General Services Administration official Laura Stanton discussed how GSA’s 8(a) STARS III governmentwide acquisition contract enables small businesses to provide IT platforms and services for the State Department to support critical government missions worldwide.
In a blog post published Tuesday, Stanton, assistant commissioner for the Office of IT Category at GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, wrote about how vendors on the 8(a) STARS III GWAC delivered IT support services for the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.
“This operation underscores 8(a)STARS III’s far-reaching impact as well as the essential role GSA plays in delivering technology solutions to even the most challenging environments,” she noted.
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Conducting Market Research as a Service
Prior to awarding a mission-critical task order under the 8(a) STARS III contract, GSA issued a Market Research As a Service, or MRAS, request to notify industry stakeholders of the State Department’s requirement for location-specific services.
Through MRAS, GSA identified that a particular service required the selected vendor to have a business license in Iraq.
“This requirement usually takes several months and existing personal connections within the Iraqi government,” Stanton wrote.
According to the GSA official, the potential $55 million task order provides services for the State Department for up to four years.
What Is 8(a) STARS III?
The potential $50 billion 8(a) STARS III GWAC is a small business set-aside contract that provides government agencies access to IT services and customized IT services-based solutions.
The contract, which started in July 2021, has a five-year base ordering period and one three-year option term.
According to Stanton, more than 40 federal agencies have used the contract to procure IT services from small businesses since the vehicle’s launch. Over 1,100 contracts have been awarded through the GWAC, which has a current value of more than $6 billion.