OASIS Interact Community

One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS)

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. What is OASIS? 
A. The purpose of the OASIS project is to develop an acquisition vehicle that meets the needs of customers with complex, integrated professional services with a support Information Technology (IT) component. These customers cannot use the existing/current General Services Administration vehicles as a solution for a number of reasons. OASIS will potentially represent a new offering to customers who have been unable to use the General Services Administration in the past.
The professional service disciplines being considered are program management and consulting, professional engineering, financial, logistics and equal or ancillary IT components.
 

Q. Why do we need OASIS?
A. GSA is the premier provider of acquisition solutions for federal government agencies.  In order to provide customers with a comprehensive range of solutions for their diverse requirements, GSA provides a full array of acquisition vehicles within many channels of delivery including Multiple Award Schedules (MAS), Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWAC), and telecommunications contracts.  Currently, there is no government-wide vehicle to provide complex, integrated professional services that allow for the full range of contract types at the task order level, including commercial and noncommercial requirements.  Agencies desire the maximum flexibility to meet these requirements and OASIS represents such a vehicle.  It will facilitate government initiatives such as managing high-risk contracts, encouraging performance-based contracting, leveraging transparency and data analytics under strategic sourcing, streamlining the acquisition process, and maximizing opportunities for small businesses.  

Q. Why can’t these requirements be procured under the MAS Schedules Program?
With all of the benefits offered by the MAS Schedules Program, it does not always offer customers the flexibility needed to meet the complex, integrated professional service requirements of today’s business environment.  The MAS Schedules Program is also not intended to address cost-reimbursement solutions, offer a standardized definition of labor categories, or capture detailed transactional data.  OASIS will complement the MAS Schedules Program and provide GSA’s customers a more flexible full-service offering.  
 

Q. What is being done to support small businesses?
A. One of the primary goals for the OASIS program is to provide complex, integrated professional service solutions to satisfy customers’ evolving needs and maximize the participation by small businesses.  In order to achieve this goal, OASIS must provide customers with access to a full array of integrated professional service solutions, as provided by industry partners of all sizes.  The OASIS draft RFP will be carefully constructed so as to ensure that we can achieve this goal.
In addition, aggressive small business subcontracting goals will be preferred for large businesses.
 

Q. Why would GSA include On-ramp and Off-ramp flexibilities?
A. One of the goals of the OASIS program is to sustain access to best-in-class solutions for our customers over the full lifetime of the contract.  On-ramp and off-ramp provisions provide the Government with the flexibility to assess the status of the OASIS vendor pool and make whatever adjustments are necessary (within the context of the terms and conditions of the OASIS contracts) to ensure that we have an optimal mix of industry partners and are expecting ample competition on task orders.
 

Q. How are GWACs different from OASIS?
A. Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) are to be used by agencies in meeting Information Technology objectives.  Ancillary to the primary IT objective may be some professional services, repair and alteration, office supplies, etc.
OASIS contracts will be used by agencies in meeting Professional Service objectives.  Equal or ancillary to the primary professional service objective may be IT components.   Additional ancillary commodities to the primary professional service objective such as repair and alteration and office supplies may be acquired. 
 

Q. How will this new vehicle impact Federal Agencies?
A. The intent of this vehicle is to provide a government-wide “total solution” based on an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity, multiple award task and delivery order contract that will be easy-to-use, populated with sound and experienced contractors; encourage best practices and data sharing; reduce the lead time and administrative efforts it currently takes agencies to acquire complex integrated professional services; provide a means to reduce high risk contracting; assist agencies in meeting socio-economic goals; and allow agencies to concentrate on agency missions rather than the acquisition itself, which will minimize the unnecessary proliferation of interagency and agency-wide contracts.
 

Q.   What does the scope of the OASIS include?
A.  The scope of OASIS includes program management, consulting, logistics, professional engineering services, financial services and supportIT components.
 

Q. Will OASIS benefit from Strategic Sourcing?
A. It is expected that OASIS will be built upon the foundation of strategic sourcing.  Historically, strategic sourcing initiatives focused on commodities and fixed unit prices.  Entering into strategic sourcing for complex, integrated, high dollar value professional services will require innovation.  Collection of transactional level data may reveal which contract types represent overall best value or drive cost efficiencies when acquiring such services. To gain customer feedback on OASIS, five Customer Focus Groups were held during the month of April and May.  During those events, customers indicated that the government generally has not collected data for professional services or have insight to this level of detail.  Simply knowing the number of hours expended by labor category would provide them insight they currently do not now have.  Additionally, data would allow the Government to monitor trends and make better program decisions going forward.  The majority of customers felt that this would be a characteristic of a vehicle-of-choice in this arena. 
 

Q. What are the strategic goals of the OASIS program?
A. The strategic goals of the OASIS program are to provide complex, integrated professional service solutions to satisfy customers’ evolving needs. This new vehicle will drive cost efficiencies and business process improvement through performance metrics and sustain access to best-in-class solutions.  OASIS supports the President’s March 4, 2009 memorandum objectives on Federal contracting.  OASIS supports the advancement of socio-economic goals by enabling opportunities to help small businesses succeed. This new vehicle complements other GSA contracts, as well as creating pathways to success for effective industry partners. 
 

Q. How will government agencies access the OASIS?
A. It is anticipated that GSA will offer government agencies two options for accessing the OASIS contracts:
1.  Direct Order/Direct Bill via Contracting Officers Procurement Delegations of Authority (PDAs) with a nominal Contract Access Fee where agencies order and pay for contractor services.
2. Turnkey assistance via the project management and procurement expertise of the GSA FAS organization. 
 

Q. Who are the OASIS Stakeholders?
A. GSA plans to reach the following target audiences established for the OASIS program:

• Federal Agency Customers;
• GSA Program/Staff Offices;
• Members of Congress/Staff including the two Small Business Committees, Senate Homeland Security Government Contracting Committee, and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
• Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Office of Federal Procurement Policy
• Small Business Administration (SBA)
• Chief Acquisition Officers (OCAOs)
• GSA’s internal stakeholders
• GSA’s Office of Citizen Services
• Industry including general industry partners and trade associations such as Information Technology Association of America, Professional Services Council, Coalition for Government Procurement
• Media

Q. What is the Web site URL for OASIS?
A. The URL for the OASIS Web site is www.gsa.gov/oasis.  Users may access the OASIS Industry Overview webcast for additional information from this site.  There is also an Industry Community on Interact where users can get the latest information and participate in the weekly blogs from the PM.  The URL for the Interact site ishttp://interact.gsa.gov/group/integrations-industry-community.  
 

Q. Will OASIS be available for state and local use?
A. It is not expected that OASIS will be available for state and local use

Last Updated: 3/30/12