What GSA Schedule Holders Need to Know About GSA’s New Services MAC

By: Jennifer Aubel

In light of the runaway success of GSA’s OASIS vehicle for professional services (over $57B in obligations and counting), industry has been eagerly awaiting a follow-on when OASIS expires in 2024. Considering how popular OASIS has been, there was a lot of surprise when GSA announced its plans for the new Services MAC (now called OASIS+). Far from being an OASIS clone, Services MAC will be a very different vehicle that GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) holders should be following closely.

GSA performed extensive market research with OASIS customers to determine what was and was not working. There is also significant industry interest. The first Request for Information (RFI) received over 1,000 responses with more than 85% from MAS contractors. GSA is using this feedback to develop a next-generation vehicle that will be a less restrictive hybrid between the MAS and a traditional Multiple-Award Contract (MAC).

GSA is proposing a flexible vehicle that will allow for a more varied pool of awardees. Here are five of the most important features:

1. Single Contract: GSA does not anticipate having unrestricted and small business versions of Services MAC. This is designed, in part, to prevent contractors from “sizing out” in the event of an acquisition or organic growth. Instead, GSA plans to utilize small business and socioeconomic reserves. Ordering agencies will be able to set aside opportunities by NAICS and companies can compete as they qualify.
   
   Update (January 2023): GSA was unable to make Services MAC (now known as OASIS+) work as a single contract. In fact, there are now six different contracts – unrestricted, small business, 8(a), WOSB, SDVOSB, and HUBZone!
   
   
2. Continuous Open Season: OASIS made initial awards to a limited number of contractors and then had a few on-ramps. Unsuccessful bidders were limited to subcontracting until an on-ramp opened. GSA plans to make Services MAC continuously open like the MAS, so companies can submit offers at any time. GSA does not plan to limit the number of awards, but requirements will be stringent enough that Services MAC will not be an “entry-level” contract vehicle.
   
   
3. Individual Service Area Domains: OASIS was designed for complex, integrated service offerings, and contractors had to demonstrate past performance across multiple domains. Under Services MAC, domains stand alone. Offerors only have to qualify in one domain to receive an award. This opens up the number of potential vendors substantially.
   
   
4. Qualification Tiers: Under OASIS, companies had to be capable of doing cost-reimbursement contracts in order to compete. Services MAC will allow contractors to place themselves in tiers based on their capabilities. For example, a contractor without an approved accounting system could still receive an award, but could not compete for cost-reimbursement orders. This will also offer agencies more visibilities into contractors’ certifications, capabilities, and experience.
   
   
5. Potential IT Inclusion: While GSA has not committed to this yet, there is a possibility that IT professional services could become a Services MAC domain when existing GSA GWACs like ALLIANT expire.

Aprio will continue to follow this hotly anticipated opportunity. For more information on Services MAC/ OASIS+ and other GSA topics, please reach out to Tom Marcinko (tom.marcinko@aprio.com) or Jennifer Aubel (jennifer.aubel@aprio.com).