COMMITS RFP Coming Soon The Commerce Department says it plans to issue the long-delayed solicitation for its small business set-aside GWAC, COMMITS NexGen, around Aug. 11 and to make awards in January. The RFP was originally targeted for May. If the current schedule holds, a pre-proposal conference would be held Aug. 18. In a pre-solicitation notice posted May 2, the department said the objectives of COMMITS NexGen are “(1) deliver top quality IT services and solutions to meet government organizations’ missions; (2) deliver IT services and solutions utilizing a streamlined acquisition methodology; and (3) provide a talented pool of contractors capable of meeting the government’s IT service requirements.” COMMITS, or Commerce Information Technology Solutions, is the only governmentwide acquisition contract reserved for small businesses. The original contract, awarded in 1999, accounted for about $1.5 billion in sales over four years. Fifty-eight firms participated in that contract; the vast majority are small disadvantaged businesses. For details, go to www.commits.doc.gov.