Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts
Also known as
GWACs (Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts) are pre-competed, multiple-award IDIQ vehicles exclusively for IT, available to all federal agencies. Established by OMB-designated agencies (GSA, NASA, NIH). Key advantages: pre-competed vendors reduce acquisition lead time, low fees (0.36-0.75%), and best-in-class designation. Major GWACs: SEWP (NASA), CIO-SP4 (NIH), Alliant 2 (GSA), 8(a) STARS III (GSA).
Meaning in practice
GWAC describes how the government structures the work, price, and risk.
Where you’ll see it
You will see it in solicitations, CLIN schedules, pricing tables, and award summaries. Example: Example: A 5-year IDIQ with task orders or a GSA Schedule purchase..
Common confusion
People often confuse a contract type with a vehicle, a task order, or a program name.
What to do next
Check payment timing, scope, and risk allocation before you bid or price the work.
(Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts) is a contract type concept federal contractors and grant writers run into across solicitations, regulations, and award filings
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GWAC describes a specific contract structure that the federal government uses. For example: Example: A 5-year IDIQ with task orders or a GSA Schedule purchase. The contract type controls risk allocation, payment timing, reporting cadence, and how performance is measured — all of which affect whether the work is profitable and whether it fits a contractor's capability profile. Knowing whether a solicitation is structured as a GWAC versus another vehicle is one of the first signals of how the government expects the work to be executed and what kind of contractor they're trying to attract. Misreading the contract type can mean either over-pricing risk you don't actually carry or under-pricing risk you do. The related terms above name the adjacent vehicles GWAC most commonly competes with or rolls up under.
Get notified when usage of GWAC changes in contracts or guidance.
Example: A 5-year IDIQ with task orders or a GSA Schedule purchase.
Search active federal contracts and solicitations related to GWAC on Bureauify.
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