How Capture Teams Can Track DHS IT Buys While Forecasts Move to 4SITE

DHS shut down its public forecast site on Oct. 30 and plans to restart forecast alerts on Dec. 9. SCOUT's saved forecast records and award data show which DHS IT requirements move inside the gap and which contracts expire behind them.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stopped taking new entries in its Acquisition Planning Forecast System (APFS) on Oct. 30, according to FedScoop. DHS is moving the forecasts to a new system, the Forecasting System for Industry Tracking and Engagement (4SITE), and a DHS systems team lead told industry that saved search alerts will start working again on Dec. 9. On Nov. 5, DHS opened a forecast page on DHS.gov where contractors can download the full forecast list and the most recent updates. DHS refreshes those files daily, and the Nov. 9 files already include six forecasts DHS published or updated on Nov. 5 and 6. Until alerts return, a capture team will learn of a new or changed forecast only by downloading the list again.

Six November Solicitations Fall Inside the Gap

SCOUT holds the APFS records DHS published through Oct. 29. Of the 16 DHS information technology forecasts in those records, six list an expected solicitation date in November. Two of them carry values over $100 million: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Contact Center Tier 1 support, expected Nov. 10, and the USCIS Security Operation Analytics Rigor (SOAR) small business requirement, expected Nov. 18. The other four range from $500,000 to $10 million at USCIS, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and DHS headquarters.

All six list an existing contract vehicle. Two run on NASA SEWP, three on the GSA Schedule and one under a blanket purchase agreement, so some of them may never post publicly on SAM.gov.

One Record Moved Four Times

USCIS has updated the Contact Center Tier 1 forecast eight times since December 2024, and four of those updates moved the solicitation date. The latest change came on Oct. 19, 11 days before APFS stopped taking new entries. A record that changed four times in two years is likely to change again, and a team that compares each weekly download with its last copy will see the change first.

Contract End Dates Keep the Schedule

Contract end dates set the deadlines behind every forecast. SCOUT counts 216 DHS-funded contracts in NAICS 541512 (computer systems design services) that reach the end of their period of performance within 12 months, with $7.11 billion obligated. Of those, 89 contracts worth $4.33 billion end within six months. DHS will need to replace, extend or bridge each of those contracts on that timeline whether or not its forecasts reach industry.

Trade Press Adds Detail

OrangeSlices reported at least 10 upcoming DHS competitions between Oct. 21 and Nov. 3, including an enterprise data engineering contract valued above $50 million. SCOUT's saved APFS records show the same requirement as a DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer follow-on worth $50 million to $100 million, with a solicitation expected Jan. 26, 2027. Trade press reports give capture teams a second source for DHS dates.

What It Means for Capture Teams

The five weeks before Dec. 9 reward teams that hold their own copy of the DHS buying calendar.

• Saved forecasts. Download the DHS forecast list each week, keep each copy, and note the solicitation date, vehicle, set-aside and incumbent contract number for each requirement in the team's NAICS codes.
• Contract match. Tie each follow-on forecast to its current contract and end date in award data, and rank targets by end date.
• Weekly checks. Save a SAM.gov search for each of the six November solicitations, and check GSA eBuy and NASA SEWP each week. Agencies send orders on existing vehicles to the companies that hold them, so a team without a seat on the GSA Schedule or SEWP will see those orders only through a partner that holds one. On Dec. 9, compare the 4SITE records with the saved copy.

SCOUT stores each APFS record with the contract number of the work it replaces, so business development and capture teams can trace a forecast to the current contract's value, pricing type and end date and decide which pursuits to fund. SCOUT MCP Pro and the SCOUT web app also keep watch lists that send an alert when a tracked SAM.gov notice posts or changes. The contract match starts with a list of contracts in a team's market that end soon. PrimeRFP's free Exposure Check shows which contracts expire and when, by company, Unique Entity ID (UEI), NAICS code or contract number, with no account setup. Run the Exposure Check.

Method: Forecast figures come from DHS APFS records published through Oct. 29, 2026, as stored in SCOUT, and cover the 16 records that matched information technology. Award figures come from SCOUT award data drawn from USASpending.gov, measured by obligations as of Nov. 4, 2026, and include orders other agencies placed for DHS. Contract vehicles come from the same APFS records. System dates come from FedScoop (Oct. 28, 2026) and the DHS.gov forecast page (checked Nov. 9, 2026).

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