range of government contract pricing, compliance, third-party risk, audit, and dispute-related matters. His experience spans compliance issues related to GSA/VA FSS contracts, SCRM program development, capture support for BIC contracts, commercial item determinations, and contract management support. Within the context of GSA/VA FSS contracts, Leo has supported clients through historical pricing analyses, compliance program implementation, Mandatory Disclosure investigations, and pre- and post-award OIG audits.

Dylan Schreiner, a Senior Manager at Baker Tilly, has nearly a decade of U.S. Government contract consulting experience. Dylan is well-versed in FAR, DFARS and CAS regulation and has helped clients in a variety of industries solve a broad range of compliance-related problems, including preparing/reviewing incurred cost proposals, supporting Federal Government request for proposal (RFP) responses, evaluating and designing indirect rate structures, drafting CASB disclosure statements, calculating cost impacts, reviewing business systems, assisting clients with government audit responses and developing complex accounting tools to comply with FAR and CAS regulation.

Alec Bronder, a Manager at Baker Tilly, has extensive experience in government contract regulatory compliance. He has dealt with a range of issues contractors frequently face, most intensively involving the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Cost Accounting Standards (CAS). Alec has experience with Incurred Cost Proposal (ICP) and Forward Pricing Rate Proposal (FPRP) submissions, cost impact analyses, SF 1408 surveys, business system reviews, and the general design and maintenance of compliant contractor indirect cost allocation structures.