TEACH – A Major Opportunity for Training Support / Services Companies

TEACH (Train, Educate, and Coach) is a major new Multiple Award IDIQ coming out this year from the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation (PEO STRI).  The value is estimated to be $600-$800M annually for seven years (1 base year plus 6 option years).  Task Orders issued under TEACH will be limited to a three year period of performance (1 base plus 2 option years) unless otherwise justified. The current contract ceiling is $5.39B. 

The projected acquisition timeline calls for a final RFP release in July 2014 with awards in January, 2016. A draft RFP (with Section L &M) was release on February 28. The draft RFP and several other documents such as two sets of Q&As and  an interested bidder list are posted on the FedBizOpps site (Go to FedBizOpps.gov and search on Solicitation No. W900KK14R0003 for these and other documents).

Statement of Work

TEACH will provide a full array of training and training-related support services to U.S. Army Soldiers, other Military Services personnel, Department of Defense personnel, other Federal Agency personnel, contractor personnel, and partner nations in the skills required to successfully perform mission requirements. Work will be performed at both CONUS and OCONUS locations.

Much of this type of work is currently addressed under the Warfighter FOCUS (Field Operations Customer Support) contract, a single award IDIQ held by Raytheon. The primary scope under Warfighter FOCUS is the sustainment of fielded TADSS (Training Aids, Devices, Simulators and Simulations).  With an increasing number of requests for training services / support, the Government determined that it is in their best interest to break out these service / support tasks into this new TEACH contract.  TEACH will afford better pricing through increased competition and improved ability to support customers since some support requests were determined to be out-of-scope for Warfighter FOCUS.

Number of Awards

The Government has not specified the number of awards to be made but indicated that their goal is to select a small, manageable number of awards – to include awardees in both the large and small business categories.  Industry estimates for total number of awards range from 6 to 10 with at least 2 going to small businesses.

Large and Small Business

Of note, there will not be separate suites (or lots) for large and small businesses.  Both large and small businesses will respond to the same RFP and sample TOs and will be evaluated against a single set of evaluation criteria. 

The Government has been consistent in their approach to have all TEACH efforts performed under North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Class Code  611430 ? Professional and Management Development Training. The small business size standard for 611430 is established by SBA at $10M – based on the average “annual receipts” for the past three years.

The Government anticipates a requirement for 40% small business participation at the IDIQ level. While individual Task Orders will have flexibility in terms of small business participation, aggregate performance at the IDIQ level will need to meet or exceed this requirement unless otherwise justified to be in the best interest of the Government.

What do Bidders do Right Now to Win a TEACH Contract

At this stage, if you are looking to compete for a seat at the TEACH table as a prime (large or small business), you are actively engaged or will have completed a respectable level of maturity with the following:

• You (as a team if not as a company) are known to the customers/buyers and have relevant / successful credentials.
• You have analyzed all solicitation documents – including Questions & Answers posted to date.
• You have made a comprehensive evaluation of the requirements of the draft RFP with particular   emphasis on the requirements for the sample TOs.
• You have formulated follow-up questions or comments to address any areas of the solicitation remaining that put you at a competitive disadvantage – with hopes of modifying or eliminating onerous requirements / conditions before the final RFP.
• You have talked with and secured general agreements with the team members important to your performance on the sample task orders – handshakes at minimum have been made and teaming / subcontracting agreements are in progress.
• You have identified and begun discussion with any other team members that enhance your overall competitive position in terms of TEACH scope (even if not required for the sample TOs), and have positive discussions leading to a mutually beneficial agreement.
• You have a realistic understanding of the key competitors’ strengths and weaknesses (ideally to include their key team members).
• You have a clear understanding of the resources required to pursue the opportunity as a serious competitive team (B&P, capture/proposal personnel, facilities, executive commitment, etc.).
• You have identified and likely assigned key contributors: Business Development lead, Capture Manger, Technical Lead, Proposal Manager, Pricing Lead.
• Your Win Themes and Discriminators are taking shape and your overall strategy is maturing

This is a very prolonged acquisition as noted earlier with a final RFP planned for July 2014 and award made early 2016.  Competitors will need patience and a commitment to keep the core team involved over a prolonged period. 

After initial awards, individual TOs will be evaluated as small business set aside candidates, and the Government does anticipate reserving several Task Orders for competition only among the small business participants. 

Companies (both large and small) that are awarded contracts will not be required to bid on every TO, but the Government expects a high participation rate for any eligible company on each TO, and there will be minimum TO response percentage defined in the final RFP.