Army Human Resource Solutions (HR Solutions) is soliciting proposals from small businesses for their Recruiting, Management, and Administrative Support (HRS R-MAS) contract. The proposal deadline, February 3rd 2017, is fast approaching.
The contract is worth $1.5 billion, and is a total small business setaside. The Army Contracting Command hopes to end up with ten to twelve awardees.
HRS R-MAS is a Multiple-Award Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with a five-year base and five one-year options, coming to a total of ten years. Its NAICS code is 541612 – Human Resources Consulting Services with a $15 million small business size standard.
Because R-MAS is such a lucrative opportunity for small business, you can expect competition to be fierce. Read on for the exclusive information and analysis you and your business need to come out on top.
What is Army HR Solutions?
Army HR Solutions is a program designed to streamline human resources acquisition. The contracting vehicle was established in 1991, then moved under the Program Executive Office (PEO) Enterprise Information Systems (EIS) in 2010.
Courtesy of US Army.
Today, HR Solutions is run through the Army Contracting Command (ACC) New Jersey Information Technology Center.
HR Solution’s outgoing generation of 41 IDIQ contracts is divided into four contracting suites:
- Personnel Services and Support, which provides services such as counseling, employment assistance, transition support and soldier and family well-being and advocacy programs;
- Studies and Analysis, which includes strategic and planning services including business process reengineering, training curriculum development and workforce analysis;
- Recruitment and Retention, which offers service member and family benefit advisors, professional program support, strategic communications and professional curriculum development; and
- Management and Administrative Support, which provides support in document evaluation and creation, record keeping, event coordination and project management.
Out of these four suites, only one of them – Management and Administrative Support – was originally designated a small business set-aside. The other three set aside some of their awards for small businesses, but competition at the task-order level was not allowed to be set aside for small businesses until more recently. After HR Solutions allowed setaside capability in all suites, small business award dollars rose from 18 percent of total dollars in the vehicle to over 70 percent.
The new HR Solutions contract generation will boost these small business dollars even further: Under the old generation, the only suite with a total small business setaside was only worth $69 million. The new generation, however, will combine Management and Adminstrative Support with Recruitment and Retention to make R-MAS, bringing the value of set-aside dollars up to over $1.5 billion.
The other functions will be combined to create the contract “Personnel Life-Cycle Support,” which EZGovOpps analysts covered previously here.
In May 2015 the HR Solutions sourcing initiative was designated as a Preferred Source, meaning that if an Army entity wants to procure HR services, they must consider using HR Solutions before deciding to create their own contract.
Preferred Source MA-IDIQs like HRS R-MAS offer unparalleled benefits to small businesses – When procurement officers turn to contractors to supplement the Army’s vast HR needs, businesses on R-MAS will be among the first they will see.
What will task orders look like under HRS R-MAS?
Contractors under R-MAS will be required to provide services including professional program support, recruiting and retention personnel support, logistical and operational support, reception services, and protocol coordination. Some specific requirements include:
- Information technology support for human resources programs
- Recruiting and retention
- Providing counseling resources for soldiers, civilian personnel and family members
- Facilities support and property management for human resource programs
- Coordinating special events and ceremonies
- Public relations and outreach
Some examples of task orders fulfilled under the old contract generation include:
- Cyber Security Recruiting for INSCOM
- Providing administrative support for JAG Leadership College and National Defense University
- Providing support for the Army Reserve Yellow Ribbon program
The place of performance will vary by task order, with both CONUS and OCONUS locations possible.
Competing for HRS R-MAS? Stay ahead of the game.
HR Solutions R-MAS is being solicited under open competition for small businesses under $15 million. If your business has the experience and skills necessary, this is the perfect opportunity to snag a prime contract.
Since R-MAS is a combination of a total setaside and a partial setaside, some of the incumbent contractors in the previous generation are too large to compete; some of them, however, are not.
Find out who those nearly 30 incumbents are, and get intel down to each individual task order, by signing up for a free trial of EZGovOpps. If you are signed in already, follow this link to access even more data and custom analysis on this contract, including supporting documents and industry day Q&As. Our program will also show you an up-to-date list of interested companies that can help you gauge your competition or identify teaming partners. Use LiveChat to ask one of our analysts how our program can help you win an R-MAS contract.
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