Understanding the World of IDIQs

IDIQ stands for Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity. These types of contracts allow the government to narrow down the number of contractors that will submit proposals throughout the lifespan of a project, speed up the delivery process, and (ideally) control the quality of work delivered.

The government works hard to be a smart customer. Market research and industry benchmarks allow the government to appropriately budget and spec out their needs; however, there are projects that are more complex or will last over several years. It is hard to put a definite price tag over a multi-year project or even one where all the variables aren't known. In this case, the government can utilize an IDIQ-type contract.

For the sake of illustration, a current IDIQ on the streets is "Florida National Forest Road Construction and Maintenance SATOC"

#IDIQs are not the ideal vehicle for office supplies procurements. IDIQs are generally for service and large engineering projects. In the example above, the government is looking for infrastructure creation and ongoing maintenance. Bonus, the contract is a #smallbusiness set aside. From the first page the government tells us:

"The Forest Service intends to award three (3) separate SATOC's from this single solicitation."

From this we know the government intends to give three awards, across disciplines, from this larger contract. There can be multiple contractors chosen under each of the #SATOCs. These SATOCs generally have a maximum #budget attached to them. As we mentioned, these types of contracts have longer performance periods.

Think of the Olympics. There are qualifiers for each country to be represented in the Olympics. Getting to the Olympics doesn't automatically put a gold medal around your neck. It does however, narrow your competition AND make you eligible to win all (or none) of the available gold medals for your country. IDIQs are the same. Getting on the roster makes you eligible to compete for #monies that the #government is already poised to spend.?

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