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Potential Shake-Up in Federal IT Contracting: GSA Considers Taking Over Major Contract Vehicles
Get ready for potentially big changes in the world of federal IT acquisition. The General Services Administration (GSA) is prepping plans to take over management of several major governmentwide contracting vehicles currently overseen by NASA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
This move could encompass NASA’s Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) program, specifically the upcoming SEWP VI contract which has a potential value of $60 billion. Also included are NIH’s governmentwide contracting vehicles: CIO-SP3, CIO-CS, and the yet-to-be-awarded CIO-SP4, which has a potential value of $50 billion. Through these vehicles, more than $100 billion in spending on information technology services flows.
The rationale behind this potential shift is rooted in efforts to streamline and modernize the federal acquisition landscape. By consolidating the management of these large, widely-used IT governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs) under GSA, the goal is to reduce duplication and enhance efficiency. GSA believes that if the right balance is struck, they could potentially help save tens of billions of dollars.
This potential expansion of GSA’s role follows executive action taken in late March that centralized many government procurement functions within the agency. Specifically, a March 20 executive order suggested such a move could occur, stating that the GSA Administrator should rationalize governmentwide indefinite delivery contract vehicles for IT for agencies across the government, including identifying and eliminating contract duplication, redundancy, and other inefficiencies.
The plans are being worked on in coordination with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NASA, and NIH. These plans were shared with select GSA staff in a workforce town hall. However, GSA Senior Procurement Executive Jeffrey Koses emphasized that no final decisions have been made at this time. Any potential transitions would be carefully coordinated with partner agencies, prioritizing continuity for industry partners and federal customers.
These contract vehicles are significant players in the federal IT space. NASA’s SEWP, which originated in 1993, currently has over $69 billion in obligated task orders against its SEWP V contract. Major customers include the VA and Justice departments, and agencies frequently buy cloud services, software license renewals, and cybersecurity tools through it. SEWP VI is planned to significantly increase the number of prime contractors from 147 to 1,000.
NIH’s CIO-SP3 contract, managed by the NITAAC, has over $18 billion in obligated dollars for a wide range of IT services and has been extended through April 2026. CIO-SP4, however, has faced years of protests over the award methodology, with cases currently on hold as NITAAC works on a plan to resolve complaints.
A move of this magnitude could significantly impact several hundred government contractors that hold positions on these important contracts. As plans progress and final decisions are made, stakeholders across government and industry will be watching closely to understand the future of these key IT acquisition vehicles.
Tags: Government Acquisition, IT Contracting, GSA, NASA SEWP, NIH CIO-SP, Federal Procurement, Contract Vehicles, Government IT