Customer Care Prototyping - Commercial Solution Opening (Notice of Availability)

Questions & Answers / Clarifications

This document provides responses to vendor questions regarding the Customer Care Prototyping - Commercial Solution Opening (Notice of Availability) under contract number HT0038-25-S-C002.

• Season Release: Season 1 is anticipated in Q1 FY26. Vendors should monitor SAM for updates. Specific release dates and areas will be detailed in the Season Notice.
• Submission Format: Submission instructions, including format (e.g., concept paper, structured proposal), page limits, content sections, and evaluation templates, will be provided in the Season Notice. Submissions must adequately address Advancement, Learning, Adjusting, and Solutions to be considered meritorious.
• Technical Interchange Meetings (TIMs): Whether DHA will conduct or allow TIMs prior to formal submission will be specified in the Season Notice.
• Definition of "Seasons": A "Season" refers to the posting for a specific Area of Interest (AOI). The Season Notice will detail submission rules, evaluation methods, merit criteria, and specific AOIs.
• Funding: While there is a lapse in FY26 appropriations as of November 7, 2025, funding is required prior to the award of a prototype agreement under this CSO.
• Response Acceptance: The government may accept submissions to any AOI listed in the CSO outside of published deadlines, as per Section 7. Vendors should refer to Section 7 for full details, but generally, responses should await the first Season Notice.

Key details regarding submission requirements, evaluation, and timelines will be further clarified in the upcoming Season Notice. Vendors are advised to await this notice for definitive instructions, though the government reserves the right to accept submissions per Section 7.

Solicitation / RFP / RFQ

This Notice of Availability (NoA) and Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) seeks prototype projects under 10 U.S.C. § 4022 to enhance the mission effectiveness of Department of Defense personnel, specifically for Customer Care activities. The Defense Health Agency (DHA) is interested in awarding Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs) to develop and procure solutions supporting the Military Health System (MHS). This CSO is a "design/build" effort focused on establishing a Customer Care Foundational Platform, representing an evolutionary step from previous "Customer X" efforts.

The CSO aims to rapidly evolve customer-facing product support capabilities in novel ways. Key areas of interest include proactive, multi-discipline service management, embedding customer experience into product lifecycles, utilizing insight-driven approaches, emerging neural technologies (ML, GenAI), Customer Care "Operating Systems," adopting RevOps, go-to-market approaches, precision individualization for customer empathy, bespoke customer segmentation, and maximizing user self-service. Solutions must demonstrate advancement over the status quo, include mechanisms for learning and adjustment, and propose specific, measurable outcomes tied to cashflow requests, rather than being solely labor-based.

Awards will be made under the authority of 10 U.S.C. § 4022, which is not subject to the Competition in Contracting Act, FAR, or DFARS. Follow-on production agreements or contracts may be awarded under 10 U.S.C. § 4022(f). Multiple awards are anticipated. The Government reserves the right to revise this NOA to include other types of CSOs.

Solutions will be requested during individual "seasons," each with specific deadlines. The Government may accept submissions outside published deadlines, but is not obligated to review them. Season Notices will detail submission rules, evaluation criteria, and specific Areas of Interest (AOI). The merit of a proposed solution, as described in the Season Notice, will be the sole consideration for award decisions. The process involves four phases: Prospecting, Assessing, Kickstarting, and Episodes. Submissions are expected to be less formal and complex than traditional solicitations, with rapid review cycles.

No specific set-aside requirements are mentioned. Unless otherwise stated in a Season Notice, there are no restrictions on who may submit a response. However, partners may require privileged IT and security clearance access, "no foreign nationals" restrictions in certain roles, and may encounter Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Protected Health Information (PHI), requiring HIPAA compliance.

The Government will not pay for costs associated with preparing submission materials. Prospective partners may be required to cooperate with other contractors and may need to execute teaming agreements. Information about submissions may be shared with other prospective partners to facilitate team solutions.