Health research agency again sends out first phase CIO-SP4 notices
The acquisition arm of the National Institutes of Health has again started sending out the first round of notices for an embattled $50 billion IT contracting vehicle known as CIO-SP4, following dozens of sustained challenges to the solicitation in the summer.
NIH’s Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) posted a notice Wednesday that it began sending out new notices to successful and unsuccessful offerors the week of Jan. 8. The agency also said it anticipates sending out completion notices for Phases 2 and 3 in coming weeks.
In July, the agency committed to taking corrective action for the third time on CIO-SP4 after the Government Accountability Office sustained dozens of offerors’ challenges to the competition process for the solicitation. In two separate decisions, GAO concluded the agency improperly eliminated proposals from the first phase of the competition.
CIO-SP4 stands for Chief Information Officer-Solutions and Partners 4, and it’s the fourth version of a 10-year, governmentwide contract vehicle for acquiring IT products and specialized services. The solicitation has faced challenges from companies seeking to be included in it since NITAAC first requested proposals in May 2021.
