NIH Conference Administrative and Travel Services II (NIHCATS II)

The National Institutes of Health established NIH Conference Administrative and Travel Services II (NIHCATS II), a Master IDIQ for furnishing domestic and international travel, meetings, and conference management services and administrative support for NIH and other federal agencies, with the last date to order on April 30, 2019 — ordering closed seven years ago.

The vehicle is no longer active. It was awarded November 14, 2011, and ordering ceased in April 2019. Its successor vehicle, NIH Conference Administrative and Travel Services III, was established in June 2018 and is the current contract family vehicle. Of the combined potential value of $47.8 million across 356 task orders, $44 million has been obligated (92%), with the most recent award issued April 30, 2018.

Task orders funded domestic and international conference logistics, travel services, and administrative support spanning workshops on scientific topics, Board of Scientific Counselors meetings, staff training conferences, and event planning. The portfolio included both standing recurring programs—such as NIDA Intramural Research Program lecture series, NIH career symposiums, and ongoing administrative support contracts for institute boards—and one-time or episodic events such as vaccine development workshops, malaria research conferences, and nanotech investigator meetings. Task orders carried either time-and-materials or firm-fixed-price pricing structures, with individual order values ranging from under $1,000 to $2.2 million.

Five firms dominated the award distribution. Palladian Partners, Inc. and Educational Services, Inc. led by combined potential value at $10.7 million and $10.6 million respectively across 60 and 35 orders. Capital Consulting Corp. held the largest order count at 76 awards totaling $8.5 million. Kauffman And Associates, Inc. and BLH Technologies Inc. completed the top tier with $5.3 million and $1.6 million across 44 and 39 orders. The top five primes captured roughly 81% of potential value. Activity was concentrated among primarily single-award and competitive unrestricted task orders; 355 of 356 task orders carried no set-aside designation, with only one task order for Head Start logistics support marked small business.

The Office of the Director at NIH accounted for 105 orders, followed by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases with 42 orders and Office of Logistics and Acquisition Operations with 39 orders. Approximately 71% of ordering activity concentrated among five customer offices within NIH, with the remainder spread across 20 distinct federal agencies.

Master IDIQ for furnishing all necessary labor, materials, and facilities to provide domestic and international travel, meetings and conference management services and administrative support for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other Federal agencies.