The NIH Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) announced the names of the 81 SBA 8(a) small business contractors who have been added to the Chief Information Officer-Solutions and Partners 3 Small Business (CIO-SP3 Small Business) Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) during the first wave of the 8(a) ramp on.  NITAAC plans to make a subsequent announcement to name the remaining 8(a) awardees.

“The SBA 8(a) Program is an essential instrument for helping socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs gain entry in government contracting,” said Bridget Gauer, NITAAC Director. “NITAAC is pleased to offer our federal customers a more robust pool of SBA 8(a) small business contract holders to assist in meeting their socioeconomic goals.”

The CIO-SP3 Small Business ramp-on period is an important mechanism for encouraging competition on the GWAC, providing more opportunities for small and disadvantaged businesses, while also improving rates for agency customers.

To see the complete list of the first wave awardees, visit: https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/NITAAC/NIHJT2016015/listing.html

About the Ramp On:

The CIO-SP3 Small Business GWAC contains a provision, Article H.14 "Ramp-on Procedure" that reserves the right of the government to announce an Open Season to open the GWAC to small and disadvantaged businesses.

NITAAC began Phase 1 of this process in October 2015. During Phase One, incumbent contract holders that qualified in less than the maximum 10 task areas were given an opportunity to propose in additional task areas. Unlike Phase 1, Phase 2 was an open season that solicited proposals from additional contractors. The Phase 2 Open Season was published in Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps).

The CIO-SP3 Small Business contract is a 10-year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract that provides small businesses with an opportunity to participate in government requirements. CIO-SP3 Small Business gives government agencies a mechanism to help meet their socioeconomic contracting goals.

For more information, visit https://nitaac.nih.gov/. 

About NITAAC: 

NITAAC (NIH Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center) is housed within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and is a full service acquisition program that has been designated a federal Executive Agent, authorized by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to administer three Best in Class (BIC) Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) for information technology (IT) acquisitions. CIO-SP3, CIO-SP3 Small Business, and CIO-CS can be used by any federal civilian or Department of Defense (DoD) agency to acquire information technology services, solutions, and commodities from pre-qualified vendors at lower than open market prices in less time than going the traditional full and open route. NITAAC has expanded its support including  a new full-service Assisted Acquisition program and is one of three OMB mandatory sources for laptop and desktop buys through our Government-wide Strategic Solutions (GSS) program.