GSA's OASIS+ is now the largest professional services IDIQ in the federal market — with 8 distinct pools, new past performance evaluation rules, and on-ramp windows that reward firms who prepare early. Here is everything you need to know.
When GSA launched OASIS+ in 2023 as the successor to the original OASIS and OASIS Small Business vehicles, it fundamentally restructured how professional services contracts are competed across the civilian and defense agencies. More than two years in, the vehicle has matured into the dominant platform for complex, integrated professional services — covering management consulting, program management, logistics, IT, engineering, and financial services all under one contract umbrella.
But OASIS+ is not one contract. It is eight. Each pool has its own eligibility rules, NAICS scope, qualification thresholds, and competitive dynamics. Firms that treat it as monolithic are making expensive mistakes — either missing pools they qualify for, or burning proposal resources on pools where they have no realistic path to award. This issue gives you the full breakdown.
OASIS+ pools are divided into two main tracks: Unrestricted (UR) and Small Business (SB). The Unrestricted pool is open to all business sizes; the remaining seven are set-aside pools for socioeconomic categories. Pool membership is not mutually exclusive — a qualifying small business can hold awards in multiple set-aside pools simultaneously, which is one of the most powerful (and underused) strategies on this vehicle.
| Pool | Set-Aside Type | Primary NAICS Scope | Typical TO Size | Active Primes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted (UR) | None (all sizes) | 541611, 541614, 541690, 541330, 541519, 541715 | $5M – $500M+ | ~340 |
| Small Business (SB) | Small Business | 541611, 541614, 541690, 541330, 541519, 541715 | $1M – $50M | ~620 |
| 8(a) | 8(a) Program | Same as SB pool; 8(a) certification required | $500K – $20M | ~210 |
| WOSB | Women-Owned SB | Same as SB pool; WOSB/EDWOSB certification required | $500K – $25M | ~185 |
| HUBZone | HUBZone SB | Same as SB pool; active HUBZone cert required | $500K – $20M | ~95 |
| SDVOSB | Service-Disabled Vet SB | Same as SB pool; VA CVE or SBA SDVOSB cert required | $500K – $30M | ~160 |
| VOSB | Veteran-Owned SB | Same as SB pool; VA CVE or SBA VOSB cert required | $500K – $20M | ~140 |
| AbilityOne | AbilityOne Program | 541611, 541690 — workforce development services only | $250K – $10M | ~28 |
The NAICS codes above represent the primary scope, but OASIS+ task orders can span a broad range of NAICS codes under each pool's authority. The six "anchor" NAICS codes — 541611 (Administrative Management and General Management Consulting), 541614 (Process, Physical Distribution and Logistics Consulting), 541690 (Other Scientific and Technical Consulting), 541330 (Engineering Services), 541519 (Other Computer Related Services), and 541715 (Research and Development in Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences) — cover the vast majority of task order work.
The original OASIS vehicle, launched in 2012, was structured around two pools: Unrestricted and Small Business. That simplicity was also a limitation — it meant every professional services firm competed in the same lane regardless of specialization, and the set-aside market was captured by a single SB pool with no socioeconomic differentiation.
OASIS+ made five structural changes that matter for BD and capture teams:
"OASIS+ represents the most significant restructuring of how the federal government buys professional services in a decade. The pool architecture is not just an eligibility mechanic — it's a market segmentation strategy." — GSA Deputy Commissioner for the Federal Acquisition Service, at the 2025 OASIS+ Industry Day
The most consequential change in OASIS+ for firms attempting to on-ramp is the revised past performance methodology. Under the original OASIS solicitation, offerors needed to demonstrate past performance on contracts of a minimum dollar threshold — and GSA scored larger contracts more favorably. A $50M contract was worth more than a $5M contract, even if the scope of work was identical.
OASIS+ changed this in a way that advantages specialist firms. Past performance is now evaluated on two criteria only: relevance (does the reference contract fall within one of the seven OASIS+ domains, and does it match the scope of the pool being applied to?) and quality (CPARS ratings and customer reference evaluations). Dollar thresholds are used only as minimum floors, not as scoring multipliers.
For the Unrestricted pool, the minimum past performance threshold is one contract at or above $5M in total contract value within the last five years. For Small Business and set-aside pools, the minimum is one contract at or above $1M. But here is the critical insight our analysts have identified from reviewing on-ramp solicitation evaluations: firms that submitted three or more relevant references consistently outperformed firms with just one or two references, even when the single-reference firms had significantly larger contract values. GSA's evaluators are looking for demonstrated breadth of domain experience, not just scale.
If you are targeting the next OASIS+ on-ramp cycle (expected late 2026), you should be building your past performance record now. Identify three to five CPARS-rated contracts in your target domains. If any CPARS ratings are below "Satisfactory," request an in-person discussion with your contracting officer to understand whether a correction is warranted. Check that your SAM.gov registration lists the correct primary NAICS codes — discrepancies between your SAM record and your past performance references are a common source of technical evaluation point deductions.
Through FOIA requests and industry debrief data shared with GovPaid, we've identified the most consistent reasons firms failed to make the Unrestricted pool in the 2023 on-ramp cycle. If you plan to apply in 2026, these are the pitfalls to avoid:
Active and upcoming OASIS+ task order competitions that GovPaid Pro subscribers should have in their pipeline trackers:
That's the briefing for this week. If this was forwarded to you, subscribe free here. Pro subscribers get full access to our OASIS+ Pool Positioning Report, the complete on-ramp scoring rubric analysis, and our task order pipeline tracker with 180+ active OASIS+ opportunities. Upgrade to Pro →