Strategic Partners Acquisition Readiness Contract (SPARC)

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services established SPARC, a multiple-award Master IDIQ for small business, on May 18, 2016, with a shared ceiling of $25 billion and ordering authority extending to February 20, 2027 — approximately seven months remaining. The vehicle succeeded CMS Enterprise System Development (awarded 2007) and operates alongside an unrestricted track; this summary covers the small business track.

SPARC funds planning, design, development, testing, implementation, operations coordination, and maintenance of CMS and HHS OPDIV automated systems and business application software integrating hardware, software, and communication technologies. Task orders span the full enterprise performance lifecycle: marketplace systems integration and independent verification & validation (IV&V), database administration and data governance, cybersecurity and risk assessment, cloud infrastructure and hosting (IaaS), web development and content management, system modernization initiatives, and operations & maintenance for mission-critical systems including Medicare claims processing, the Federally Facilitated Exchange, the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), and data analytics platforms.

175 task orders have been awarded since July 2017; ordering momentum has declined from 13 orders in 2022 to 1 in 2026 year-to-date, suggesting the vehicle is in wind-down mode. Combined task-order potential value stands at $6.88 billion, with $5.49 billion already obligated (80% utilization). The largest single order is the Federally Facilitated Exchange (HHSM500201600003I-75FCMC21F0002) at $807 million; other mega-orders include the Continuously Available CMS Hosting Environment (CACHE) at $801 million and Marketplace System Integrator (MSI) orders totaling over $486 million combined.

Competition is highly concentrated. Five primes—General Dynamics Information Technology ($537.6 million), Newwave Telecom and Technologies ($416.4 million), Sparksoft Corporation ($409.7 million), Tista Science and Technology Corporation ($301.2 million), and Chags Health Information Technology ($235 million)—hold 28% of combined potential value. DRT Strategies, Audacious Inquiry, Reli Group, and The Signature Consulting Group lead by order count (31 orders combined) but with far lower individual values. 50 distinct primes have been awarded, indicating a long tail of small firms below the top tier.

CMS dominates as customer, funding 139 of 175 orders worth $6.78 billion (99% concentration). FDA, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and Health Resources and Services Administration are minor customers.

Set-aside distribution reflects the vehicle's small business charter: 59% of orders carry no set-aside (unrestricted or open competition within SPARC), 18% are 8(a) sole-source, 9% are total small business, 6% are competitive 8(a), 4% are service-disabled veteran-owned, 2% are woman-owned, and 1% each are HUBZone. Task-order values typically range from $1–$3 million for smaller efforts (database administration, IT PM support) to $30–$80 million for major systems work; time-and-materials and cost-plus-fixed-fee vehicles dominate large orders, while firm-fixed-price dominates smaller procurements. Durations extend from one-year bridges to multi-year efforts spanning five or more option periods. Nearly all work is performed for CMS at its administrative and operational centers (Baltimore headquarters, regional offices, and cloud-hosted environments).

The objective of the Strategic Partners Acquisition Readiness Contract (SPARC) is to procure support services related to the planning, design, development, testing, implementation, operations coordination, and maintenance for CMS and Other Department of Health and Human Services Operating Divisions (OPDIVS) automated systems and business application software that integrate hardware, software, and communication technologies. This is the small business track vehicle.