September 28, 2015
Raymond Express International, LLC protested the award to MPG West, LLC as improper because it was made to an entity that Raymond alleged does not legally exist, Parma Fruit MPG West. Uncertainty as to the identity of an offeror renders an offer technically unacceptable, since ambiguity as to an offeror’s identity could result in there being no party bound to perform the obligations of the…
September 21, 2015
It’s relatively easy for disappointed offerors to latch onto perceived unbalanced pricing as the basis to protest an award. As soon as they see pricing they consider out of balance, they are off to the races. It can be much harder, however, to win such a protest, even where unbalanced pricing has been demonstrated and the agency has failed to consider the risks posed by such pricing as required…
September 14, 2015
Creative solutions are often rewarded in Government procurement. However, offerors need to be careful not to let their creativity prevent them from submitting well-crafted proposals that fulfill the requirements of the RFP. Last month’s decision of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Viatech, Inc., B-411388 (July 21, 2015) brought home this lesson with “extreme prejudice”.
The case…
September 14, 2015
Much criticism has been voiced in recent years with respect to the use of acceptable/unacceptable technical evaluation criteria, particularly in the context of lowest-price technically-acceptable (LPTA) procurements. However, a recent decision by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlights the even greater problems raised by the use of acceptable/unacceptable evaluation criteria for…
September 8, 2015
Disappointed bidders often protest award decisions in an attempt to force the agency to “do the right thing” or “make the right decision.” Sometimes, however, such protests cause the agency to take action that, while “right”, is certainly not what the protester had in mind. Last month’s decision by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Retro Environmental, Inc., B-411457.3 (August 19,…
August 31, 2015
Starry Associates, Inc. (Starry) successfully protested a task order issued to Intellizant, LLC, arguing that the agency unreasonably evaluated Intellizant’s quote under the RFQ’s technical acceptability factor because Intellizant lacks qualified personnel necessary to perform the PWS tasks and because Intellizant failed to demonstrate how it would provide the staff necessary to perform the…
August 31, 2015
Over the past year, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has begun to require a greater deal of specificity in proposed Joint Venture Agreements (JVAs) between Mentors and their Protégés, and in at least two instances both the cognizant SBA Area Offices and SBA’s Office of Hearings & Appeals (OHA) have rejected such Agreements and found the respective joint ventures ineligible for the…
August 18, 2015
Last week the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustained a protest where the solicitation called for award of a fixed-price contract, the protester’s quotes were very low, and the agency concluded that protester’s low prices created a risk of unsuccessful performance. According to GAO this was a “no-no” since there was nothing in the evaluation criteria that put bidders on notice…
August 18, 2015
You might think that there’s a fairly bright line between “clarifications” and “discussions” because the terms are both defined in FAR 15.306. But you would be wrong. The recent decision in International Waste Industries, B-411338 (July 7, 2015) highlights how difficult it can be to apply the distinction outside the pages of the FAR – and the potentially huge impact of missteps in this area.
The…
August 10, 2015
A frequent issue in bid protests is the allegation that the awardee engaged in a “bait-and-switch” by proposing key or other personnel that the awardee never intended to use, but listed in order to obtain higher evaluation credit. Protestors often point to the awardee’s advertising for such positions after award, and/or the awardee’s hiring of incumbent personnel not included in the…
August 10, 2015
The most common ground for a successful protest is an agency’s flawed evaluation of technical proposals. Indeed, flawed technical evaluations are the basis for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustaining at least half of all successful protests.
