Set-Aside Alert exclusive analysis:

GSA’s IT GWACs vary in growth

Small biz GWACs show slower growth than Alliant 2;
GSA preparing RFP soon for POLARIS small biz GWAC

      Starting in 2018, the Alliant 2 unrestricted contract for information technology services soared right out of the gate, reaching $2.2 billion in sales in just three years.

      It took nine years for the 8(a) STARS II contract for IT services to get close to that amount.

      And after three years, the VETS 2 technology services contract had only $175 million in orders in 2020.

      Overall, the growth paths have varied widely for the General Services Administration’s three multiple-award IDIQ Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) for IT services.

      The relative successes of those contracts may help in assessing ongoing prospects for GSA’s GWACs going forward, including its upcoming Polaris small business GWAC for IT services. A draft solicitation for Polaris was released Dec. 31 but there is no release date yet for the Request for Proposals.

      Polaris is intended to replace Alliant 2 Small Business, which was canceled after multiple protests and modifications.

      Set-Aside Alert reviewed GSA’s online dashboard for Alliant 2, which is unrestricted, and for 8(a) STARS II and VETS 2, which are for small businesses only. Years are federal fiscal years.

8(a) STARS II

      The 8(a) STARS II achieved $12.2 billion in total orders from 2011 to 2021, with 64% civilian and 36% defense orders.

      Its largest users were the Defense Dept., with $4.4 billion in sales; State Dept., with $1.5 billion; and USDA, with $1.1 billion, over the 11-year period.

      Here are the total sales per year for 8(a) STARS II:

      The ordering period for 8(a) STARS II was shortened in July 2020, when the solicitation for 8(a) STARS III was released. Awards for 8(a) STARS III are expected this spring.

VETS 2

      VETS 2, targeted for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, reached $332 million in total sales in 2018-2021, split into 51% military and 49% civilian.

      The Defense Dept. was the heaviest user of VETS 2, with $168 million in total orders from 2018-2021. Civilian agency orders were $164 million.

      Here are the sales for VETS 2:

Alliant 2

      Alliant 2 orders totaled $3.7 billion from 2018-2021; 55% were military and 45% civilian. Here are total sales by year:

More information:
GSA dashboard: https://bit.ly/3c5H5yZ
Polaris Interact: https://bit.ly/3cnrk6L

(URLs in Set-Aside Alert have been shortened by the bit.ly URL shortener)

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