CIO-SP4 Updates
Significant Changes to CIO-SP4 – Take Advantage of New Scoring Allowances!
The National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) released Amendment 5 for CIO-SP4 on July 2nd. The amendment extended the proposal due date to July 23rd, fixed minor inconsistencies, added submission file naming conventions, and reiterated the changes to Contractor Team Arrangements (CTA) in Section L.3.7.
According to Amendment 5, Small businesses in a mentor-protegee relationship with a large business and bidding as a Joint Venture (JV) are now excluded from competing on small business set-asides. JVs may only compete on small business set-aside contracts if all companies of the JV are small, which is another massive change to bidding instructions.
Amendment 4, released on June 24th, reintroduced the ability for primes to use first-tier subcontractor past performance/experience to count for points on the self-scoring sheet. This will significantly raise the cut-off score. The constant changing of CTA requirements is causing whiplash and lots of proposal rework.
Offerors must provide documentation and proof to justify their claimed points, a requirement that is trickier than it might seem. Many offerors are realizing that their standard past performance narratives do not focus specifically on health IT or provide sufficient detail of their experience. NITAAC has left the burden of proof to the offeror, and many Statements of Work (SOWs) are not detailed enough to justify the points claimed on the self-scoring sheet.
There is no room for error in this proposal, so it is critical to ensure you receive all of the points you claim. Our experts can provide compliance reviews of your proposal to ensure the documentation is adequate. We can also provide proposal writing support for areas where a narrative is required due to limited information within your SOWs.
Contact us to learn more.
Previous Updates
Deadline to Apply for CIO-SP4 Extended
The National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) responded to questions and extended the deadline to apply for CIO-SP4. As CIO-SP4 subject matter experts, we will help you understand NITAAC’s final requirements and...
NITAAC Releases Highly-Anticipated CIO-SP4 Request for Proposals
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CIO-SP4 Will Allow for Streamlined Acquisition of General, Health IT and Biomedical Research Across 10 Task Areas
Rockville, MD – May 25, 2021 – Today, the National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) released the solicitation for the highly anticipated Chief Information Officer-Solutions and Partners 4 (CIO-SP4) Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC). CIO-SP4 is designed to quickly meet agencies’ general information technology (IT), biomedical, and health IT needs across 10 task areas. Managed by NITAAC, the five-year, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract has a $50 billion ceiling and a five-year option.
“CIO-SP4 builds upon the success of CIO-SP3 and takes into account several lessons learned that we believe will enhance the experience of our federal agency customers and contract holders alike,” said Brian Goodger NITAAC Acting Director.
CIO-SP4 is designed for quick ordering of affordable IT solutions and services — including those from qualified small businesses — across 10 task areas:
- IT services for biomedical research, health sciences and health care
- Chief Information Officer support
- Digital media
- Outsourcing
- IT operations and maintenance
- Integration services
- Cybersecurity
- Digital government and cloud services
- Enterprise resource planning
- Software development
“We are excited about the possibility CIO-SP4 holds for revolutionizing the way agencies acquire IT,” said Goodger. “However, we want to remind agencies that while they anticipate CIO-SP4, CIO-SP3 still remains a vital option for their procurement needs. CIO-SP3 expires in May 2022, has ample ceiling room and awards issued before the expiration of CIO-SP3 can be extended up to five years,” said Goodger.
Proposals from potential offerors are due to the government on or about June 28, 2021. To view the CIO-SP4 solicitation, visit https://sam.gov/opp/5b025426cabe4b0fb1aa4094a7a6e130/view.
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.
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