The General Services Administration’s 8(a) Streamlined Technology Acquisition Resource for Services III governmentwide acquisition contract for information technology support has received the “best-in-class” status for meeting the Office of Management and Budget’s performance standard for category management.
“The 8(a) STARS GWAC program represents an inclusive opportunity for small, disadvantaged firms to compete within the federal marketplace and gain valuable experience in navigating agency requirements” Exodie Roe, associate administrator of the office of small and disadvantaged business utilization at GSA, said in a statement published Wednesday.
“More than $18 billion has been awarded through GSA’s 8(a) GWACs, and many successful firms have graduated from the SBA’s 8(a) Program to compete on a larger scale,” Roe added.
The BIC designation allows acquisition professionals to use pre-vetted GWACs and increases the transactional data that could be used in conducting governmentwide and agency-level studies of buying behavior, among other benefits.
Contract vehicles with the BIC designation meet five criteria: performance and category management strategies; appropriate pricing strategies; independently validated reviews; data-driven strategies to change consumption and buying behavior; and requirements definitions and planning processes.
In June, GSA announced the selection of 426 small businesses as initial cohort of awardees on the potential $50 billion 8(a) STARS III GWAC, which focuses on meeting agencies’ needs for cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
