Government Contracts MonitorBid ProtestsMagic Words Are Not Always Required to Fulfill Solicitation RequirementsFebruary 29, 2016 Preparing a responsive proposal requires reading and understanding the solicitation requirements and then meeting them -- as clearly and unambiguously as possible. The most direct and least risky way to craft such a response is to adopt whatever method of compliance the solicitation suggests (or requires). But, as the recent decision in Penn Parking, Inc., B-412280.2 (February 17, 2016) makes… If a Solicitation Ambiguity Doesn’t Become Apparent until Evaluation of Proposals, It’s Latent – and Fair Game for a Post-Award ProtestFebruary 22, 2016 One of the reasons it’s so important to read solicitations carefully is that such review can help you identify any ambiguities before submitting your proposal. If the ambiguity is obvious, or “patent”, you must protest it before the proposal due date or not at all. In other words, an offeror can’t wait to see who wins the contract before deciding to gripe about an ambiguity that may have hurt its… Make Sure to Look at the Forest as Well as the Trees: Read Proposal Requirements in ContextFebruary 15, 2016 When assessing opportunities and preparing proposals, reading and understanding the contents of the solicitation is imperative. If you don’t know what the solicitation requires, it can be very hard to prepare a responsive, much less winning, proposal. But focusing exclusively on the words themselves – separated from their proper context – can also lead offerors astray. This point was brought home… When the Government Buys Commercial Items, Don’t Forget You Can Demand Terms Consistent with Customary Commercial PracticeFebruary 9, 2016 The Government’s statutory preference for acquiring commercial items that meet an agency’s needs comes with the requirement that, to the maximum extent possible, contracts for the acquisition of those items include only clauses that are consistent with customary commercial practice. In other words, if the Government buys commercial items, it is supposed to use commercial contract terms if it can.… Don’t Win the Battle but Lose the War – Remember to Demonstrate PrejudiceFebruary 3, 2016 “Prejudice is an element of every viable protest.” No matter how many times the Government Accountability Office (GAO) intones this phrase in its protest decisions (and it’s in many GAO decisions), the concept of prejudice and the need to prove it to win a protest remain all too easy to forget in the heat of “battle.” The GAO’s decision in Data Recognition Corporation, B-411767.7, (January 20,… Play the Hand You Dealt Yourself: FSS Schedule Holders Cannot Change Their Labor Category Descriptions to Meet Specific Task Order ProcurementsFebruary 3, 2016 Procurements based on federal supply schedule (FSS) contracts can be tricky -- for the Government agencies conducting them as well as the contractors hoping to win a contract. The ease with which such contracting efforts can go sideways is particularly evident in the recent decision in AllWorld Language Consultants, Inc., B-411481.3 (January 6, 2016). The decision makes clear a fundamental rule… Short Take: GAO Refuses to Read Limitations on Subcontracting Clause into SolicitationFebruary 3, 2016 Small businesses and their teaming partners often spend a significant amount of time figuring out how best to comply with FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting. This should come as no surprise, since the clause imposes strict requirements concerning the amount of set-aside contract work that must be performed by the prime contractor and failure to comply can render a proposal… Opposition Research Has Its Limits – Knowing the Facts May Not Be EnoughJanuary 18, 2016 In order to make good decisions about whether and how to protest an award decision, disappointed bidders must, among other things, have good information about the awardee. This is particularly true where the protest grounds being considered include the argument that the winner’s proposal violated the applicable limitation on subcontracting requirement, an attack that requires a showing that the… Words Matter: Your Proposal Must Be Clear and ConvincingJanuary 11, 2016 If you want to win contract awards, your proposal needs to clearly and persuasively explain why you are the right choice. The words you choose matter, as does the way you arrange them. Indeed, as the recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision in Federal Acquisition Services Alliant Joint Venture, B-411842.2 (November 9, 2015) starkly demonstrates, sloppy syntax, grammar, and… If the Agency Gives You a Chance to Explain Your Proposed Costs, Take ItDecember 7, 2015 Agency comments during discussions often articulate a weakness or deficiency. Sometimes, however, the Government is also simply asking questions – identifying specific issues that should be addressed – and affording an offeror the opportunity to explain its proposal. When that happens, contractors need to be ready to capitalize on that opportunity to explain, but not always necessarily to change,… Knowing and Meeting Solicitation Requirements, Part IINovember 30, 2015 A recent article addressed the dangers of “aspirational analysis”, the dynamic in which offerors interpret a solicitation as saying what they want it to say rather than recognizing what it actually requires. A slightly different version of the problem is highlighted by the decision in Aerostar Perma-Fix TRU Services, LLC, B-411733; B-411733.4 (October 8, 2015), where the protester… Failure to Resolve Conflict of Interest Requires Re-DoNovember 30, 2015 The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently was called upon, for the first time, to consider circumstances where an agency knowingly failed to investigate and resolve whether an agency employee who actively engaged in procurement-related activities should have been recused from those activities due to an apparent conflict of interest arising from the employee’s prior employment by the… |
|
© 2024 Jackson Kelly PLLC. All Rights Reserved.