Worldwide AE Support Services IDIQ - Pre-Solicitation Synopsis.pdf

FY27 Worldwide AE Support Services IDIQ – Pre-Solicitation Synopsis

This is a Pre-Solicitation Notice – interested companies do NOT need to submit any documentation at this time. The solicitation for qualification packages will be posted on

SAM.gov at a later date, please see below for further information.

The U.S. Department of State (DOS), Bureau of Global Acquisitions, Acquisitions

Management (GA/AM), on behalf of the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO has a requirement for professional, licensed architectural/engineering (A/E) firms (prime or joint venture) to provide planning, design, construction, facility rehabilitation, system replacement, physical and technical security upgrade, construction and renovation of communications facilities (information management and emanation security systems), and building maintenance projects and programs at various worldwide Foreign Service posts, as well as OBO offices in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

The procurement may be set-aside, in some capacity, for small businesses.

The Support Services Contractor’s scope shall include, but not be limited to, the preparation of facility assessments and comprehensive maintenance plans; architectural, interiors, and engineering studies; signage and wayfinding plans; master plans; design; construction specifications development; construction contract statements of work; cost estimates for design and construction; operation and planning support services; data integration; engineering feasibility studies; construction environment profiles; business assessment validations; historic structures and landscapes reports, blocking and stacking diagrams; site utilization studies/plans; life-cycle analysis; CADD, BIM, and site data archive services; R&D efforts related to building technology; QA/QC initiatives including training; the review of design documents prepared by others; studies and analyses; architectural and engineering forensics services; and, facility, project, and construction management services. Although no complex interdisciplinary services are required under this contract, limited physical and technical security design for security and surveillance systems, special forced entry and ballistic resistant construction, and communication centers and their associated systems may be required.

Contract Support Services shall include the following disciplines, at minimum: architecture, historic preservation, landscape architecture, interior design, environmental graphic design, graphic design, electrical, mechanical, fire protection, structural (including blast/seismic), climate security specialist (resiliency), civil/geotechnical engineering, planning, cost estimating, data analytics, facility management, project management, building envelope specialist, building forensics specialist, and construction management.

Award selection process/stages:

The upcoming solicitation will consist of three (3) stages using the Brooks Act, also known as the Selection of Architects and Engineers statute source selection (FAR 36.202), as follows:

In the first stage, Stage 1 – Pre-qualification, prospective offerors are required to submit portfolios of qualifications that establish their design, project and program support, and leadership capabilities of the Lead Team and the key discipline core team members that would be responsible for the direction of task orders under this support services contract. Offeror submissions will be evaluated and point-scored by a Technical Evaluation Panel (TEP) based on criteria provided in the Stage 1 announcement. Offerors will be ranked, and a short-list of the most highly rated firms will be issued. Please note that rankings from Stage 1 will not transfer to Stage 2. Firms on the short-list will be eligible for participation in Stage 2.

Firms must also be determined eligible or conditionally eligible as "United States Person" offerors, as defined in the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986, in order to be considered for the next stage of the solicitation. The Stage 1 announcement will provide offerors the required Omnibus paperwork to complete and submit as a separate PDF file with their Stage 1 submission. Firms not meeting the "United States Persons" requirement will not be considered.

In Stage 2 – Short List, the short-listed offerors will assemble their full technical teams, including sub-consultants, and submit detailed information in response to the Stage 2 criteria relative to their proposed team, management plan, and past performance. Stage 2 submissions will be reviewed by the TEP. Short-listed offerors will also be required to make presentations to the TEP. The TEP will make a determination of the most highly qualified teams consistent with the announced Stage 2 evaluation criteria and will recommend those offerors for participation in Stage 3. The Department will re-confirm SAM registration during Stage 2.

In the last stage, Stage 3 – Request for Proposal (RFP), the most highly qualified offerors as determined in Stage 2 will be issued a formal solicitation with price proposal instructions. The price proposals will be reviewed by the Contracting Officer for fair and reasonable pricing and compliance with the solicitation instructions. At the conclusion of successful negotiations and pending facility clearance confirmation, the resultant contract award(s) will be made.

Facility Clearance Requirement:

In order to be eligible for award, the successful offeror(s) must possess, or be eligible to obtain, a Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) Secret Facility Clearance (FCL), with Secret safeguarding capability, issued in accordance with the National Industrial Security

Program Operating Manual, DOD 5220.22-M. All entities comprising a joint venture for this effort must possess or obtain an FCL, as well as the joint venture itself. Personnel requiring access to classified information or Controlled Access Areas at DOS locations must possess a

Secret personnel security clearance issued by DCSA. Additionally, the successful offeror(s) selected for contract award must possess, or immediately obtain, an Information System (IS) or standalone computer, approved by DCSA (note: your current draft references "DSS," which should be updated to "DCSA"), for processing classified information, and prior to deployment of ProjNet-C to the facility.

If a selected offeror does not possess an interim or Final Secret FCL, the Department of State will sponsor the uncleared firm for an FCL. A period of 180 days from the date of selection for award will be allowed for the uncleared firm to obtain the necessary FCL. After this period, the

Government may, at its discretion, consider awarding the contract to another short-listed firm or awarding fewer contracts. No contract can be awarded until at least an Interim Secret FCL has been granted. The Government will not delay award of contracts to selected firms already in possession of Secret FCLs. Firms which form joint ventures must also comply with the above FCL requirements. Sponsorship does not guarantee that the firm will receive the clearance.

Foreign firms are not eligible for FCLs. Only U.S. firms organized and operating in the U.S. or

Puerto Rico, or a U.S. possession or trusted territory, are eligible for facility clearances. U.S.

firms which are determined to be under Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI) are not eligible for an FCL unless actions (as directed and approved by DCSA) can be taken to effectively negate or reduce associated FOCI risks to an acceptable level.

On-Ramp/Off-Ramp Procedures

The Government anticipates that the resulting IDIQ contract(s) will include on-ramp and off-ramp procedures. On-ramp procedures may be used to add contractors during the period of performance to meet increased workload demands, expand the small business pool, and/or increase competition. Off-ramp procedures may be used to remove contractors based on performance or participation criteria. Detailed on/off-ramp procedures will be provided in the Stage 3 – Request for Proposal (RFP).

Estimated schedule:

The solicitation, Stage 1 – Pre-qualification, is planned for release on SAM.gov in July 2026.