Federal IT Set-Aside Awards to Exceed $20 Billion in FY06

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Set-aside awards in Fiscal Year 2006 (FY06) are anticipated to total more than $20 billion in cumulative value, according to a report released by INPUT, a provider of government business information. INPUT anticipates more than $14 billion in cumulative value of set-aside awards will be in the professional services area, accounting for approximately 70 percent of all anticipated set-aside contracts this year.

"As government solidifies mechanisms for fulfilling set-aside category goals, competition for these prime reserve dollars is increasing," says Megan Gamse, manager, defense opportunities for INPUT. "Last fiscal year, INPUT tracked more than $11.6 billion in federal technology set-aside opportunities. Given some key programs to help government-wide set-aside goal achievement, total technology set-aside contractual value is anticipated to increase by more than 43 percent from last year."

The analysis examines the total contract value of awards expected in FY06. For government-wide acquisition contracts (GWAC) and other indefinite delivery contracts, INPUT used the ceiling value for the opportunity.

Some of the largest anticipated professional services set-aside opportunities are anticipated on behalf of the U.S. Army and Air Force. The Army's $310 million small business set-aside for Business Process Outsourcing of emerging program management and interpretation/translation services in Afghanistan is likely to have a final solicitation release in 2Q FY06. The U.S. Air Force will release set-asides for $960 million of professional acquisition and information technology support services, and a $350 million advisory and assistance services requirement for Tinker Air Force Base.

The newest mechanism for a specific socioeconomic set-aside goal achievement is the GWAC Veteran Technology Services (VETS), which is limited to service-disabled veteran-owned businesses.

"GSA's $5 billion VETS contract vehicle is anticipated to be awarded in the spring of 2006 and exemplifies a future commitment to aiding federal agencies in reaching individual set-aside goals," adds Gamse.

GSA's significant presence in FY06 set-aside procurement is, in large part, due to the anticipated finalization of the VETS GWAC.

INPUT anticipates that the Department of Homeland Security will maintain a top spot in total contractual set-aside value for FY06 with the awarding of the First Source program, a $3 billion small business set-aside procurement for commercial IT commodity solutions.