Polaris Contract Paused Again: COFC Stops GSA from Evaluating Proposals

The Court of Federal Claims (COFC or Court) recently enjoined the General Services Administration (GSA) from evaluating proposals and awarding contracts under the highly publicized Polaris Program. While the decision impacts the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), and Small Business (SB) pools specifically, it stands to make a much more significant impact on the procurement as a whole with Judge Eleni Roumel determining that certain solicitation requirements are deficient and ordering GSA to amend . . . Read More

ICYMI: PilieroMazza’s Cy Alba Discusses the Polaris Procurement on BGOV Webinar

If you missed BGOV’s May 4, 2023, discussion about the Polaris procurement between Cy Alba , Practice Group Chair of PilieroMazza ’s Government Contracts Group , and Bloomberg Government Analyst Paul Murphy, check out the link below to watch a replay of the conversation. Replay here Use passcode: BGOVPolaris0523! Murphy and Alba discussed various aspects of the decision from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that blocked the General Services Administration from awarding IT services contracts worth at least $60 Billion. They also talked about how the . . . Read More

Federal News Network Quotes PilieroMazza’s Cy Alba on Re-Release of Polaris RFP

Cy Alba , a partner in PilieroMazza ’s Government Contracts Group , recently discussed the re-release of the Polaris request for proposals (RFP) with Federal News Network. Potentially worth tens of billions of dollars, the small business governmentwide acquisition contract for IT services has drawn close attention from government contractors, with seemingly endless updates to the RFP. After a nearly two-month pause on bid submissions, the General Services Administration (GSA) re-released the solicitation on June 30, 2022, with updated relevant experience requirements. Among other changes, GSA now is requiring . . . Read More

Federal News Network Quotes PilieroMazza’s Cy Alba about Proposed Changes to Polaris RFP

Cy Alba , a partner in the  Government Contracts Group at PilieroMazza , was quoted in Federal News Network on May 13, 2022. The article by Jason Miller, entitled “GSA is out with suggested corrections to $50B Polaris RFP,” discussed proposed amendments to the mentor-protégé and joint venture requirements in the Polaris governmentwide acquisition contract. “The law is not entirely clear on where the ‘line’ is on the amount of experience that can be required by an agency so I believe it would come down to . . . Read More

GSA Seeks Feedback on Potential Changes to Polaris Joint Ventures

On May 13, 2022, the General Services Administration (GSA) published draft proposed changes to the Polaris Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC). Specifically, the agency is proposing to revise Section L.5.1.3.1 of the request for proposals (RFP), dealing with joint ventures, after reviewing industry feedback and engaging with the Small Business Administration (SBA). GSA emphasized that the language is in draft form and is subject to change. Most importantly, members of the small business information technology community are encouraged to provide feedback to Polaris@gsa.gov by . . . Read More

GSA Pauses Polaris RFPs

GSA’s Polaris RFPs are on pause after the agency received comments regarding the evaluation of joint ventures. GSA is now assessing whether changes are required to the RFPs and is temporarily pausing the RFPs until further notice. WOSBs, SDVOSBs, and HUBZone IT service providers should pause proposal activities until the assessment is completed. This assessment may be an indication that GSA is carefully considering aspects of Polaris RFPs that will hopefully be beneficial to both large and small contractors and improve . . . Read More

Federal News Network Quotes PilieroMazza’s Cy Alba about Small Businesses’ Chances of Winning Polaris Contracts

PilieroMazza ’s Cy Alba , a partner in the Government Contracts Group , discussed the Polaris government-wide acquisition contract with Federal News Network recently. His remarks came after the General Services Administration (GSA), which issued the solicitation, clarified that it would allow joint ventures to rely on the past performance and experience of a single member, including large business SBA-approved mentors, when evaluating the entire joint venture for award. This clarification to the solicitation gave some small businesses, especially those with little direct experience in the core . . . Read More

GSA Releases Polaris Q&A Indicating Key Changes in Upcoming RFPs

GSA recently released a  Q&A  in anticipation of the first two Polaris Requests for Proposals (RFPs). GSA anticipates the RFPs for Small Businesses and Women-Owned Small Businesses will be released soon, while those for the Historically Underutilized Business Zones Small Business (HUBZone) and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) pools will be released between July 1, 2022, and September 30, 2022. Some of the answers in the Q&A clarify what offerors should expect, while others continue to create ambiguity. In this client alert, . . . Read More

GSA Polaris and the New SCRM Requirements: Supply Chain Risk May Put Your Proposal at Risk

With the release of GSA Polaris around the corner, one looming issue remains: Contractors may lose out on an award or, perhaps worse, they may find themselves without access to task orders after granted a Polaris award due to the increasingly stringent requirements of  Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM). In this blog, Isaias “Cy” Alba , a partner in PilieroMazza ’s Government Contracts Group , and John Cofrancesco, VP of Government Security Solutions at Fortress, reveal what government contractors should know now about SCRM requirements before putting . . . Read More