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…
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 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 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…
July 27, 2015
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) bid protest docket tells a story that is hard to ignore: the remarkably high number of protests in which the agency takes corrective action – at least 40% -- suggests the federal procurement system is not working. “Corrective action” is the term for an agency’s voluntary decision to reexamine or re-conduct some or all aspects of a…
June 22, 2015
We are all too familiar with the current agency practice of taking corrective action when a protest is filed. Agencies, fearful of incurring any liability for protester’s legal fees in the event the protest is sustained, often cave in at the slightest sign of weakness in the agency record and take corrective action in lieu of fighting to defend the award decision. This can be very…
June 8, 2015
Reciting a common refrain, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has once again upheld an agency’s broad discretion to determine its own procurement and solicitation needs. In its recent decision, Financial Asset Management Systems, Inc., B-409722.9 (Apr. 24, 2015), GAO provides an example of the latitude the "reasonableness" standard gives procuring agencies with respect to drafting…
May 22, 2015
Earlier this year, we published an article warning our readers not to expect more from discussions concerning their proposals than agencies are required to provide. Specifically, your price may be entirely reasonable but completely uncompetitive but, if so, the agency does not have to tell you a thing. In short, the requirement that discussions be "meaningful" does not ensure you will obtain any…
May 4, 2015
Virtually every child of the 1970s or 80s will remember the scene from the classic movie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, when Gene Wilder’s character, Willy Wonka, unilaterally changes the rules of competition for the factory, dashing endearing Charlie’s hopes and dreams. Justice is restored when Charlie stands up to Wonka and points out that he has been unfair. Hanel Storage…
April 27, 2015
What does an automatic stay under the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) mean in the context of a pre-award protest? In Caddell Construction, the Court of Federal Claims told us: it’s a stay of the award. The government can continue to receive and evaluate bids during ongoing protests – it is only precluded from awarding a contract. Caddell Construction Co. LLC v. U.S., CFC…
April 20, 2015
Agencies may not mislead offerors by framing discussion questions that “misinform the offeror concerning a problem with its proposal.” CFS-KBR Marianas Support Services, LLC; Fluor Federal Solutions LLC, B-410486, January 2, 2015. Discussions, when held by an agency in connection with a negotiated procurement, must “identify deficiencies and significant weaknesses in an offeror’s…
March 17, 2015
Small businesses participating in the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) 8(a) Business Development Program (BD Program) would do well to recall the story of Pinocchio, the marionette who wanted to be a real boy. Pinocchio learned two important lessons: be self-reliant and don’t lie. Similarly, the petitioner in the recent The Desa Group, Inc., SBA No. BDPT-543…
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…
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 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 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…
July 27, 2015
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) bid protest docket tells a story that is hard to ignore: the remarkably high number of protests in which the agency takes corrective action – at least 40% -- suggests the federal procurement system is not working. “Corrective action” is the term for an agency’s voluntary decision to reexamine or re-conduct some or all aspects of a…
June 22, 2015
We are all too familiar with the current agency practice of taking corrective action when a protest is filed. Agencies, fearful of incurring any liability for protester’s legal fees in the event the protest is sustained, often cave in at the slightest sign of weakness in the agency record and take corrective action in lieu of fighting to defend the award decision. This can be very…
June 8, 2015
Reciting a common refrain, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has once again upheld an agency’s broad discretion to determine its own procurement and solicitation needs. In its recent decision, Financial Asset Management Systems, Inc., B-409722.9 (Apr. 24, 2015), GAO provides an example of the latitude the "reasonableness" standard gives procuring agencies with respect to drafting…
May 22, 2015
Earlier this year, we published an article warning our readers not to expect more from discussions concerning their proposals than agencies are required to provide. Specifically, your price may be entirely reasonable but completely uncompetitive but, if so, the agency does not have to tell you a thing. In short, the requirement that discussions be "meaningful" does not ensure you will obtain any…
May 4, 2015
Virtually every child of the 1970s or 80s will remember the scene from the classic movie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, when Gene Wilder’s character, Willy Wonka, unilaterally changes the rules of competition for the factory, dashing endearing Charlie’s hopes and dreams. Justice is restored when Charlie stands up to Wonka and points out that he has been unfair. Hanel Storage…
April 27, 2015
What does an automatic stay under the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) mean in the context of a pre-award protest? In Caddell Construction, the Court of Federal Claims told us: it’s a stay of the award. The government can continue to receive and evaluate bids during ongoing protests – it is only precluded from awarding a contract. Caddell Construction Co. LLC v. U.S., CFC…
April 20, 2015
Agencies may not mislead offerors by framing discussion questions that “misinform the offeror concerning a problem with its proposal.” CFS-KBR Marianas Support Services, LLC; Fluor Federal Solutions LLC, B-410486, January 2, 2015. Discussions, when held by an agency in connection with a negotiated procurement, must “identify deficiencies and significant weaknesses in an offeror’s…
March 17, 2015
Small businesses participating in the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) 8(a) Business Development Program (BD Program) would do well to recall the story of Pinocchio, the marionette who wanted to be a real boy. Pinocchio learned two important lessons: be self-reliant and don’t lie. Similarly, the petitioner in the recent The Desa Group, Inc., SBA No. BDPT-543…