In most of these protests, the agency’s misstep with respect to the technical evaluation is based upon a failure to follow the…
August 3, 2015
Sometimes, circumstances force offerors to consider making changes to their proposal after it’s been submitted. In some cases, offerors decide they need to go so far as to alter their own structure to address a newly discovered problem. As the recent decision in Task Source/Military Personnel Services Corporation FEPP, LLC, B-411173.3 (July 8, 2015) shows, however, material changes to the offeror…
September 28, 2015
Raymond Express International, LLC protested the award to MPG West, LLC as improper because it was made to an entity that Raymond alleged does not legally exist, Parma Fruit MPG West. Uncertainty as to the identity of an offeror renders an offer technically unacceptable, since ambiguity as to an offeror’s identity could result in there being no party bound to perform the obligations of the…
September 21, 2015
It’s relatively easy for disappointed offerors to latch onto perceived unbalanced pricing as the basis to protest an award. As soon as they see pricing they consider out of balance, they are off to the races. It can be much harder, however, to win such a protest, even where unbalanced pricing has been demonstrated and the agency has failed to consider the risks posed by such pricing as required…
September 14, 2015
Creative solutions are often rewarded in Government procurement. However, offerors need to be careful not to let their creativity prevent them from submitting well-crafted proposals that fulfill the requirements of the RFP. Last month’s decision of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Viatech, Inc., B-411388 (July 21, 2015) brought home this lesson with “extreme prejudice”.
The case…
September 14, 2015
Much criticism has been voiced in recent years with respect to the use of acceptable/unacceptable technical evaluation criteria, particularly in the context of lowest-price technically-acceptable (LPTA) procurements. However, a recent decision by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlights the even greater problems raised by the use of acceptable/unacceptable evaluation criteria for…
September 8, 2015
Disappointed bidders often protest award decisions in an attempt to force the agency to “do the right thing” or “make the right decision.” Sometimes, however, such protests cause the agency to take action that, while “right”, is certainly not what the protester had in mind. Last month’s decision by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Retro Environmental, Inc., B-411457.3 (August 19,…
August 31, 2015
Starry Associates, Inc. (Starry) successfully protested a task order issued to Intellizant, LLC, arguing that the agency unreasonably evaluated Intellizant’s quote under the RFQ’s technical acceptability factor because Intellizant lacks qualified personnel necessary to perform the PWS tasks and because Intellizant failed to demonstrate how it would provide the staff necessary to perform the…
August 31, 2015
Over the past year, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has begun to require a greater deal of specificity in proposed Joint Venture Agreements (JVAs) between Mentors and their Protégés, and in at least two instances both the cognizant SBA Area Offices and SBA’s Office of Hearings & Appeals (OHA) have rejected such Agreements and found the respective joint ventures ineligible for the…
August 18, 2015
Last week the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustained a protest where the solicitation called for award of a fixed-price contract, the protester’s quotes were very low, and the agency concluded that protester’s low prices created a risk of unsuccessful performance. According to GAO this was a “no-no” since there was nothing in the evaluation criteria that put bidders on notice…
August 18, 2015
You might think that there’s a fairly bright line between “clarifications” and “discussions” because the terms are both defined in FAR 15.306. But you would be wrong. The recent decision in International Waste Industries, B-411338 (July 7, 2015) highlights how difficult it can be to apply the distinction outside the pages of the FAR – and the potentially huge impact of missteps in this area.
The…
August 10, 2015
A frequent issue in bid protests is the allegation that the awardee engaged in a “bait-and-switch” by proposing key or other personnel that the awardee never intended to use, but listed in order to obtain higher evaluation credit. Protestors often point to the awardee’s advertising for such positions after award, and/or the awardee’s hiring of incumbent personnel not included in the…
August 10, 2015
The most common ground for a successful protest is an agency’s flawed evaluation of technical proposals. Indeed, flawed technical evaluations are the basis for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustaining at least half of all successful protests.
In most of these protests, the agency’s misstep with respect to the technical evaluation is based upon a failure to follow the…
August 3, 2015
Sometimes, circumstances force offerors to consider making changes to their proposal after it’s been submitted. In some cases, offerors decide they need to go so far as to alter their own structure to address a newly discovered problem. As the recent decision in Task Source/Military Personnel Services Corporation FEPP, LLC, B-411173.3 (July 8, 2015) shows, however, material changes to the offeror…
