National Institutes of Health (NIH) employees have won a large competition initiated under the competitive sourcing program that is part of the President’s Management Agenda. The outcome is the conclusion of a competition that began in 2003 but was extended under a settlement agreement between NIH and an unsuccessful private offeror, in which the government and private sector proposals were re-evaluated.

The NIH Real Property Management group, which currently includes approximately 380 NIH employees, won when the Government's Most Efficient Organization (MEO) was found to be the lowest cost proposal. As a result, the NIH has withdrawn its request for proposals and the employee-developed MEO bid has prevailed.

The real property management group provides services in Construction Management, Property Management and Operations, and Central Utilities.

NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. said, “Once again the NIH employees have prepared an outstanding bid and have won the competition. Now our challenge is to successfully implement the new management process, manage more wisely and effectively carry out the NIH mission to improve people's health."

The Office of the Director, the central office at NIH, is responsible for setting policy for NIH, which includes 27 Institutes and Centers. This involves planning, managing, and coordinating the programs and activities of all NIH components. The Office of the Director also includes program offices which are responsible for stimulating specific areas of research throughout NIH. Additional information is available at http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.