Demystifying NASA SEWP V GWAC Contract

What is a government contract?

To ensure fairness, the US government uses a bidding process when purchasing products or services above a certain dollar amount threshold. The result of this process is a contract that outlines what products or services were purchased, when those products or services must be delivered, how the seller will be paid, and other details about doing business with the government.

(From planning to award is typically months or years.)

What is a government-wide acquisition contract (GWAC)?

When the need for twenty laptops, support for an IT security software application, or help implementing a WiFi network arises, it would be nice to have an option other than a full bidding process.

In the case of large acquisitions like real estate, military equipment and construction projects, the bidding process makes sense. However, when purchasing commercially available IT products and services, the same bidding process can be very inefficient.

When it comes to IT products and services, agencies can streamline their purchasing process by allowing government purchasing teams to make the purchase through pre-vetted sellers of these IT products and services. This pre-vetted marketplace structure—known as government-wide acquisition contracts (GWAC)—can and have been used by all government agencies.

(From market research to award is typically days or weeks)

History of NASA SEWP GWAC Contract 

The SEWP program, managed by NASA, is the first of these GWACs and is available to and used by all government agencies. NASA currently operates SEWP V (pronounced soup five), with SEWP VI set to begin in 2025. The history of the SEWP program dates back to the early 1990s when NASA needed a streamlined method for purchasing computer workstations for its engineering and scientific staff. The scope of the contract has changed significantly to include IT services and many other IT products but the goal of a more efficient purchasing process is the same.

(SEWP I to SEWP V Logos)

SEWP V Overview

SEWP V is the current iteration of the NASA managed GWAC and has been used by all agencies for purchasing IT products and services.

• Awarded: 2014, started May 1, 2015
• Term:  5 Years + 5 Year Option
• Current Fee: 0.34 % (lowest fees of any GWAC)
• Over $10B in orders in FY 2022
• Over 140 pre-vetted prime contractors, including AccessAgility
• 200 Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts

($10B+ in orders in FY 2022 through NASA SEWP V)