NIH anxiously waiting for CIO-SP3 'best-in-class' designation

The National Institutes of Health is still waiting to hear from the folks over at the Office of Management and Budget about the CIO-SP3 contracts receiving a "Best-in-Class" designation.

The NIH IT Acquisition and Assessment Center has submitted its documentation but has been told that OMB is working through the process, the center's director Bridget Gauer told her quarterly gathering of contract holders.

Another contract in NIH CIO-CS has already been designated Best-in-Class. When agencies use these so-called BIC vehicles, it can help them meet their category management requirements for more efficient and cost-effective buying.

“We want to be Best-in-Class,” Gauer said. “And I hope by the fourth quarter we will be but it is out of my control.”

There are few IT services options on the Best-in-Class list of approved contracts, Gauer said.

During a panel, Bloomberg Government’s senior data analyst Paul Murphy said that contracts that are considered Best-in-Class see a sharp increase in use once they get the BIC designation.

Even without the designation, CIO-SP3 Unrestricted and CIO-SP3 Small Business are on track to match, even not exceed last year’s numbers.

Gauer gave a sneak peek at the numbers through June 12:

CIO-SP3 Unrestricted

$676.6 million in task orders

Top agencies:

•     Education Department
•     Health and Human Services Department
•     Defense Department
•     State Department
•     Pension Benefits Guarantee Corp.

Top contractors:

•     SRA International (now part of General Dynamics)
•     Booz Allen Hamilton
•     IBM
•     PricewaterhouseCoopers
•     Deloitte Consulting

CIO-SP3 Small Business

$488.9 million

Top agencies:

•     Defense Department
•     Commerce Department
•     Health and Human Services Department
•     Interior Department
•     State Department

Top contractors:

•     ASRC Federal
•     VMD
•     DV Unlimited
•     Ellumen
•     Informatics Applications Group Inc.

"We are anticipating a very busy fourth quarter,” she said.

There are a lot of procurements already in the pipeline and agencies have until July 15 to submit requirements if they need assistance from NITAAC in getting a task order awarded before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, Gauer said.