Volume 56
In This Week's Newsletter:
Opportunity Spotlight of the Week: Advancing AI Multiple Award Contract (AAMAC)
Four To Follow: Get the lowdown on four interesting pursuits!
AI Corner: What Is Fine-Tuning and How Can You Make It Happen?
Opportunity Alert: Advancing AI Multiple Award Contract (AAMAC)
Contact Len: len.miller@hinzconsulting.com
The Air Force Contracting Officer issued the draft solicitation documents on November 2. This Multiple Award Contract (MAC) has an estimated value of $15 billion. Questions and Comments are due by December 20, 2024 at 12PM EST. The final solicitation is estimated for release in January or February 2025. The Draft RFP has a due date of April 30, 2025, but these dates are subject to change. Contact Hinz Consulting if you need proposal support on this complex acquisition!
Four to Follow:
Artificial Intelligence and Next Generation Distributed Command and Control (AC2): This Air Force Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) is open and effective until end of August 2028. AC2 is for ongoing research on AI and next-generation distributed command and control. The current white paper schedule is Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 due March 15, 2025; FY 2027 due March 15, 2026; and FY 2028 due March 15, 2027. FY 2026 funding is $22.7 million, FY 2027 funding is $20.1 million, and FY 2028 funding is $19.2 million.
FAA AJW Integrated Support Services (AISS). The FAA last released information on this back in May 2024, but we believe this acquisition is still in the planning stages. The FAA intends to solidify multiple requirements into this new acquisition with multiple awards across the spectrum of large and small business. The number of awardees is not yet know, but the estimated value of the contract vehicle is believed to be up to $400 million. The estimated timeline for the RFP release is sometime in February 2025, but this is subject to change.
Antarctic Science and Engineering Support Contract (ASESC): The National Science Foundation (NSF) Contracting Office issued an update on November 21 regarding the site visit. They determined that there would NOT be any in-person site visit, but instead a virtual site visit would be conducted at some point in the future. According to the Draft RFP released back in July 2024, the estimated maximum value for the contract is expected to be $8 billion with a minimum order value of $5 million. The Final RFP is expected to be released in Q2 of FY 2025.
Communications Management and Enterprise Technology Services (CoMETS): The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) appears to still be in final acquisition planning on the recompete of this effort as it has not yet released the Draft RFP within Q1 FY 2025. Given that the incumbent contract is set to expire at end of April 2025, it is anticipated a Final RFP could be released by end of January 2025, but it may be more likely that this timeline will shift further to the right. The CoMETS contract value is approximately $239 million on this small business set-aside IDIQ contract.
What Is Fine-Tuning and How Can You Make It Happen?
Contact Josh: josh.thiel@hinzconsulting.com
Custom Generative AI (GenAI) platforms may be worth the investment due to their ability to learn and tailor high-quality responses for your company. The platforms are designed to learn and adapt based upon user interactions. This process, often referred to as "fine-tuning" or "adaptive learning", allows the AI to improve the quality of its responses and tailor them more closely to individual user preferences and needs.
Here are a few ways "fine-tuning" can happen:
Personalization: As you interact with the AI it can learn your preferences, such as your preferred tone, style, and the types of information you find most useful. This helps the AI provide more relevant and personalized responses over time.
Feedback Loops: Many GenAI platforms incorporate feedback mechanisms where users can rate responses or provide corrections. This feedback helps the AI understand what works well and what does not, allowing it to improve future interactions.
Contextual Learning: The AI can remember the context of previous interactions, which helps it maintain continuity in conversations and provide more coherent and contextually appropriate responses. Note that this is also why you don’t want to generate content from open source AI platforms.
Data Integration: By continuing to update the library the AI accesses, the AI can learn from a broader range of information, enhancing its ability to provide accurate and comprehensive answers.
The continuous interaction and feedback from users plays a crucial role in refining a custom platform’s capabilities and making it more effective at generating high quality output with your company's differentiators.
Dec. 12: AFCEA DC Winter Gala in Washington, DC
Dec. 13: AFCEA NOVA Air Forces IT Day in Arlington, VA
Jan. 17: Army IT Day in McClean, VA
Jan. 28-29: Health IT Summit in Washington, DC
Feb. 11-13: National Small Business Conference in New Orleans, LA
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