Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

GAO denies protest to LPTA solicitation ridden with cost uncertainty and local zoning code conflicts

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Federal agencies have long been afforded wide discretion in defining solicitation requirements to meet their contracting needs.  But are a solicitation’s requirements acceptable even where they’re likely to conflict with local zoning codes?  What about where the solicitation documents conflict with one another on whether certain requirements are considered “requirements” at all?  And finally, is an LPTA procurement acceptable where such conflicts have undoubtedly led to price uncertainty among the bidders?

GAO says, “yes” to all of these, so long as the requirements meet the agency’s needs.

In Flaherty Family Trust, B-414563.3 (Aug. 16, 2018), GSA issued an RLP seeking to lease a “professional” office space location for the Department of Homeland Security U.S. Customs and Border Protection port in Savannah, Georgia. GSA anticipated award to the lowest-price technically-acceptable offeror.  The main RLP contained general internal space qualifications. But a separate “Agency Special Requirements” document provided specialized usage and internal space specifications that were inconsistent with the main solicitation. The RLP also required 44 government parking spaces with an additional 96 public-parking spaces within a quarter mile. But these parking specifications did not comply with local county zoning codes for majority of potential office locations.

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/gaobidprotests/gao-denies-protest-to-lpta-solicitation-ridden-with-cost-uncertainty-and-local-zoning-code-conflicts/ 

Draft solicitation for Pentagon’s multibillion enterprise solutions contract released

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The Pentagon took the next step in bidding out its Defense Enterprise Office Solutions contract Friday, Feb. 1st, releasing a draft request for quotations for an enterprise cloud service offering likely worth several billion dollars.

The draft solicitation indicates DEOS will be a single-award firm-fixed-price blanket purchase agreement, with a 5-year base period with two 2-year options and a 1-year option—a potential 10-year total period of performance.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2019/02/draft-solicitation-multibillion-deos-contract-released/154595/

DoD to limit use of ‘Brand Name or Equal’ contract competitions

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The Department of Defense (DoD) has proposed a new rule limiting the use of “brand name or equal” contract competitions, calling on contracting officers to publicly justify their need for a brand name-type product before issuing a solicitation.  The rule would implement Section 888(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017, which directed the Secretary of Defense to “ensure that competition in [DoD] contracts is not limited” by brand name references without a justification under 10 U.S.C. § 2304(f).

Background

Federal procurement law requires agencies to draft competitive solicitations that describe the Government’s needs generally, rather than referencing a specific type of product.  However, “under certain circumstances,” agencies may request a specific brand name product or its equal.  An off-brand product is “equal” if it shares the same the same salient characteristics as the brand name product. 

Contractors have at times challenged, through pre-award bid protests, agency decisions to reference a brand name product as unfair and unduly restrictive of competition, contrary to the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984’s (CICA) requirement for full and open competition.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.insidegovernmentcontracts.com/2018/11/whats-in-a-brand-name-dod-to-limit-use-of-brand-name-or-equal-contract-competitions/

Can a small business take over DISA’s $1 billion perimeter security contract?

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The Defense Information Systems Agency’s perimeter cybersecurity has been managed by a large contractor for almost 10 years and now the agency wants to know if a small or underutilized business can take over.

The agency released two requests for information June 20 for its Gateway Security Engineering program: one looking for responses from small businesses, including 8(a), service-disabled veteran-owned and women-owned; and another soliciting information from vendors in historically underutilized business zones, or HUBZones.

The Gateway Security program manages security at the intersection of the Defense Department’s non-classified network, known as NIPRNet, and the public internet. “It provides support by developing, testing, implementing, and maintaining secure interoperable solutions at the Gateways,” according to the RFIs.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2018/06/can-small-business-take-over-disas-1b-perimeter-security-contract/149152/

Vendors can still weigh in on GAO’s 5-year tech contract

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The Government Accountability Office is looking for an industry partner to help shepherd its technology improvements over the next five years, and prospective vendors now have a little more time to shape that acquisition.

GAO issued a request for information in December, with an original response date of Jan. 24. That due date has been extended to 2 p.m. on Feb. 2. As this is only an RFI and not an official solicitation, vendors don’t need to participate in order to be considered for the final award. However, the acquisition is still in the formative stages, and information provided through the RFI will affect the scope and form of the final solicitation.

The RFI and other market research being conducted now will inform the eventual strategy for upgrading all of GAO’s IT systems, with a focus on moving to the cloud—where appropriate—and advancing the office’s mobile capabilities.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2018/01/vendors-can-still-weigh-gaos-5-year-tech-contract/145408/

GAO: Agency’s oral advice didn’t amend solicitation

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An agency’s oral advice, given at a pre-proposal conference, did not amend the solicitation or legally bind the agency.

In a recent bid protest decision, the GAO reiterated that offerors rely on oral advice from agencies at their own risk–particularly when the oral advice in question appears to contradict the plain language of the solicitation.

