Definition: In the interest of economy and efficiency, federal agencies are placing increased emphasis on the use of multi-agency contracts and government-wide acquisitions (commonly known as government-wide agency contracts or GWACs).
When an agency uses a multi-agency contract to obtain goods and services, either the servicing agency awards the order or the servicing agency delegates the procurement authority to the requesting agency that makes the award. In either case, the requesting agency will receive credit for all socioeconomic data, including small business accomplishments.
Application: When properly developed and used, these vehicles may enable agencies to further leverage the government's buying power and to satisfy their requirements using contractual vehicles issued by other agencies.