Midwest Regional Contracting Landscape

Published: December 14, 2018

USDAUSAFArchitecture Engineering and ConstructionARMYDEFENSEDefense & AerospaceDOEDHSInformation TechnologyNASANAVYProfessional ServicesResearch & DevelopmentVA

This week we have delved into the detailed analysis and data surrounding various agencies and verticals across regions of the United States in effort to provide a broad spectrum of insight toward historical as well as current procurement trends. As the final work in this series, we examine the Midwest US region, comprised of the following places or performance: North Dakota (ND), South Dakota (SD), Nebraska (NE), Kansas (KS), Minnesota (MN), Iowa (IA), Missouri (MO), Wisconsin (WI), Illinois (IL), Michigan (MI), Indiana (IN), and Ohio (OH).

As a whole, top agency performers in this region based on expected and/or awarded contract values include the Dept. of Energy, GSA, Air Force, Army, Dept. of Defense, VA, Dept. of Agriculture, DHS, Dept. of Navy and NASA. To a lesser, yet still pertinent extent, we see opportunity still emerging across the Depts. of Health and Human Services, Justice, Labor, and Commerce. Inclusive of all agencies, the grand total of obligations in the Midwest is approximately $130.9 Billion. An even closer look at spending shows impressive values ($K) for the top respective agencies:

            - Dept. of Energy: $47,770,447

            - GSA: $37,565,572

            - Air Force: $19,644,137

            - Army: $5,321,354

It is worth noting the deep presence of military installations in the Midwest as well; chiefly the Air Force and Army’s footprint in this region. We also find an array of competition across agencies in the Midwest, with most efforts competed as Small Business set-asides, followed respectively by Full and Open, SDVOSB, 8a, and HubZone procurements.

In the following section, we will analyze highlights pertaining to specific agencies of interest, while also examining and identifying active opportunities in the Forecast, Pre-RFP and Source Selection phases.

Energy:

  • The data examined for the DoE spans nine years (2017 – 2025), and covers 12 agency programs. 42% are forecast opportunities, followed by 25% Pre-RFP, and 33% Source Selections.
  • The NAICS code primarily represented in the DoE data is 541715: Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology). Of particular interest within this NAICS are Govwin opportunities 110110 and 87736, valued around $12,400,000K and $8,000,000K, respectively.
    • Opportunity 110110 is an R&D requirement for the management and operation of the Argonne National Laboratory. The existing incumbent is UChicago Argonne, Inc., with the RFP release currently forecasted several years from now, likely in 2025, dependent on option(s) exercised. The previous procurement was issued under Full and Open competition.
    • Opportunity 87736 is a forecasted effort for continued management and operations services at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL). The contract is currently held by the Fermi Research Alliance, LLC, with an expiration scheduled for 2026 if all options are exercised. The previous iteration was competed as a Full and Open effort.
  • Out of the agencies analyzed in this blog and in the Midwest, the DoE has the fewest total number of programs, and yet is valued at potentially the highest awarded contract amount, per the sum estimates of opportunities 110100 and 87736 detailed above.
  • Additional NAICS codes for DoE opportunities represent a range of services, from remediation services, computer facilities management services, computer system design services, and construction and engineering.

GSA:

  • Regarding the General Services Administration (GSA), nearly 57 opportunities are accounted for in the Midwest. Of these, 56% are Forecasts, 23% Pre-RFP, and 21% Source Selections.
  • With more than half of the efforts being forecasted, GSA appears to be an agency ramping up in contracts over the coming years.
  • GSA’s largest amount of work across the Midwest from the data is connected to the NAICS code for Plumbing, Heating and Air-Conditioning Contractors, 238220. Second to this is Facilities Support Service (561210), as well as 236220, 561210, and 541310. As one may expect, all of these listed NAICS codes correspond to services related to architecture, engineering and construction.
  • Nearly 60% of GSA’s efforts noted are IDIQ contracts.
  • Of specific interest in this agency is the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative for Building Maintenance and Operations, Phase III, for Zones 7-14, Opportunities 150101 (Full and Open), and 150112 (Small Business).
    • Both requirements are in the Pre-RFP stage, estimated as slated for release of a solicitation in 2019.
    • Both programs also carry a 5 year base plus 1 X 5 year option and 6 month term of award.

