The General Services Administration (GSA) has issued the last two bidding opportunities for Polaris, an IT Services Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) with no contract ceiling. The agency released final Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) categories, with a submission deadline of November 4.
Questions on these last two RFPs must be sent to GSA by Oct. 5. Proposals for the Small Business (SB) and Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB) pools are due September 23.
Bidders can compete in multiple pools, and a single project can be used more than once if it’s used in different pools (i.e., WOSB, HUBZone, SB, SDVOSB). However, if a project appears in more than one proposal for the same pool, GSA will reject that project in every proposal where it appears.
In a press release accompanying the release of SDVOSB and HUBZone RFPs, GSA officials highlighted Polaris’ advantages for both government and small business.
“Emerging technologies are key enablers for a more efficient government,” said Laura Stanton, Assistant Commissioner for the GSA Office of Information Technology Category. “GSA will bring innovative small and socioeconomic small businesses into the contract so federal agencies can tap into their expertise to drive IT modernization and improve service delivery.”
Like the WOSB and SB pools, the SDVOSB and HUBZone Pools are Multiple Award, Indefinite-Delivery, and Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contracts to provide customized IT services. The contract ordering period will consist of a five-year base period with one, five-year option that may extend the cumulative contract ordering period to 10 years.
Polaris replaces GSA’s $15 billion Alliant 2 Small Business contract. GSA’s goal for Polaris is to build on the success of 8(a) STARS III and VETS 2 with a greater emphasis on “emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, automated technology, distributed ledger technology, edge computing, and immersive technology while furthering Administration efforts on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.”
OST Global Solutions is here to help maximize your score on your Polaris bid. We will help you develop a draft scorecard, perform a gap analysis to ensure that you make the cut-off score, and find ways to help you out-score your competition. No matter how much assistance you require, we’re here to help.
For the latest updates on the Polaris contract, see our Polaris contract page.
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