CIO-SP3 contracts extended through April 2025 amid issues with successor

The CIO-SP3 governmentwide acquisition contracts for IT services operated by the National Institutes of Health were again extended, this time for nine months, while bid protests over the embattled successor CIO-SP4 persist.

In an update posted this week, NIH’s Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) said that CIO-SP3 and its small business counterpart would be extended through April 2025 to ensure there won’t be a break in service. 

The extension “ensures CIO-SP3 and CIO-SP3 Small Business are available for use during the busy end of year buying season. From laptops to desktops to everything IT, NITAAC will continue to be your one-stop shop for all your IT acquisition needs,” the post said.

The new extension of CIO-SP3 — which stands for Chief Information Officer-Solutions and Partners 3 — comes as its fourth iteration continues to face challenges from companies competing for awards. That contract, CIO-SP4, is a 10-year contracting vehicle valued at $50 billion. NITAAC began soliciting proposals for CIO-SP4 in May 2021.

After the resolution of dozens of bid protests last summer and the agency’s commitment to corrective action, NITAAC in January began sending new notices to successful and unsuccessful offerors. Almost immediately, bid protests at the Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims resurfaced, and in February, NITAAC announced it was requesting to extend the contract through October. 

NITAAC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the exact reason for the extension.