A new contracting vehicle within the General Services Administration is officially ready for business after the Court of Federal Claims and Government Accountability Office rejected vendor protests that had delayed the program for months.
GSA issued a notice to proceed Wednesday for its flexible and hybrid One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services contracting program, better known as OASIS, for agency professional services acquisition. In June, GSA issued a similar notice for the small business OASIS solution (OASIS SB).
In all, both OASIS and OASIS SB have granted contracts to more than 200 vendors, 74 of which went to major contractors under the main solution, while the rest went to small businesses. These private companies are now eligible to provide agency buyers with services like program management, management consulting, logistics, engineering and financial services.
Many businesses that bid to be part of the initial OASIS programs were denied. And when that happened, some protested, delaying the official launch of the programs. However, GSA remained steadfast in its requirements determination. In the end, GAO and the Court of Federal Claims upon further review denied those protests.
“These solutions have great potential to provide agencies with more flexible full-service contract vehicle options while driving down costs for the American taxpayer,” said Tom Sharpe, commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service. “The OASIS program will strengthen the federal government by minimizing contract duplication and improving efficiency, while also delivering solid benefits to the selected OASIS and OASIS SB industry partners and maximizing opportunities for small businesses.”
The OASIS programs have the potential to be a big deal. According to Deltek, they could capture about between five and 10 percent of the professional services market — $6 billion yearly for the next decade. From the Air Force alone, GSA said it should process about $1.4 billion in professional services contracts, thanks to the service’s decision to use OASIS rather than create its own contracting vehicles.
