8(a) STARS II

8(a) STARS II Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC)

 

STARS I was the major Small Business GWAC (Government Wide Acquisition Contract) in federal government, with over 3.8 billion dollars in sales – including close to 1 billion dollars in Department of Defense – dwarfing GSA Alliant Small Business and VETS combined. STARS II GWAC is a dynamic Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract vehicle, engineered to provide cutting-edge technology solutions from award-winning 8(a) Small Businesses to federal agencies. For the Government, STARS II offers streamlined procurement for participants since prices have been pre-competed. Also because each technology provider has been proven, agencies are assured quality work with a much shorter procurement lead-time and lower user access fees while receiving socioeconomic credit.

DUNS Number
125305230

GS-06F-0876Z

Base Period from August 31, 2011 – August 30, 2016, plus one five-year Option Period from August 31, 2016 – August 30, 2021

STARS II is intended to support federal agency Information Technology (IT) requirements. The geographical scope of coverage is worldwide and organizational scope of coverage includes those entities authorized in GSA Order ADM 4800. Credence has been awarded the 8(a) STARS II GWAC in the following three Functional Areas designated by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS):

• FA1 NAICS 541511 Custom Computer Programming Services
• FA2 NAICS 541512 Computer Systems Design Services
• FA3 NAICS 541513 Computer Facilities Management Services
• FA4 NAICS 518210 Data Processing, Hosting and Related Services

Features and Benefits

Features	Benefits
$10B program ceiling and five-year base period with one, five-year option	Allows for long term planning of large scale program requirement
Directed task orders up to $4M, under the competitive threshold per FAR 19.804-6. The rationale at FAR 19.804-2(a)10, (i) or (ii), is germane to directed orders.  While some sole source is flagged as “high risk,” that is not the case with 8(a) directed orders.	Enhanced opportunities for government to engage the right skills very quickly
Contract types include: Fixed-Price Family (FAR 16.2), Time & Materials (FAR 16.6), Labor-Hour (FAR 16.6), Hybrid blends, and Incentives (FAR 16.4)	Offers flexibility of contract types to mitigate risk
Permits other direct costs to include ancillary services and/or equipment that the Government determines to be integral and necessary to the IT services-based solution	Provides flexibility at the order level and facilitates integrated IT solutions
Access to exceptionally qualified 8(a) small business industry partners	Enables federal clients to earn 8(a) small business credit
Pre-competed, easy-to-use contract with streamlined ordering procedures based on FAR 16.505	Saves time and money by reducing procurement lead time
Compliance with Section 843 of the NDAA of 2008 and Section 863 of NDAA 2009 (DoD).  DoD bought close to a Billion dollars on STARS I	FAR 16.505 Fair Opportunity process supports best value awards
Limited protests on orders under $10M	Minimizes protest risk and supports timely order award for optimal mission support

STARS II was authorized under the provisions of Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act 15 U.S.C. 637(a) and retains the 8(a) sole source, a/k/a/ “directed order”, authority found in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 19.8. STARS II resulted from a competitive 8(a) procurement, which was offered to and accepted into the SBA 8(a) program; therefore order requirements do not require an additional offer and acceptance from SBA per 19.804-6(a).

An Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memorandum dated June 6, 2008, titled “Improving the Management and Use of Interagency Acquisitions” establishes that using a GWAC, such as STARS II, is presumed to be in the Government’s best interest. In a July 29, 2009, memorandum from the OMB, the Director cited that Agencies should not count as high risk those acquisitions made noncompetitively pursuant to a statute, including sole source awards made under the small business development 8(a) program.

The Director, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy issued a memorandum dated July 14, 2011, identifying STARS II as a contract to be considered by DoD organizations during market research in support of maximizing small business prime contracting opportunities.

Federal contracting officers (CO) who wish to use STARS II must receive a STARS II overview training and Delegation of Procurement Authority (DPA). Orders can be awarded by warranted CO who have received a written Delegation of (DPA). There are various ways to receive STARS II DPA training: 1) through a self-paced on-line course; 2) via conference call; 3) through on-site training for large groups; 4) webinar; 5) video teleconference; or 6) by reviewing and understanding the STARS II Ordering Guide. For more details, please visit: STARS II Delegation of Procurement Authority (http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/208117).

For detailed information on how Total Networks can meet your needs using this contract, please contact:

Total Networks Incorporated
Office: (301) 868-2333 |  Fax: (301) 868-2333
Email: info@totalnetworksinc.com

For more information about how the 8(a) STARS II GWAC can help your agency with information technology requirements, contact The Small Business GWAC Center at (877) 327-8732, e-mail S2@gsa.gov, or visit www.gsa.gov/8astars