Justification for Cancellation of Solicitation No. CS-119444-O

The National Institutes of Health, through its Office of Acquisition and Logistics Management, issued Solicitation No. CS-119444-O on March 12, 2025, under the NITAAC CIO-SP3 Government-Wide Acquisition Contract vehicle, with a planned period of performance through December 31, 2028. The solicitation sought comprehensive IT and operational technology services, including application modernization, cloud migration, cybersecurity operations, network support, helpdesk functions, and infrastructure sustainment for NIH’s enterprise environment, targeting the NAICS code 541519 for other computer-related services. No set-aside provisions were applied, and the performance location was designated as Bethesda, Maryland. However, on June 25, 2026, the solicitation was formally canceled due to significant changes in NIH's IT governance structure, specifically the implementation of NIH IT Centralization and alignment with Executive Order 14240, which rendered the original Performance Work Statement obsolete and misaligned with current strategic priorities. The solicitation’s scope had originally intended to incorporate modern capabilities such as AI, automation, and Software Defined Access, but these were not sufficiently defined within the outdated requirements, and key federal cybersecurity directives including Executive Order 14028 and OMB M-22-09 Zero Trust Architecture were referenced but not embedded into enforceable performance standards. The contracting officer, Justin M. Borden, issued the cancellation notice, citing programmatic and fiscal risks, as well as unacceptable contractual misalignment, without proceeding to award. No pricing, evaluation factors, contract clauses, inspection criteria, or special requirements were finalized due to the cancellation prior to any offeror submissions or contract execution. The place of performance and official agency address remain Bethesda, MD 20892, and no contracting officer’s representative or technical point of contact was formally designated in the available documentation.