Winning the $1.5B Army Medical Repair and Renewal Design-Build Construction VII Contract

The Medical Repair and Renewal Design-Build Construction VII final RFP is anticipated in early-to-mid October.

Repair and Renewal Activities

As a person who has spent many hours in military healthcare facilities over my active-duty years, I can’t say that the overall “look and feel” of the facilities have changed. Many of them are more than 70 years old, with several of them even older. While the outsides haven’t really changed all that much (except for an occasional new wing), there have been major efforts to provide what the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) calls “repair and renewal” activities (renovations) to increase capacity and modernize facilities across the military and across the world.

Awards and Timeline for Medical Repair and Renewal Design-Build Construction VII

The latest iteration of this program is called the Medical Repair and Renewal Design-Build Construction VII (MRR VII) program and will result in a target of 12 awards (this could change) spanning a seven-year period with a base period of three years. The apparent intent of the USACE is to award four contracts to 8(a) firms, four to small businesses, and four under a full and open competition. The ceiling under the current contract is nearly $11 billion (mainly due to Covid) with this acquisition probably looking at a ceiling somewhere in the $1.5 billion range.

This may well be a “short fuse” process with the publishing of the draft solicitation in late August and an anticipated final RFP expected as early-to-mid October.

Draft RFP

Per the Medical Repair and Renewal Design-Build Construction VII draft RFP, the USACE is looking to streamline the construction and management of labor and other resources in hopes of realizing faster project execution with lower costs. All bids will undergo a two-phase evaluation process with the first being a qualification review. Phase 2 evaluations will require proposals against a sample task order in a best value competition.

The Phase 1 proposal will consist of five volumes with Volume I is comprised of the SF1442 and the proposal data sheet. The most important volume is Volume II Evidence of Bondability. Volume III, Corporate Medical Experience and Volume IV, Technical Approach are of equal value and Volume V Past Performance is the least important. Highlighted requirements for each volume include:

Volume I – General information about the firm(s) submitting the bid along with reference to CPARS
Volume II – Proof of bondability of at least $5 million from a financial institution rated investment grade by Moody’s Investor Service. This will be evaluated on an Acceptable/Unacceptable basis
Volume III – A narrative of the offeror’s experience within the last five years with an emphasis on projects dealing with construction challenges within five years of this solicitation, especially design/renewal/construction challenges, and how these experiences will positively enhance its performance handling specialized medical facility repair and renewal projects. This would include experience in Design/Renewal/Construction within medical facilities such as: hospitals, dental clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, pharmacies, veterinary clinics, medical research laboratories, medical repositories, and biosafety laboratories.
Volume IV – Typical tech approach narrative with organizational charts, management techniques and controls, personnel available by discipline, key subcontractors, etc.
Volume V – Standard Past Performance information that will be evaluated based upon the perceived risk

There is no detail as to what the requirements will be for the Phase 2 proposal against the sample task order which was not provided.

How Should Teams Prepare for Medical Repair and Renewal Design-Build Construction VII?

Obviously, you need to be working on the bondability information, particularly if your past efforts haven’t required information from a Moody Investor Services rated financial institution.
Begin reviewing your past projects and the CPARs for your Corporate Medical Experience.
Begin gathering material for your Technical Approach.
Start lining up your resources for the necessary content development and proposal execution. This would include your Proposal Manager, 1-2 Technical Writers, and a Graphic artist, at a minimum!
Consider a third-party Proposal Readiness Review (PRR) to determine where your content holes may be.

Good Luck!

GovWin Opportunity ID: 179256

SAM Notice ID: W912DY21R0014