NIH chooses 17 for $1B public outreach support recompete
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By
Ross Wilkers
All agencies across the Health and Human Services Department can place orders against the vehicle for communication, evaluation and social marketing services.
The National Institutes of Health has awarded 17 companies positions on a potential five-year, $1 billion contract vehicle for professional services in support of the agency’s public outreach efforts.
Iteration number three of the Public Information and Communication Services contract, or PICS III, is a total small business set-aside program.
All Health and Human Services Department agencies other than NIH can also place orders against the vehicle for communication, evaluation and social marketing services.
NIH’s award notice posted Tuesday lists these winners:
- Aptive Resources
- Bayan Communication
- Betah Associates (incumbent)
- BLH Technologies (incumbent)
- Capital Consulting
- Communicate Health
- Crosby Marketing Communications
- Fors Marsh Group (incumbent)
- Hager Sharp (incumbent)
- Hendal
- IQ Solutions (incumbent)
- Lumina Corps
- Manhattan Strategy Group
- Market for Change
- Palladian Partners
- Synergy Enterprise
- The Scientific Group
NIH awarded 10 small businesses places on the current PICS II contract in 2018 and has obligated $1.4 billion against it since then with Dec. 16 indicated as the sunset date, according to Deltek data.
Fors Marsh Group is by far the largest recipient of the PICS II spend at $1.1 billion and will continue onto the new iteration. IQ Solutions is next at $122.3 million and also retains the work.
Altarum Institute is the most notable incumbent not on the PICS III awardee list, being the third-largest recipient of task order spend on the current vehicle at $107.5 million.
The PICS III statement of work lists task areas as including communications research; news media and operations support; audience outreach and promotion; materials development; graphic design; foreign language translation and interpretation; information and referrals; exhibit development, design, production, storage and transport; meeting, conference and event support; and IT.
A number of bids submitted for PICS III was not available at the time of publication.