DHS Chief Procurement Officer Soraya Correa put to rest industry speculation on the future of the FirstSource contract vehicle by announcing the department’s establishment of FirstSource III.
“FirstSource has served this Department well through two contract iterations and has provided DHS with streamlined access to Information Technology goods and services, while also enabling us to achieve our small business goals,” Correa said in an announcement to industry partners, adding that with the latest iteration DHS “will uphold its longstanding commitment to small businesses.”
“Due to the great success of FirstSource II, FirstSource III will be established with set-aside tracks across each of the five (5) socio-economic categories and will include ordering flexibilities that enable the DHS mission,” she wrote. “My team is diligently working with our partners in the Office of the Chief Information Officer and across the Components to iron out the scope of FirstSource III and to establish an estimated timeline that can be shared with you. I can assure you, we will be engaging with you, our industry partners, along the way!”
“Additionally, my team is working closely with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure that our approach to FirstSource III is consistent with the OMB guidance on Category Management.”
DHS awarded $2.05 billion with a total of 17,032 delivery orders for FirstSource from fiscal years 2007 to 2011. Contracts largely focused on networking equipment, wireless technology, imaging products, voice recognition technology, online data reporting services, and associated product maintenance, installation, and support.
As of DHS’ second-quarter report this year, FirstSource II has produced 12,578 total awards at a value of more than $2.8 billion in base plus all options. The most contracting activity, constituting 29 percent of awards, was with Customs and Border Protection.
