February 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,…
February 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…
February 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…
January 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…
January 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…
December 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,…
November 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…
November 10, 2015
Companies assessing and working to respond to solicitations need to be careful not to fall prey to “aspirational analysis” – finding what they want to find in the stated requirements instead of understanding and accepting what those requirements actually say. Of course, contractors sometimes decide to ignore the solicitation terms and pursue the contract anyway, either confident that they have a…
October 26, 2015
Whether preparing proposals or contemplating a protest, offerors sometimes fall into the trap of reading the solicitation’s requirements with a slant that favors the offeror’s proposed solution. It’s all too easy to focus on the solicitation language that readily aligns with the offeror’s proposal – and ignore other portions of the requirements that do not fit as well. The recent decision in C&S…
October 19, 2015
Disappointed offerors sometimes struggle to find viable protest grounds, but savvy firms know the importance of looking beyond the factual circumstances at the time of award. Depending on the stated evaluation criteria, learning the competition’s plans for the future may hold the key to a successful protest. The value of such an approach was recently demonstrated in the Government Accountability…
October 5, 2015
Disappointed small business offerors sometimes turn to the certificate of competency (COC) procedures of the Small Business Administration (SBA) when their proposals are found technically unacceptable. Arguing that the unacceptability is actually a matter responsibility that must be considered by SBA, these offerors hope that a favorable COC determination will save the day. Sometimes…
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…
February 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,…
February 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…
February 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…
January 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…
January 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…
December 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,…
November 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…
November 10, 2015
Companies assessing and working to respond to solicitations need to be careful not to fall prey to “aspirational analysis” – finding what they want to find in the stated requirements instead of understanding and accepting what those requirements actually say. Of course, contractors sometimes decide to ignore the solicitation terms and pursue the contract anyway, either confident that they have a…
October 26, 2015
Whether preparing proposals or contemplating a protest, offerors sometimes fall into the trap of reading the solicitation’s requirements with a slant that favors the offeror’s proposed solution. It’s all too easy to focus on the solicitation language that readily aligns with the offeror’s proposal – and ignore other portions of the requirements that do not fit as well. The recent decision in C&S…
October 19, 2015
Disappointed offerors sometimes struggle to find viable protest grounds, but savvy firms know the importance of looking beyond the factual circumstances at the time of award. Depending on the stated evaluation criteria, learning the competition’s plans for the future may hold the key to a successful protest. The value of such an approach was recently demonstrated in the Government Accountability…
October 5, 2015
Disappointed small business offerors sometimes turn to the certificate of competency (COC) procedures of the Small Business Administration (SBA) when their proposals are found technically unacceptable. Arguing that the unacceptability is actually a matter responsibility that must be considered by SBA, these offerors hope that a favorable COC determination will save the day. Sometimes…
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…
