The countdown has begun for the upcoming Contingency Applications Program Support (CAPS) contract.

The Government loves its acronyms and it’s between the Army and the Navy as to which takes it to the most extreme. In the Army’s case, it might be C5ISR, which, for the uninitiated, is the acronym for Command, Control, Communication, Computer, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (WHEW!). Anyway, the Army C5ISR Center, located at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is preparing to release a solicitation for the Contingency Applications Program Support (CAPS) Contract.

Contingency Applications Program Support (CAPS) Timeline

The CAPS RFP is scheduled to be released sometime within the next two months and is an IDIQ with an unknown target number for final contracts – The current contract had 10 winners. With an estimated value of between $500M and $750M, the acquisition is certain to attract attention since it is a full and open/unrestricted effort.

The draft RFP, released on 12 July of this year, calls for an electronic submission via email – no submission portal for the Army – just keeping it simple! The draft indicates that the response will be in four volumes with some ancillary information required such as the offeror’s SAM information and any required Organizational Conflict mitigation information. The following page limits will apply:

  • Technical Volume — 30 pages
  • Past Performance — 25 pages

Technical Volume Details

The technical volume is further subdivided with separate page limits by PWS task, so this becomes an adventure in trying to hone your content to meet the requirements. The tasks with the segregated page limits are as follows:

  • Introduction and Background – 1 page
  • General staffing (recruitment, training, and retention) – 1 page
  • Program Management Support – 2 pages
  • System Design, Development, and Integration Support – 6 pages
  • Software Design, Development, and Integration Support – 5 pages
  • Test and Evaluation Support – 4 pages
  • Technology Transition Support – 4 pages
  • Operations Support – 4 pages
  • Special Requirements and Security Requirements – 2 pages, and concluding remarks – 1 page

They are being even more specific in that they are dictating the structure of the response within each task area specified above:

  1. Approach
  2. Resources
  3. Unique Qualifications/Capabilities and
  4. Examples

The Cost and Past Performance Volumes requirements are fairly standard.

The proposals will go through a two-step evaluation process with the first step being a compliance review and the second step being a traditional evaluation.

Keys to Winning Contingency Applications Program Support (CAPS) :

  • Review the draft RFP and pay particular attention to the Section 3 PWS tasks. Start to hone your story within each task area, paying attention to the page limits and the required structure
  • Get your writers and SMEs identified and let them begin work on crafting the content
  • It’s probably wise not to rely on boilerplate content for this since the individual tasks have page limits
  • Select your Past Performance examples carefully and be mindful of trying to hit the PWS points within each task

Again, expect the CAPS solicitation to be released within the next 60-75 days. Getting an early start will be crucial since this will probably be a 30-day turn.

GovWin ID — 193886

SAM — W909MY22RCAPS (this may change once the final RFP is released).

 

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