8(a) STARS III

News: The 8(a) STARS III GWAC is highlighted in a recent Office of Management and Budget memo that identifies strategies for meeting and exceeding agency Small Disadvantaged Business goals.

Overview

The Best-in-Class 8(a) STARS III GWAC is a small business set-aside contract that provides flexible access to IT services and customized IT services-based solutions from a large, diverse pool of 8(a) industry partners. The 8(a) STARS III GWAC:

Expands capabilities for emerging technologies,
Supports both outside of the continental United States (OCONUS) and CONUS requirements,
Allows sole source orders up to the 8(a) competitive threshold,
Features limited protestability up to $10M, and
Offers expert guidance from the GSA team, including free scope review services and market research

Contract specifics

Contract Scope: IT services and IT services-based solutions
Contract Type: Governmentwide Acquisition Contract
Ceiling: $50 billion
Ordering Period: Five year base with one three year option, started July 2, 2021
Task Order Types: Fixed price, time and materials, labor-hour or a hybrid blend
Contract Access Fee: 0.75%, the same as GSA Schedules

Training

All members of the acquisition team are encouraged to attend 8(a) STARS III Delegation of Procurement Authority (DPA) training. This training is required for contracting officers prior to placing task orders on the contract. DPA training options include live webinars, a YouTube video series, a GSA Acquisition Gateway video or a review of the contract ordering guide. Following training, the contracting officer will need to submit an online DPA request form.