What is a GWAC?
A GWAC (Government-Wide Acquisition Contract) is a federal IDIQ contract designated by OMB for use by all federal agencies. GWACs are IT-focused and let any federal agency place task orders against the contract without running a separate competition.
A Government-Wide Acquisition Contract is an IDIQ contract authorized for use across multiple federal agencies. Like other IDIQ vehicles, GWACs pre-qualify a pool of vendors and pre-negotiate ceiling terms. Unlike single-agency IDIQs, GWACs can be used by any federal agency to place orders.
GWACs are administered by Executive Agents — typically GSA, NASA, or NIH — and focus heavily on IT and technology services. Major GWACs include:
- GSA OASIS+ (professional services) - GSA Alliant 2 (IT services) - NASA SEWP (IT products and solutions) - NIH CIO-SP (IT services with health agency focus)
For vendors, winning a GWAC slot is among the most valuable awards in federal contracting — it positions you to compete for task orders worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars across many agencies, often for ten years or more.
For agencies, GWACs reduce procurement time dramatically — task orders against a GWAC can be awarded in weeks rather than the months a full competition would take.