GAO’s decision in Technology and Telecommunications Consultants, Inc., B-415029 (Oct. 16, 2017) involved an Air Force solicitation seeking IT services in support of the Air Command Personnel Recovery Division.  The solicitation was issued as a competitive 8(a) set-aside under the GSA’s 8(a) STARS II GWAC.

The solicitation provided a list of tasks that the awardee wold be expected to perform.  Under one of these tasks, the solicitation stated that the awardee would be expected to provide support to the Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Florida.  However, the solicitation did not state that offerors were required to propose an employee specifically dedicated to AFSOC support.

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/gaobidprotests/gao-agencys-oral-advice-didnt-amend-solicitation/

DoD seeking input from industry on defense contracting regulations

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The Department of Defense (DoD) is seeking input from “entities significantly affected by federal regulations” on the contents of the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS).

The DFARS are DoD’s rule for implementing and supplementing the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) in the Defense acquisition.

Small businesses are especially being encouraged to submit comments and opinions about the current DFARS, especially Part 252 solicitation provisions and contract clauses.

See the Federal Register notice about this matter here:  Federal Register notice DARS RRTF 2017-01

Comments are due not later than August 21, 2017.  Consult the link above for details.

 

 

Technology company lambastes Army over $206 million contract bidding

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Army - CopyPalantir Technologies, Inc. has sent a letter to the U.S. Army saying it intends to sue over the way the Army solicits bids for its data intelligence technology used on battlefields worldwide.

Palantir claims the Army’s solicitation is “unlawful, irrational, arbitrary and capricious,” according to the letter of intent Palantir sent to the U.S. Army and the Department of Justice, which was obtained by Bloomberg.  The letter is a legal courtesy, which states Palantir will file a formal protest in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims next week and requests the Army delay awarding the first phase of the contract until litigation is resolved. The contract is slated to be awarded by the end of 2016.

Palantir declined to comment on the case, and the Army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Co-founded in 2004 by Peter Thiel, Palantir makes software that finds patterns in complex data to aid in decision making. The tools have been used to help detect human sex traffickers, analyze the cholera outbreak in Haiti and convict white collar criminals.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.stripes.com/news/us/palantir-lambastes-army-over-206-million-contract-bidding-1.415593

GSA issues RFP for new leasing support services contract

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The General Services Administration (GSA) has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the third generation of its broker and leasing support services contract — formerly the National Broker Contract Program (NBC program), now GSA Leasing Support Services (GLS).  The new contract provides broker and leasing support services (i.e., market surveys, site visits, document preparation, negotiation) for GSA’s contracting officers, and is expected to generate approximately $100 million in rent credits to tenant agencies and significantly reduce lease cycle times by eliminating workload redundancy.

In November, GSA issued a draft solicitation for Leasing Support Services, which resulted in nearly 300 comments and questions from stakeholders. As a result of these comments, GSA revised the following components of the contract.

  • Strategic Planning Services: Revised strategic planning services language to give contractors more flexibility in reporting information about changes in market conditions, renegotiation opportunities, or changes in ownership rights within the shared portfolio.
  • Commission Agreements: Revised commission agreement language to make it more in line with normal broker industry practices.
  • Small Business: Added an additional evaluation factor so contractors who qualify as small businesses have more opportunities to compete.
  • Training: Clarified training language to specify who is required to take training, what type of training is required, and how the training will be offered.

“The stakeholder feedback we received on the draft solicitation was used to make GLS an even better contract for both the government and contractors,” comments GSA’s Assistant Commissioner for Leasing Chris Wisner.  “In addition to previous improvements made to GLS, contractors will now have even more flexibility when it comes to providing strategic planning services and commission agreements will be structured in accordance with normal broker industry practices. Small businesses will also have more opportunities to compete for prime awards.”

To submit a proposal, click here to find details.   The deadline for submitting proposals is Thursday, May 21, 2015. More information about previous improvements made to GLS can be found here.

VA manager in NC involved in $4 million deal that benefited relatives

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A Veterans Affairs manager in North Carolina created a conflict of interest when she participated in a project that netted millions for her family members, according to the department’s watchdog.

The VA bought 35 acres of land for $4.25 million in 2010 from the Gillis family to build a new outpatient medical facility in Fayetteville, N.C. Wendy Gillis, a VA project manager and professional engineer, was part of the team that assessed and ranked five properties owned by her extended family members for the project. Wendy married into the Gillis family in 2001; two of her husband’s cousins submitted plots of land for consideration in response to a 2010 solicitation in FedBizOpps.

“Although she was not the final selecting official, she was intimately involved in the process, discussed the sites with team members, and was in a position to influence the team,” the IG concluded. The watchdog also criticized four other high-ranking VA officials involved in the project – Daniel Hoffmann, Elizabeth Goolsby, James Galkowski and Jessica Kaplan – for failing to take sufficient action over the conflict of interest, or appearance of, when they learned about it.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/management/2015/03/va-manager-involved-4m-deal-benefited-relatives/107487/

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