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Federal government contracts are routinely awarded to companies supplying goods and services to U.S. government agencies. According to the Government Accountability Office, in 2023, the federal government committed about $759...more
In January 2024, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) published 31 bid protest decisions, two of which resulted in decisions sustaining the protesters’ challenges. There were also two requests for costs, one of which...more
In a bid protest appeal case involving Statistica, Inc. and the General Services Administration Board of Contract Appeals (GSBCA), Statistica, Inc. contested the decision made by the board in relation to a contract awarded to...more
On November 21, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied an unsuccessful bidder’s protest, arguing that the terms of a solicitation were biased and that the awardee failed to comply with a mandatory solicitation...more
UpSlope Advisors, Inc. protested a decision by the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) of the award of a sole-source contract for enterprise information technology (IT) services to Eagle TG, LLC, a...more
Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc. protested a contract awarded to SGT, LCC by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The acquisition was for ground systems and operations services at Marshall Space Flight...more
Does “Fair Treatment” Translate to “Equal Discussions”? When creating a solicitation for services, the solicitor can request certain requirements for all proposals. Requirements can be evaluated on a pass/fail basis or on...more
Ambiguity can create numerous issues. When a word, phrase or expression can be understood in two or more possible ways, misunderstandings between parties can occur. When a contractor creates a proposal for submission, it is...more
As the federal government’s fiscal year draws to a close, we expect to see an increase in agencies awarding contracts and contractors protesting those awards. A bid protest is a significant event for any government...more
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently sustained a protest in Life Science Logistics, LLC, B-421018.2, .3 (April 19, 2023), finding that an agency’s discussions were not meaningful where they did not disclose...more
A procuring agency has wide latitude to define its evaluation criteria and relative priorities in soliciting quotations for services. Once it arrives at a decision, the agency must sufficiently document its justification for...more
IDS International Government Services, LLC (IDS) challenged the terms of request for proposals (RFP) issued by the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers. The RFP was for the operations and maintenance (O&M) service at...more
Unduly restrictive competition refers to actions or policies by a procuring agency that impedes or limits free and fair competition. This can lead to higher prices, reduced innovation, and decreased quality of products and...more
Bid protest determinations serve to resolve challenges to procurement decisions by government agencies. Beyond that purpose, these rulings can also offer valuable insights as to what factors determine whether or not a...more
Sometimes a comparison of cases best illustrates the law. This month we analyze a double pair of recent GAO decisions. First, in CharDonnay and Triple Canopy, we compare decisions dissecting the merits of best-value...more
In December 2019, Raytheon Company filed a protest of an award of a contract to DynCorp International LLC by the Department of the Army. The award was for the security assistance training and advice as part of the Security...more
A request for proposals (RFP) is an effective way to find the right vendor for a contract or project. When done properly, an RFP provides transparency on the specific requirements needed and justifies why a specific...more
Imagine a situation where you are interested in a contract and believe your company is well suited to do the job. Unfortunately, the request for proposal (RFP) has specific certification requirements that limit competition...more
As a general matter, an agency should reject a bid out of hand if it is deemed defective due to problems with bidder responsiveness. However, flawed bids determined on account of issues with bidder responsibility can be...more
Bid Protest Timing Before the Award-The GAO regulations state that bid protests timing is based "upon alleged improprieties in a solicitation which are apparent prior to bid opening or the time set for receipt of initial...more
A Request for Proposal (RFP) is a document the government (and commercial companies) uses when soliciting responses from contractors on a particular government requirement. The document lists all the criteria and needs of a...more
Eminent IT, LLC, protested a contract award decision by the Department of State (DOS). The contract was for the maintenance, operation, and management of PeopleSoft in a production environment using Scaled Agile Framework...more
In this bid protest, the protester TekSynap alleged 3 issues: 1) the agency’s evaluation of its price was unreasonable, 2) the agency’s technical evaluation was erroneous, and 3) disparate evaluation between the awardee and...more
There are several ways a government agency contracting office can request a quotation or a bid from an offeror. One way is a request for quotation (RFQ). This document details the contracting agency’s requirements for the...more
When issuing a solicitation, the solicitor can assess the bids or quotations using a best-value tradeoff evaluation. The tradeoff evaluation process is used when it is in the best interest of the solicitor, in this case the...more