Homeland Security Plans More Task Order Contracts The Homeland Security Department has released the final RFP for its Program Management, Administrative, Clerical and Technical Services contract vehicle, known as PACTS, and the department has more agencywide task order contracts in the works, according to the market research firm Input. PACTS, a set-aside for service-disabled veteran-owned firms, is designed to handle DHS’s non-IT services requirements. It is worth up to $1.5 billion over five years, including options. Input says the department’s first two agencywide vehicles, Eagle and First Source, “have been heavily utilized and widely marketed in DHS contracting shops.” First Source, a small business set-aside for IT hardware, has awarded $412 million in task orders, while Eagle, an IT services vehicle with both large and small businesses, has reached about $3.4 billion. “This streamlined procurement strategy [is] seemingly working,” Input analyst Jeremy Potter said. He says DHS is preparing to compete other multiple award vehicles, including one for FEMA’s RiskMap and another to provide systems engineering and technical assistance for the Office of Cyber Security and Communications. Task order contracts are increasingly the vehicle of choice for many agencies. Input estimates such vehicles will account for 33% of IT spending in fiscal 2008, up from 13% in 2002.