NIH Launches $20 Billion Governmentwide IT Procurement

A new governmentwide contract worth up to $20 billion includes everything from fax machines to genetic sequencers to enterprise storage, according to solicitation documents.

The Chief Information Officer-Commodities and Solutions -- or CIO-CS -- contract aims to support information technology across the federal government, particularly focusing on agencies involved in health care and clinical and biological research, like the National Institutes of Health and its parent, the Health and Human Services Department.

In addition to health-specific products and services, “the contract also contains general IT commodities, partly because medical systems are increasingly integrated within a broader IT architecture, requiring a systems approach to their implementation and a sound infrastructure for their operation,” the solicitation said.

CIO-CS is a 10-year, indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity contract with a ceiling value of $20 billion.

NIH posted the request for proposals last week and advised that any resulting rewards would be contingent upon the agency obtaining executive agent designation for this contract from the Office of Management and Budget.

NIH is one of a handful of agencies authorized to run governmentwide acquisition contracts, or GWACs, which are master contracts for popular products and services that agencies can simply purchase for a set price rather than negotiate their own agreements with vendors or seek competitive bids.

CIO-CS replaces NIH's current Electronic Commodities Store contract, which is set to expire in November. Bids are due by June 11.