DHS kicks off Eagle II procurement

The Homeland Security Department is inviting interested bidders to attend a pre-solicitation conference on the Eagle II-Unrestricted IT services acquisition program.

Online registration opened March 1 for a limited number of interested vendors to attend a pre-solicitation conference on the Homeland Security Department's Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading Edge Solutions II-Unrestricted information technology services acquisition program, which is scheduled for March 29-30.

Sponsored by DHS' Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, the Eagle II-Unrestricted procurement vehicle is a successor to the $8.2 billion Eagle information technology services vehicle, according to a  notice posted on FedBizOpps.

The goal of the pre-solicitation conference, to be held in Arlington, Va., is to discuss the contents of the draft request for proposals for Eagle II-Unrestricted, which is expected to be released before the free conference. Registration is open to all prospective bidders, regardless of size, until the maximum capacity is reached.

DHS officials announced the Eagle II-Unrestricted contract in September 2009. In a modification from Eagle I, Eagle II would eliminate the contract's functional categories and allow competition across the board.

Functional categories divide the holders of multiple-award contracts into areas of expertise, limiting competition for a given task order to those companies that are within the appropriate functional category.

DHS awarded the Eagle contract in 2006, giving 25 large companies and 28 small firms a position on the vehicle. As of Dec. 31, 2009,  the 406 task orders awarded under Eagle totaled $8.2 billion.