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Develop and issue task order solicitation

Review solicitation guidance

The Symphony Task Order Management system will walk OCOs through the process of creating and soliciting task orders via the system; Symphony will indicate what information is required versus optional when issuing a solicitation. The system will lead the OCO through the process of selecting a contract, ordering domain, and ordering NAICS, before prompting for the following mandatory information – what is needed for the award:

  • General information

    • Task Order Request for Proposal (RFP) Number (auto-generated from the posting)
    • Solicitation Title
    • Extent of Competition
    • Fair Opportunity Procedures vs Exception to Fair Opportunity
    • Issuing Agency
    • Issuing Bureau
    • Funding Agency (If different from issuing agency)
    • Funding Bureau (If different from issuing bureau)

  • Description of services

    • Description of Services
    • Type of Services
    • Product Service Code
    • Labor Categories and Descriptions

  • Operating constraints

    • Security Clearances
    • Period of Performance
    • Place of Performance
      • OCONUS, CONUS, or both
      • Contractor site, government site, or both
      • Place(s) of performance
        • Country, State, City
    • Type of Contract

  • Contract administration

    • OCO Name
    • OCO Email
    • OCO Phone Number
    • Delivery and Performance Information
    • Invoicing Instructions

  • Instructions and evaluation

    • CLINs
    • Evaluation Factors
    • Basis of Award

  • Clauses

    • Task Order Solicitation Provisions and Clauses

Template for awards issued outside of Symphony

If you use a system outside of Symphony to award the solicitation, you will still need to provide the information in the document below.

Download Template for awards issued outside of Symphony [Word, 4 pages]

Find sample documents

Sample documents and templates are available via search through the links below. Currently, we do not have any templates or samples specific to OASIS+. We will expand the list to include OASIS+-specific templates and samples in the future; check Interact for details.

Review solicitation requirements and considerations

Prohibitions. It is not allowable to solicit the same requirement under two different IDIQs (e.g. issuing a solicitation to OASIS+ UR and OASIS+ WOSB concurrently). Refer to statute 41 USC 3302 (c)(2)(A), which includes the requirement of fair notice with the intent to make the purchase. Additionally, if an OCO solicits from two separate IDIQs, then there is a violation of statute because each Domain under an OASIS+ IDIQ is independent from a Domain under another IDIQ. See also Prohibitions - Prohibited actions against or under OASIS+ contracts.

Pricing and price list requests. OASIS+ has limited pricing (on 20 labor categories) that applies only to noncompetitive/direct award/sole source awards for Time and Materials (T&M) and Labor Hour orders only. The ceiling rates will be available to OCOs/Delegation of Procurement Authority (DPA) holders upon request oasisplusmods@gsa.gov. These rates are not shareable, but may be included in the OCO contract file. Negotiations are always highly encouraged on any government procurement, including OASIS+, including negotiations of pricing. OCOs are required to prove pricing fair and reasonable at the task order level.

“Fair opportunity” notification requirement. Use of Symphony to broadcast the solicitation notice to all qualifying contract holders, under one contract vehicle, within one given Domain and CLIN (NAICS code) satisfies the “fair opportunity” notification requirement. For classified requirements, see Classified task order considerations.

Contractors in dormant status. The OASIS+ master contract(s) terms and conditions provide for contracts to be placed in dormant status, see OASIS+ contract section H.12 Dormant Status. While a contract is in dormant status, contractors are required to continue work on existing task orders, but are not eligible to compete for new task order awards under the contract that is in Dormant Status.

Create the solicitation in Symphony

All task order solicitations are required to be created in Symphony, which uses a forum that is consistent with FAR 16.505. Before you access Symphony, we strongly recommend reviewing the tutorials, guidelines, and requirements — this will save time as you move through the task order solicitation process.

Key Tutorials

Issue the solicitation

An OASIS+ task order solicitation must be issued via the Symphony Procurement Suite. Review performer overview for customers (video) for a step-by-step guide on issuing the solicitation.

Symphony users can:

  • Review contractor information and capabilities;
  • Create/release a Request for Information (RFI);
  • Create/release a Request for Proposal (RFP)/solicitation;
  • Create RFI and RFP amendments;
  • Conduct Questions and Answers and monitor responses;
  • Receive offer proposals;
  • Report task order award information.

Use of Symphony to broadcast the solicitation notice to all qualifying contract holders, under one contract vehicle, within one given Domain and CLIN (NAICS code) satisfies the “fair opportunity” notification requirement. For classified requirements, see Classified task order considerations.

Off-ramping contractors or working with contractors in dormant status

After a contract has been developed and issued, it is important to review who’s bidding on your contract; some contractors may be off-ramped or in dormant status, in which case they are not eligible to participate in your solicitation.

OASIS+ Off-Ramping

GSA reserves the unilateral right to off-ramp non-performing contractors. Off-ramping methods may result from conditions such as:

  • Debarment, suspension, or ineligibility as defined in FAR subpart 9.4;
  • Termination as defined in FAR part 49;
  • Failure to meet the standards of performance, deliverables, or compliances;
  • Failure to accept or conform to program-wide terms and/or conditions; and/or
  • Taking any other action which may not be permitted under the master contract’s terms and conditions.

The OASIS+ CO may off-ramp the contractor by not exercising the option, terminating the contract, or canceling the contract. Contract cancellation may occur at any time and for any reason by either the OASIS+ contractor or the government.

Contractors in Dormant Status

If the OASIS+ CO determines that any requirements of the OASIS+ contracts are not being met, the Contractor may be placed into Dormant (inactive) Status. Dormant Status may be activated for any OASIS+ Domain CLIN(s) that a Contractor has been awarded.

If Dormant Status is activated, the Contractor shall not be eligible to participate or compete in any subsequent task order solicitations for any Dormant CLIN(s) while the Contractor is in Dormant Status. However, the Contractor shall continue performance on previously awarded task orders and modifications of those active task orders, including the exercise of options and modifications at the task order level. Additionally, the Contractor remains eligible to accept a logical follow-on to an order previously issued under the Master Contract on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency provided that all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order (FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C)). The Contractor must comply with the terms and conditions of the Master Contract and ensure Sections F and G deliverables are received/completed timely.

Dormant status is not a Debarment, Suspension, Cancellation as defined in GSAM/R 552.242-99, or Ineligibility as defined in FAR subpart 9.4 or a Termination as defined in FAR part 49. Grounds for being placed in Dormant Status specifically include, but are not limited to, trends or patterns of behavior associated with the failure to meet the deliverables and compliances specified under Section F.4.

Dormant Status will only be imposed after careful consideration of the situation and collaboration with the Contractor to resolve the issues. The OASIS contracts include Dormant Status details.

Last updated: June 11, 2024