Government-Wide Acquisition Contract - GWAC

A contract in which multiple government agencies align their needs and purchase a contract for goods or services. Government-wide acquisition contracts allow for economies of scale, which usually reduce per unit costs. These contracts are typically used to purchase of new technology, such as computers. A government-wide acquisition contract consolidates purchases as opposed to having each agency enter into an individual contract. This type of contract may be spearheaded by one particular agency with the expectation that more agencies will follow suit.

The rise of government-wide acquisition contracts has allowed government agencies to take advantage of their size in order to negotiate lower prices, and has created an environment in which a single vendor will provide product and service support to a larger number of personnel. By having one agency evaluate a vendor and move forward with an acquisition while leaving the contract open to additional government agencies, the federal government could reduce the likelihood that other agencies will have to "reinvent the wheel" by undertaking their own vetting process.