Chief Information Officer - Solutions and Partners 3, Small Business (CIO-SP3 SB)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) established CIO-SP3 Small Business, a master GWAC for health and biomedical IT solutions and services, on April 30, 2012; ordering closed on April 29, 2026, making this vehicle no longer available for new task-order awards. The vehicle carried a small-business set-aside structure across five subcategories: WOSB, HUBZone, 8(a), Small Business, and SDVOSB.

Over its 14-year life, the vehicle generated 3,446 task orders totaling $29.76 billion in combined potential value, with $18.86 billion obligated as of the most recent data (63% of potential). Task-order volume has declined sharply: from 389 orders in 2022 to 80 orders in 2026 (through early September), signaling reduced acquisition activity in the vehicle's final months.

The market is highly fragmented on prime concentration but dominated by order volume through BCT Partners LLC, which holds 1,794 orders (58% coverage threshold met) valued at $144.8 million combined potential. By potential value, leadership differs: Guidehouse Digital LLC leads with $1.64 billion across 32 orders, followed by Maximus Federal Technology Solutions ($902.9 million, 50 orders) and Actionet Inc. ($700.1 million, 63 orders). A long tail of 237 distinct primes shares the remaining capacity.

Task orders were distributed across 312 distinct customer agencies. HHS agencies dominated: the HHS NIH Office of Logistics and Acquisition Operations placed 83 orders ($535.8 million potential), HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration 82 orders ($503.4 million potential), and HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 47 orders ($1.93 billion potential). Department of Justice Bureau of Prisons facilities represented a secondary but substantial customer base, particularly for teleradiology and inmate medical IT services.

The set-aside mix skewed heavily toward unrestricted competition: 2,095 orders (61%) carried no set-aside, while small-business orders totaled 621 (18%). Competitive 8(a) awards were 559 orders (16%), with sole-source 8(a), SDVOSB, HUBZone, and WOSB combining for under 4% of the portfolio.

Task orders ranged from sub-thousand-dollar routine services (teleradiology interpretation at individual prison facilities) to multi-billion-dollar platforms. Notable mega-orders included the Kessel Run Enterprise Software Toolchain ($20.45 billion ceiling), an IT systems sustainment order ($31.6 billion ceiling), and an Integrated Workplace Management System expansion ($41.7 billion ceiling). Most orders clustered below $10 million, with typical durations of 12–36 months, though some infrastructure and platform contracts extended 5+ years with option periods.

Common places of performance included federal penitentiaries nationwide (via BCT Partners teleradiology work), NIH Bethesda campus operations, and HHS regional offices. Federal agencies serving the health and criminal-justice sectors drove the bulk of spending.

CIO-SP3 provides information technology (IT) solutions and services as defined in FAR 2.101(b) and further clarified in the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996. These IT solutions and services include, but are not limited to, health and biomedical-related IT services to meet scientific, health, administrative, operational, managerial, and information management requirements. The contract also contains general IT services partly because medical systems are increasingly integrated within a broader IT architecture, requiring a systems approach to their implementation and a sound infrastructure for their operation.