National Institutes of Health Adds Six Months to CIO-SP3 Performance Period

The National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center has extended the Chief Information Officer – Solutions and Partnerships 3‘s task order performance period by six months to allow more time to process 119 complaints against CIO-SP4, a 10-year follow-on worth $50 billion.

CIO-SP3 is a government-wide acquisition contract for commercial and non-commercial IT products and services. According to the NITAAC website, the new deadline for task order performance is on Oct. 29, 2028, with another extension possible “if necessary to assure continuous coverage.”

Ricky Clark, the deputy director of NIH’s procurement organization, explained to FCW that the extra six months are meant to bridge CIO-SP3 and CIO-SP4, preventing a lapse in between. He added that NITAAC intends for there to be a two to three-week overlap between the two contracts to ensure that options are constantly available, FCW reported Friday.

Prospective vendors are disputing CIO-SP4’s approach to self-scoring proposals with some protesting that cut-off scores were too high. Others are arguing that the contract vehicle is not conducive to competition.