Air Force:

  • Roughly 164 opportunities have been identified for the USAF in the Midwest region of the US: 47% are Pre-RFP, with 32% in Forecast status, and 21% in Source Selection.
  • NAICS codes vary across Air Force efforts, but a large amount of services are procured under codes 541511 (Custom Computer Programming Services), 236220 (Commercial and Institutional Building Construction), 336411 (Aircraft Manufacturing), 336413 (Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing), and 541712 (R&D).
  • Of the competition types, interestingly there is no “winning” set-aside that prevails over others. By a small margin, small business procurements account for 34% of the data, followed by 8a at 32%, Undetermined 31%, and SDVOSB, as well as HubZone accounting for the remaining less than 3%.
  • More IDIQs are also anticipated and/or awarded for the AF in the Midwest out of the data analyzed than any other award type.
  • Opportunity 164182 is one to watch in the coming CY2019. The AF is seeking a follow-on flexible acquisition sustainment contract (FASII), where Boeing is the incumbent contractor. The competition type is currently undetermined, but the type of award is expected to be an IDIQ. The current value is estimated at $12,000,000K.

Army:

  • Army data shows approximately 277 opportunities; 36% are Forecasts, 43% Pre-RFP, and 21% Source Selections.
  • The predominately favored NAICS code with in Army efforts in the Midwest region is 236220 – Commercial and Institutional Building Construction. With a heavy presence, the US Army Corp of Engineers holds the vast majority of opportunities in this area. Still listed in high amounts for the Army are NAICS 237100 (Water and Sewer Line and Related Structures Construction), as well as Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction (237990), Engineering Services (541330), and Facilities Support Services (561210).
  • The type of award in the Midwest region for the Army is listed in descending order, beginning with Other (39%), IDIQ (33%), Undetermined (24%), Task/Delivery Order (<2%), and finally, BPAs (<2%).
  • An Army opportunity to feature is the US Army Corp of Engineers’ FRSM NRM SDVOSB, DB, DBB MATOC,  Opportunity 168579. This requirement, in the Omaha district, seeks Facilities Sustainment, Renovation, and Modernization (FSRM) and Non-Recurring Maintenance (NRM) for Design-Build (DB)/Design Bid-Build (DBB) construction at various U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) facilities and for existing military and civil stakeholders in portions of the Northwestern Division (NWD) Area of Operations (AOR). Chief areas of performance include a number of Midwest states: South Dakota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Missouri and Iowa. The procurement is anticipated to move forward in CY2019.
  • Army opportunities account for just over $5B in anticipated funds.

Additional Highlights

Agencies outside of those spotlighted above have high promise for delivery of Forecast and Pre-RFP opportunities in the coming years as well throughout the US Midwest. The following graph provides a snapshot of opportunities to watch.

Agency

Opportunity

Title

Estimated Value

NAICS

Defense

109052

MSC Next Generation Wideband

NTE $315,060,000

517410

Defense

141557

Enterprise Architecture Enterprise Engineering

$125,752 *Deltek

541512

VA

161206

AEC Major Construction Project at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery

$50,000

237990

DHS

149643

Remote Video Surveillance System and Integrated Fixed Tower Upgrade for USCBP

$300,000 *Deltek

334511

USDA

140631

FSA Database Administration Tool Admin and Operations Support Services (Data-Bis-Ops)

$500,000 *Deltek

541511

Navy

137215

Contractor Logistics Support for the E6B

$335,453 *Deltek

488190

NASA

108917

NASA Integrated Communication Services

$1,412,596 *Deltek

541512

Final Thoughts

This week’s look at each US region and its impact on federal business has provided a host of trends and efforts to watch in the coming years. We have seen both the weakening of spending in some industries, as well as the clear concentration of increased funding in others. Deltek continues to examine efforts across all of the regions covered. Stay tuned in the coming months for additional blog content and further analysis.