In the coming weeks, the NIH Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC), home of the agency's Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) is searching for new top managers and honing a new contracting vehicle.

Bridget Gauer, Director of NITAAC since 2015 is set to retire on May 1, and Glynis Fisher, NITAAC Deputy Director, departed in January.

Brian Goodger, Associate Director for the Office of Logistics and Acquisition Operations in NIH’s Office of the Director, said at an ACT-IAC teleconference April 21 that the deputy position will be filled first and the agency will post on USAJobs for the director position in May.

NITAAC also issued the draft request for proposals for its new contract vehicle Chief Information Officer Solutions and Partners 4 in late March with a due date of May 15 for responses.

The contract vehicle, dubbed CIO-SP4, is being planned as the much larger successor to the current CIO-SP3. CIO-SP4 will have a potential 15-year period of performance with a $40 billion ceiling.

NITAAC anticipates a final request for proposals should land in mid-December, said Goodger, with bids due by March 31, 2021, and multiple awards before Christmas 2021.

The new vehicle will be awarded in a consolidated format with large and small businesses included on the single vehicle. This is a departure from the current iteration that has one unrestricted track and a second devoted to small businesses.

NITAAC also plans to upgrade its Electronic Government Ordering System.

"The next-generation system," he said, "will allow faster click-through" for customers ordering from the vehicle, as well as provide more detailed data on products and services.