Stoc II
I'm not an expert on this. My understanding is that no $$ at all has been awarded so far from Stoc II. It's a contract vehicle, developed to make contracting with the armed forces easier. Lots of companies have issued press releases saying that they are a part of it. All that means is that they are eligible to submit bids for specific simulation contracts that the govt has already budgeted $17.5 billion dollars for. When the army wants something they don't have to submit a budget and wait until next year to buy, the money is already set aside. I don't believe Virta is eligible to bid directly for Stoc II awards, they could only be a sub contractor to DSCI, who has had great success with managing billion dollar programs for the dod. The beauty of Stoc II is that the army has dictated that prime contractors (DSCI) have to share a certain percentage of the work with small businesses (Virtra).
Here's a release:
Orlando, Fla. (January 29, 2009) - The U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) granted 142 awards for the second STRI Omnibus Contract, known as STOC II, Jan. 27, 2009. STOC II, valued at $17.5 billion over the next 10 years, serves as an efficient contracting vehicle in order to quickly get simulation and training products and services into the hands of U.S. and coalition service members.
"The overall purpose of STOC II is to have highly-qualified contractors on-hand to rapidly satisfy the needs of our nation's Warfighters," explained Brian Murphy, the PEO STRI contracting officer responsible for STOC II.
Companies competing in STOC II were evaluated in two categories: the Full and Open Lot and the Partial Small Business Set Aside Lot. Small companies competing in the Full and Open Lot also had the opportunity to compete in the Partial Small Business Set-Aside Lot, and vice-versa. Two lots were established in order to enhance PEO STRI's ability to achieve its small business goals.
In response to the STOC II Request for Proposal, PEO STRI evaluated 158 compliant proposals in which 127 proposals (60 large companies and 67 small companies) were entertained in the Full and Open Lot, and 98 proposals were assessed in the Partial Small Business Set-Aside Lot.
For a complete list of the companies who were selected for award in both the Full and Open Lot and the Partial Small Business Set Aside Lot, reference the "Companies Selected for STOC II Award at the close of the press release.
The proposals were evaluated based on four core factors detailed in the Request for Proposal: past performance, management, small business participation plan (applicable only to the large companies in the Full and Open Lot) and cost/price.
Existing STOC I contracts-which were awarded in four different categories: Live, Virtual, Constructive and Test-Instrumentation-remain a viable solution during the transition period until each respective domain expires. The first domain, Test-Instrumentation, expires Feb. 25, 2009. The remaining domains expire March 19, 2009.
Companies outside of STOC II will still be able to do business with PEO STRI. Murphy advises, "STOC II is just one tool in a contracting officer's toolkit."
Additionally, Murphy stated that non-STOC II companies are strongly encouraged to team with successful offerors for partnering or sub-contracting opportunities. The PEO STRI Business Opportunities Web site contains the awardees' names, addresses, e-mail and phone numbers to aid in the teaming and sub-contracting process.
Furthermore, as the pool of qualified small business offerors diminishes in the future due to growth, acquisition, or the like, PEO STRI has reserved the right to re-compete the Partial Small Business Set Aside Lot, thus providing additional opportunities for small businesses to be included in STOC II.
