NASA’s Industry Day for SEWP VI took place this past week, November 6th, 2024. TGG would like to share our findings and impressions of the meeting:
First, and most importantly, it is nearly certain that the December 18th deadline will see another delay, likely into January. NASA explained that it will not set a firm deadline for submissions until after it has responded to all the current Q&A and released Amendment 8. While an exact timeline in uncertain at this time, NASA did stress that they are considering the holiday season when developing their deadline and are working to avoid creating a situation where holiday plans are disrupted.
On the timeline for Q&A responses: NASA noted that there will be 1-2 batches of responses remaining including Q&A response three that just dropped November 7, 2024. NASA also mentioned that many responses in the remaining batches will likely direct offerors to review Amendment 8 when it is released, as NASA expects their upcoming adjustments to the RFP will answer/clarify many of the questions remaining. No exact timeline was given for the release of Amendment 8, but it should shortly follow the completion of the current Q&A.
NASA did announce that there will still be a second comment period following the release of Amendment 8, and that comments will be accepted for five days following release.
NASA made a few remarks worth noting and watching for further updates on:
1. There will be no significant structural changes in Amendment 8. The Amendment will place a heavy emphasis on clarifying the requirements vendors are currently familiar with.
2. There will be clarifying language in the Amendment related to NAICS codes for projects presented in Volume II (Past Performance).
3. NASA does not expect to receive all PPQs by the proposal due date, and does not intend on penalizing offerors if they are late. This is a departure from the language in the RFP. It is not clear whether this language will be updated.