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Our Best in Class 8(a) STARS III Governmentwide Acquisition Contract provides flexible access to IT services and customized IT services-based solutions from a large, diverse pool of 8(a) industry partners. The contract supports requirements inside and outside of the continental United States.
8(a) STARS III:
8(a) STARS III supports IT services and IT services-based solutions including:
IT services-based solutions may include work that on its own might not be considered IT, provided the work is integral and necessary to the IT-services-based solution. That work is characterized as “Ancillary Support,” and can include can include non-IT services/labor as well as IT equipment (server racks, mounts, etc.) and software.
Please review section C (especially C.3) of the 8(a) STARS III Contract [PDF - 719 KB] [PDF - 710 KB] for a complete discussion of ancillary support, contract scope, pricing, applicable Federal Acquisition Regulations and more.
Did you know we offer free scope compatibility reviews? This unique benefit of working with GSA can help reduce the risk of protest and improve acquisition outcomes.
All members of the acquisition team are encouraged to attend 8(a) STARS III Delegation of Procurement Authority training. DPA training is required for contracting officers prior to placing task orders on the contract, and is available in several formats including live webinars or a review of the contract ordering guide [PDF - 876 KB].
Need IT products and services for state and local governments? Try Multiple Award Schedule’s IT Category.
The 8(a) STARS III Industry Partner Spreadsheet [XLSX - 186 KB] provides contact information for each contract holder. Alternatively, you may email all of the industry partners using stars3awardees@gsa.gov.
All contract holders must be provided a fair opportunity to be considered for all orders in accordance with FAR 16.505, unless an exception applies. We recommend issuing solicitations through eBuy to meet fair opportunity requirements. Exceptions may include an urgent need, only one capable awardee, a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract, or most commonly used under 8(a) STARS III: expressly authorized by statute. The full list of exceptions is in FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i).
Refer to FAR 15.4 and apply the proposal analysis techniques from FAR 15.404-1 befitting the acquisition plan for your order. If you provide for adequate price competition for competed orders, generally you do not need any more price or cost detail to determine pricing resulting from a competition from comparable offerors for the same requirements to be fair and reasonable.
Use our self-service 8(a) STARS III Pricing Tool to quickly perform market research to make better business decisions:
The maximum hourly labor rates in the 8(a) STARS III Pricing Tool:
The description for each 8(a) STARS III labor category are in attachment J-2 of the contract [PDF - 710 KB]; locality differentials for work performed outside the Washington-Baltimore-
The Department of State’s quarterly reports can help you price work performed outside the US, including cost of living, per diem rate maximums, quarters allowances, hardship differentials, and danger pay allowances.
While 8(a) STARS III is fully awarded, we encourage companies to consider subcontracting arrangements with any of our 8(a) STARS III Industry Partners [XLSX - 186 KB].
Acquisition.gov features Agency Procurement Recurring Forecasts which may assist in identifying future opportunities.
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