NIH acquisition hub working on approvals for next CIO-SP vehicle

The National Institutes of Health has started the process for getting approval from the Office of Management and Budget for the fourth iteration of the CIO-SP contract vehicle for IT products and services.

But NIH officials are reluctant for now to discuss a timeline for when a draft and then final solicitation will be released, said Glynis Fisher, deputy director of the NIH IT Acquisition and Assessment Center. She was one of our speakers at our WT Power Breakfast on government wide contracts.

“I can’t give a date because then I’ll be held to a date,” she said.

Time is running short with the current CIO-SP3 set to expire in 2022. “It isn’t a lot of time,” she said.

NITAAC is planning more interactions with industry as they shape CIO-SP4.

The OMB hurdle includes getting CIO-SP4 recognized as a Best in Class contract as CIO-SP3 is. “We need to meet a higher standard,” Fisher said.

Once the OK comes, then NITAAC plans to hold industry days and “lots of engagement,” she said.

The current contract has 10 IT categories and NITAAC is considering whether to expand the number. For example, cloud and cybersecurity solutions can be purchased through CIO-SP3 but perhaps they need to be called out as their own category in CIO-SP4, Fisher said.

“Technology changes so quickly,” she said, adding that NITAAC will look for ways for the new contract vehicle to be flexible as it moves forward.