GSA Pushes Polaris RFP Release to January

The General Services Administration has delayed the publication of the final request for proposals for the $15 billion Polaris contract vehicle until early January.

According to a federal contracting source, the delays would give small information technology providers more time to prepare their bids. A government contracting official posted in GSA Interact that the small business and woman-owned small business pools will be released in January. GSA Press Secretary Christina Wilkes said the first awards for the small business pool will be issued sometime in 2022 while WOSB RFPs will be released soon after. The pools for HUBZone businesses and service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses will be opened within 2022 as well, FedScoop reported.

Wilkes said the organization decided to postpone the release of Polaris RFPs due to industry feedback. She explained that organizations called for a delay to allow them to enjoy the holidays, and the agency was willing to honor the request. The agency originally planned to release the RFP on Dec. 21.

The Polaris GWAC is designed to allow government agencies to acquire IT goods and services, such as cloud platforms, cybersecurity solutions and software development technologies. It seeks to support the Biden administration’s goal to boost equity for small businesses, WOSBs and HUBZone-certified organizations. It will replace the Alliant 2 Small Business contract, which GSA canceled in July 2020.