Growth executives with opportunities in the 8(a) STARS III pipeline may need to revisit their pursuit and teaming strategies.
GSA’s current 8(a) STARS III Industry Partner Spreadsheet, dated July 1, 2026, lists only 154 active contract holders today. For reference sake, just a short 18 months ago, GSA reported that STARS III had awarded more than 1,100 contracts.
GSA addresses the change directly on the official STARS III Pricing Tool: “Not all firms listed in the pricing tool received the option.” GSA directs users to the Industry Partner list on its STARS III program page for the most current list of active contracts (only 154).
For the 154 companies that retained their options, however, this could make STARS III a significantly more valuable vehicle. With the active prime pool reduced so sharply, those remaining contract holders now face considerably less competition for future task orders. Said DAS Federal – the extension makes us “one of only 154 industry partners remaining on this Best-in-Class GWAC, with an ordering period through July 2029 and task order performance through 2034.”
At the same time, the reduction in viable prime contract holders stands to have an immediate and real impact on companies that built pipeline, subcontracting, or teaming plans around firms that are no longer active on the vehicle. One industry participant we heard from described the issue this way: “We had an opportunity come up through STARS III, and every one of our prime choices had been removed from the vehicle.”
GSA has plenty of contract options, but Government buyers may face similar disruptions if companies they expected to compete are no longer available through STARS III.
The practical takeaway is straightforward. Growth teams should review the current Industry Partner Spreadsheet now and confirm that the primes supporting their active and future pursuits remain on the vehicle.
Of note, RSM Federal’s Joshua Frank attended this week’s GSA Category Management Event and shared multiple valuable and key takeaways from Ryan Lambert, including some key points on the 8(a) Program.
- Reiterated that the reason for reigning in the 8a program is due to a lack of guardrails. Confirmed that the program will shift to purely economic disadvantage.
- 8(a) Program: 35% of firms that graduate 8(a) don’t win a single contract after graduation. 85% of 8a firms are non-entity / individually owned (not tribal or ANC) but only account for 30% of all 8a contracts. Lambert said, “[…] 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 8(𝘢) 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵-𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 ‘𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶.’ 𝘛𝘩𝘦 8(𝘢) 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥.” His final comment was, “𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺-𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘴.”
Read Joshua’s Full Debrief From That Event Here. (Worth the read)
