Office of Science Policy, Engagement, Education and Communications Support

This Master BPA, awarded by the National Institutes of Health to support the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's communications, engagement, and education initiatives, is no longer active for new ordering — the last date to place orders was July 9, 2022, four years ago. The vehicle established in July 2017 supported 15 task orders with a combined potential value of $62.1 million, of which $56.3 million (91 percent) has been obligated.

The portfolio concentrated heavily on NHLBI programs, which account for 14 of 15 orders valued at $59.1 million combined potential value; a single National Institute of Child Health and Human Development order represents the remainder. The work spans six task areas: strategic communications and media relations, content development and graphic or medical arts, web and digital platforms development, health education and research dissemination, user-centered research and analytics, and the NHLBI Center for Health Information. Task orders were time-and-materials contracts, with individual ceiling values ranging from approximately $1.77 million to $10.2 million. The largest single order, placed in September 2020 for content development and graphic or medical arts, carried a $10.2 million ceiling.

Award activity peaked in 2020, with five task orders placed that year; the vehicle issued two orders in 2022 and fewer in intervening years. Competition was concentrated among a small set of incumbent primes. Westat, Inc. and Palladian Partners, Inc. each held combined potential value near $16 million across multiple orders, followed by ICF Incorporated at $14.1 million. These three firms captured the majority of the vehicle's value. The remaining primes — JBS International, Inc., Communicatehealth Inc., and The ST. John Group, LLC — held substantially smaller shares. No task orders carried small-business set-asides; all 14 orders (93 percent of the total) used no set-aside designation. Because ordering closed in mid-2022, this vehicle offers no path for new work and serves primarily as a reference point for incumbent contractor performance and NHLBI communications procurement patterns.

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Communications Engagement and Educations Support Services