NASA's Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) is a United States Government-Wide Acquisition Contract ( GWAC) authorized by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and managed by the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space program, aeronautics research and space research. Established in 1958, it su ...

(NASA). All federal agencies, including the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

(DOD), and government contractors are able to purchase ICT and AV solutions (equipment, software and services) from SEWP-authorized resellers (known as "Contract Holders"). In FY20, SEWP processed more than 46,000 new orders, allocating more than $9 billion from 90 cabinet-level and independent agencies, commissions, boards and other Federal entities from over 1,300 sites around the world. Over 83% of FY20 spending through SEWP was secured by small business contracts.

Washington Technology ''Washington Technology'' is a United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a fe ...

rated NASA SEWP as one of nine contracts in the Federal Government which have "changed how the government buys technology". The article declares SEWP to be the "

Gold Standard A gold standard is a backed currency, monetary system in which the standard economics, economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the ...

" in

customer service Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those who buy or use its products or services, either in person or remotely. Customer service is often practiced in a way that reflects the strategies and values of a firm, and ...

and mentioned that SEWP assists industry as well as government users to ensure that the acquisition process flows smoothly. In Fiscal Year 2020, SEWP was the top-rated federal GWAC for IT purchases.

Role in Federal Procurement

The SEWP Program Office manages a suite of government-wide ICT and AV products and services contracts that enable NASA and all Federal Agencies to achieve their missions and strategic initiatives by providing streamlined access to critical technologies and solutions. The Program provides best value for the Federal Government and American taxpayer through innovative procurement processes, premier customer service and outreach, acquisition insight, and partnership with Government entities and Industry.

History

The SEWP

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

originally (1993) referred to "Scientific and Engineering Workstation Procurement". In 2007, the full name was changed to "Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement", pronounced 'soup', which allowed the same acronym to be maintained. NASA SEWP provides a wide array of ICT and AV products as well as product related services dealing with

Information Technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...

Computer Networking A computer network is a collection of communicating computers and other devices, such as printers and smart phones. In order to communicate, the computers and devices must be connected by wired media like copper cables, optical fibers, or b ...

Software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

Cloud Computing Cloud computing is "a paradigm for enabling network access to a scalable and elastic pool of shareable physical or virtual resources with self-service provisioning and administration on-demand," according to International Organization for ...

Wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided transm ...

Mobile Technology Mobile technology is the technology used for Cellular network, cellular communication. Mobile technology has evolved rapidly over the past few years. Since the start of this millennium, a standard mobile device has gone from being no more than a s ...

, Supporting Technology, AV/Conferencing technology and solutions, and a variety of services from planning and installation,

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

and

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

, and

IT consulting In management, information technology consulting (also called IT consulting, computer consultancy, business and technology services, computing consultancy, technology consulting, and IT advisory) is a field of activity which focuses on advising or ...

and

system design The basic study of system design is the understanding of component parts and their subsequent interaction with one another. Systems design has appeared in a variety of fields, including sustainability, computer/software architecture, and sociolog ...

. A full scope of products and services are found on the organization's website. As of 2020, the contract offered more than 3 million products, services, and solutions from more than 8000

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or Production (economics), production of goods with the help of equipment, Work (human activity), labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary se ...

s. NASA SEWP was the first GWAC in the Federal Acquisition arena and the original contract was awarded in 1993. SEWP II was awarded in 1996, SEWP III in 2001, SEWP IV in May 2007 and SEWP V in May 2015. SEWP VI is scheduled to begin May 2025. Initially (1993) the contract provided technical and engineering related ICT and AV products but associated services were not included. As the technology sector and the contracts evolved, firm fixed-price services became available through the contracts. Thus, the acronym definition was changed in 2007 to Solutions for Enterprise Wide Procurement. SEWP's mascot is a rubber duck floating in a bowl of soup, signifying the organization's intention to make procurement "as easy as duck soup".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasa Sewp NASA Government procurement in the United States Federal government of the United States