On June 1, the Contracting Office released a Modification of the Pro-Tech Satellite Domain requirement.　 This was to publish a near final draft RFP incorporating changes from Q&A and to say the final solicitation would be released about June 30. This leaves the other four PRO-TECH domains to follow in the future.

Multiple awards are expected in the various socio economic categories. NOAA has been careful not to establish a specific number of awards, to preserve flexibility. Estimates range from 12 – 35 awards, with about 30 being a sweet spot guess.

Especially based on the critical nature of this domain, NOAA expects to award to strong teams with solid experience. At a recent APMP meeting, NOAA procurement head Mitchell Ross specifically said that this is a mission critical contract, and they are not expecting to make low price awards but instead are looking for “reasonable price.”

Ross added that he is looking for “trustworthy partners.” Someone from the floor asked what trustworthy meant, and he replied as follows: “It means they won’t sell the division [doing the contract] to China in the middle of the program.”

Given the timeframe, successful bidders need to pretty far along in their teaming and win strategy. It will be a challenge to start now, unless a company has something really needed on a team.

Consultants working the NOAA community think we will see a 45-day proposal period, although there is a slim chance in might be 30 days.