In This Week’s Newsletter: 05/02/24

• Culture Corner: APMP Military and Veterans Affinity Group
• Competitive Intelligence & Pricing: Let’s Talk About Inflation
• Opportunity Spotlight of the Week: SeaPort NxG On Ramp 2024
• AI Corner: C.R.A.F.T.E.D. Prompts
• Four To Follow: Get the lowdown on four interesting pursuits!

APMP Military and Veterans Affinity Group

Contact Angela: angela.marsh@hinzconsulting.com

As part of an effort to build community in our industry, we are highlighting APMP’s Affinity Groups that hope to foster diversity, inclusion, and enhance the member experience. These groups provide supportive spaces for professionals with shared experiences in life and the industry.

The APMP Military and Veterans Affinity Group is a vital initiative founded to represent the military veterans actively involved in the bid and proposal industry. This effort is crucial to members since so many proposals are focused on developing government contract bids for the defense industry and these professionals have the real-life experience to make a significant impact.

Like other APMP Affinity Groups, the intent is to provide a supportive space where members can help each other develop professionally. The group helps participants connect with other service members who have transitioned into Proposal and Capture careers. Whether it’s discussing best practices or sharing success stories, the Affinity Group serves as a valuable resource for its members.

Leaders of the group, Mark Beha and Josh Thiel of Hinz Consulting, want to bridge the gap between military service and professional success. As a veteran himself, Beha considers “it an honor and a privilege to support the APMP Military and Veterans Affinity Group.” Thiel, also a veteran, hopes to “bring together industry-leading proposal professionals who have military backgrounds to serve as mentors and key speakers for webinars.” If you are interested in becoming a speaker or mentor, please email josh.thiel@hinzconsulting.com or click the “Contact Us’ button below.

The group is open to all APMP members who wish to honor the service of and build a supportive community for veterans.

Next meeting will be at APMP BPC NOLA 2024 on Monday, June 3rd at 3:30!

Let’s Talk About Inflation

Contact Chris: thomas.hudgins@hinzconsulting.com

Inflation. It is a great talking point for some and for others, it is a pain point. Inflation can increase or decrease so it is in a state of constant flux. While price modeling, inflation is just one factor we use specifically for out years in a contract. Some government clients state that no prices may be increased and in some requests, they state it may be applied based on information from trusted sources, with bls.gov (Bureau of Labor Statistics) and bea.gov (Bureau of Economic Analysis).

Things to Consider

• Use government-based sites for publicly available inflation information
• Know historical inflation trends; it could help with proposed pricing
• One can look at aggregate data, but remember to look at inflation data for one period to the next, assuming that aggregate data is for a current period will not be correct and inflation amounts will look inflated (excuse the pun)

SeaPort NxG On Ramp 2024

Contact Len: len.miller@hinzconsulting.com

The RFP was released back on 9 April but there has already been 3 amendments with the latest one (Amendment 3) being released on 23 April and extending the proposal submission date to 18 June. So, if you were on the fence on getting on this major IDIQ, take another look given you now have more time! If you need help, reach out to Hinz Consulting for support.

C.R.A.F.T.E.D. Prompts

Contact Josh: josh.thiel@hinzconsulting.com

Do you find prompting with Generative AI intimidating? The Hinz AI Center of Excellence uses the following acronym to guide effective prompting:

CRAFTED

• Clear – Ensure the prompt is clear & unambiguous, like speaking to a new employee.
• Relevant – Keep prompts relevant to the task or information sought.
• Adaptable – Design prompts that can adapt to various user inputs and scenarios.
• Focused – Keep prompts focused on a specific goal or outcome.
• Tailored – Customize prompts to suit the context and user needs.
• Engaging – Craft prompts that capture user interest and encourage interaction.
• Dynamic – Create prompts that can evolve and improve over time based on feedback.

You may not get the perfect output from Gen AI the first time, like the first product from a new employee.  As such iterate with the AI and tweak your prompt to generate the great first draft.

Four to Follow:

1. OUSDIS Technical Administrative and Professional Support Services: The latest Sources Sought was amended in Dec 2023 so we believe the Government is still finalizing the acquisition strategy for this $1B MA/IDIQ recompete of the 23 incumbent contracts. The current estimate is for RFP release in June 2024 with contract awards in September 2024. Monitor this one closely folks!
2. Vertical Construction MATOC ESCO Unrestricted: The Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, anticipates releasing the RFP for this new MA/IDIQ via SAM.gov on/about late May 2024. The Army Corps of Engineers anticipates potentially awarding 5 contracts for this estimated $1.5B program. Awards are expected by the end of December 2024.
3. Antarctic Science and Engineering Support Contract (ASESC): The National Science Foundation (NSF) is still working on the recompete of this $2.7B program that supports the US Antarctic Program. NSF intends to release the draft RFP via SAM.gov as soon as it is ready and a final RFP is expected sometime in the Q3 of GFY24 with contract award occurring in March 2025.
4. Special Operations Command Central Command (SOCCENT) Joint Operations Group-Central (JOG-C) Intelligence Services Contract: SOCCENT released a Source Sought notice on 23 April requesting capabilities statements from interested parties, NLT 30 April along with an estimated transition time required to obtain all qualified personnel after contract award. SOCCENT stated there are currently 39 FTEs supporting the mission. It is estimated that a final RFP could be released in August 2024 and a contract award made in January 2025. Given the NAICS code of 541990, and the number of FTEs required, we believe this may become an SBSA contract. Follow this one closely!!!

About Hinz Consulting

Hinz Consulting provides services across the full business development cycle:

• Proposal Consulting
• AI Services
• Strategic Pricing
• Training
• Capture
• Competitive Intelligence
• BD Transformation Consulting
• Process/Methodology Consulting
• Tools and Templates
• Production Services
• Small Business