UPDATE: On March 31st, NITAAC released the final list of SDVOSB awardees. The final list holds 2 less contractors than the pre-award announcement, with a final total of 38 awardees.
LATEST UPDATE: The CIO-SP3 SDVOSB awards have already been hit with their first protest. Pro-Sphere Tek, Inc. filed a protest on April 5th, with a GAO decision scheduled for July 6th, according to the GAO docket.
After covering GWAC’s and the increase in competition, CIO-SP3 SB has come up as a technology contract that is picking up steam. The NIH Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) has made efforts to help the GWAC grow further, like lowering the contract access fees for agency use. CIO-SP3 SB has been successful enough for the small business contractors that some of them have outgrown their small business status since they were awarded spots in 2012. With a need for new small business providers in the GWAC, but without a full re-compete until 2022, NITAAC began the on-ramping process in 2016. Just last month, NITAAC finally announced a pre-award list of some of the small businesses expected to participate.
With a solicitation released in March 2016, NITAAC sought offers from 8(a), SDVOSB, and HUBZone-certified small businesses to fill needed slots in CIO-SP3 SB. With a focus on health IT, CIO-SP3 provides government customers with services grouped into ten task areas:
- IT Services for Biomedical Research, Health Sciences, and Healthcare
- Chief Information Officer (CIO) Support
- Imaging
- Outsourcing
- IT Operations and Maintenance
- Integration Services
- Critical Infrastructure Protection and Information Assurance
- Digital Government
- Enterprise Resource Planning
- Software Development
The original awards, with a total ceiling of $20 billion, went to 94 certified small businesses in 2012. 10 of those contractors were Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs). This new 2018 pre-award list is solely for SDVOSB’s, and already includes 40 contractors that will earn a spot in the on-ramp after any small business size challenges. This represents a huge jump in the number of SDVOSB awardees since the first round of awards. NITAAC is still expected to make awards to separate HUBZone, Section 8(a), and general small business groups. Considering the spike in SDVOSB awards, as well as the “robust competition” that NITAAC has noted for this on-ramp, EZGovOpps expects to CIO-SP3 SB contractor pool to grow by a large amount.
Although the NITAAC e-GOS procurement portal is not accessible to the public, companies who missed the first CIO-SP3 SB on-ramp opportunity can still utilize EZGovOpps in searching for task order reporting, CIO-SP3 prime contract holders, and exclusive program updates, allowing for teaming opportunities and better intelligence for future on-ramp openings. In less than 60 seconds, sign up for a free trial for access to the comprehensive and affordable force in Federal market intelligence: EZGovOpps.
Take a look below at an explanation from NITAAC on the use of Fair Opportunity in their GWACs, including CIO-SP3:
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