NITAAC’s Acting Director Brian Goodger released an update on the long awaited CIO-SP4 Request for Proposals (RFP) today. He provided some insight as to the delays in the RFP’s release and assured everyone that they expect the last signature on the final RFP next week.

For those who don’t know, NITAAC (the NIH Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center) is an office of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It was designated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the “federal Executive Agent,” responsible for administering the massive Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) for information technology procurements known as: CIO-SP3, CIO-SP3 Small Business, CIO-CS, and CIO-SP4. These GWACs can be utilized by both federal civilian or Department of Defense (DoD) agencies “to acquire information technology products, services, and solutions.”

NITAAC first released a draft RFP for the highly anticipated CIO-SP4 on Beta.SAM.Gov back in March 2020, well over a year ago. And in February of this year, NITAAC announced that: “The RFP solicitation for CIO-SP4 will be posted in early March” and “[t]he proposal submission date will be on or about April 30.” But that didn’t happen.

In fact, NITAAC announced several other anticipated release dates that didn’t bear the fruit of the final RFP either. But based on Mr. Goodger’s announcement today–release is imminent! And the industry finally has some answers as to why this release continues to get pushed back.

Mr. Goodger’s announcement said:

We know the industry is eagerly awaiting the release of the CIO-SP4 Request for Proposal (RFP). We are, too. We understand the important role our GWACs play for not only the federal government, but the industry as well. I want to update everyone on where we stand in the process and provide some clarity around the delays we have experienced in the RFP’s release.

The RFP has been delayed due to events that are, quite simply, out of our control. Because the National Institutes of Health has been intimately involved in the fight against COVID-19, we experienced a delay in obtaining business case approval. That delay caused a subsequent delay in getting approval from the SBA PCR. The Office of Management and Budget has received a draft copy of the business case and has provided a verbal approval to post the RFP once all signatures have been obtained. The last signature we need to obtain is that of the SPE at HHS, which we expect next week.

While many in the industry are reasonably frustrated that they are still waiting to bid on this significant opportunity, Mr. Goodger’s announcement hopefully provides some light at the end of the tunnel. Mr. Goodger also added an important reminder regarding its current GWAC vehicles:

Finally, as we await the release of CIO-SP4, I wanted to remind our federal partners that CIO-SP3 and CIO-SP3 Small Business are very much viable options for meeting all of your procurement needs, not only now, but for five years after your task orders are placed.

So hang in there, bidders! Hopefully we will have a final CIO-SP4 RFP next week!

Planning to “team up” on CIO-SP4 and needing some guidance on meeting the RFP’s unique requirements? Email us or give us a call at 785-200-8919.

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