Government Contracts & Investigations

JANUARY 31, 2024

Since our last Bid Protest Hub article in November, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) has published 37 bid protest decisions, two of which have resulted in decisions sustaining the protester’s challenge. Below, we cover a few important GAO decisions you should know from December 2023.

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Government Contracts

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims examining the use of unstated evaluation criteria, an agency's investigation of its own data rights and unequal access to information about an organizational conflict of interest. Liam Bowers at MoFo examines three recent decisions from the U.S.

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SmallGovCon

FEBRUARY 29, 2024

The 2024 NDAA is directing quite a change in past performance evaluations for offerors in Department of Defense acquisitions. The post 2024 NDAA will Update DFARS to Require Evaluation of Small Business Affiliate Past Performance first appeared on SmallGovCon - Government Contracts Law Blog.

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Government Contracts

JANUARY 16, 2024

Attorneys at Bradley Arant discuss noteworthy 2023 bid protest decisions from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, offering perspectives on standing, document production, agency deference, System for Award Management registration requirements and mentor-protégé joint venture proposal evaluations.

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Government Contracts

OCTOBER 4, 2024

Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims concerning an agency's decision not to hold post-award discussions, a timeliness trap in certain Federal Supply Schedule procurements and the importance of providing contemporaneous documentation in price-evaluation protests.

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The Procurement ClassRoom

MAY 4, 2024

Throughout my career as a procurement practitioner, I have never seen bids submitted that are perfectly responsive to the evaluation criteria or requirements specified in the solicitation documents. Thus, deviations from the evaluation requirement could either be material/major or immaterial/minor.

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The Procurement ClassRoom

JUNE 25, 2019

Price analysis can be considered a stage of bid evaluation depending on the provisions of a legal and regulatory framework. It is an assessment of the evaluated price of a responsive bid to ascertain that it is not unreasonably high nor unreasonably low, but fair enough to the procuring entity and the supplier.

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Public Contracting Institute

MAY 20, 2024

Government Construction Projects: Bidding and Winning Strategies for Success Government construction projects offer significant opportunities for businesses to grow and thrive. To succeed in this competitive arena, it’s essential to understand the bidding process and develop winning strategies.

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Public Contracting Institute

JULY 5, 2024

In the complex world of government contracting, understanding and implementing Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) is crucial for success. Today, we’re diving deep into CAS 406, which focuses on establishing and adhering to cost accounting periods.

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Public Contracting Institute

MAY 8, 2024

FAR 6.401 (Sealed Bidding and Competitive Proposals) states: Sealed bidding [using an Invitation for Bids-IFB] and competitive proposals [using a Request for Proposals-RFP], as described in [FAR] parts 14 and 15 , are both acceptable procedures for use under subparts 6.1 , 6.2 ; and, when appropriate, under subpart 6.3

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Government Contracts & Investigations

DECEMBER 6, 2023

Since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2024, the Government Accountability Office has published 35 decisions, but only two of which resulted in decisions sustaining the challenge. Below we dive into recent bid protest decisions and identify what won, what did not win, and why. As such, the GAO sustained this protest ground.

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Government Contracts Legal Forum

NOVEMBER 6, 2023

Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its Annual Report on Bid Protests for Fiscal Year 2023. Thus, bid protests remain an important oversight mechanism for the federal procurement system. The post GAO’s Bid Protest Sustain Rate Soars, but Is There a Catch? On October 26, 2023, the U.S. View the full article

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Public Contracting Institute

NOVEMBER 29, 2023

The Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) released its annual bid protest report to the Congress for fiscal year 2023 on October 26, 2023 (B-158766). percent in bid protests during calendar year 2021-2022 before the Court of Federal Claims (information given in a speech by Judge Patricia Campbell-Smith last year).

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Government Contracts

OCTOBER 20, 2023

In this month's bid protest roundup, Roke Iko at MoFo examines a recent decision from the U.S. Government Accountability Office that highlights the risk to offerors of relying heavily on evaluators’ prior knowledge. Court of Federal Claims about the parameters of agency deference, and one from the U.S.

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Tendersinfo

APRIL 8, 2021

Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) is the measure for selecting the best out of the incoming bids based on factors that are related to the subject matter of the contract. It takes into account components like Cost, Quality, and Technicality of various bid proposals while deciding a contract award.

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Government Contract Insights

MARCH 31, 2024

In our bid protest roundup for March, we consider three recent decisions of the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The first explains why similar proposals for similar requirements under similar evaluation criteria may legitimately receive very different ratings from one procurement to the next.

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Government Contracts & Investigations

FEBRUARY 29, 2024

In January 2024, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) published 31 bid protest decisions, two of which resulted in decisions sustaining the protesters’ challenges. Consequently, the protester first filed an agency level protest challenging the evaluation, which was denied, and then filed a protest with the GAO.

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The Procurement ClassRoom

NOVEMBER 16, 2024

Yet, these terms—such as Request for Quotations (RFQ), Request for Proposals (RFP), Request for Expressions of Interest (REOI), and Invitation for Bids (IFB)—are technically indicative of distinct concepts. These safeguards are designed to protect the integrity of the procurement process and ensure fairness and accountability.

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SmallGovCon

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

Since DHHS didn’t get to waive the requirement, it then attempted to argue that FAR 14.405 allows agencies to correct minor irregularities in an offeror’s proposal when the irregularity is immaterial to an invitation for bids. Looking for the latest government contracting legal news?

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Government Contracts Legal Forum

NOVEMBER 6, 2023

The following is an installment in Crowell & Moring’s 2023 Bid Protest Sustain of the Month Series. All through 2023, Crowell’s Government Contracts Practice will keep you up to date with a summary of the most notable bid protest sustain decision each month. B‑421740, B-421740.2, In Guidehouse, Inc. , View the full article

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Government Contracts & Global Trade

SEPTEMBER 9, 2024

They also walk through how to identify agency solicitation and evaluation errors, and when protests may be appropriate. Learning Objectives: Understand the difference between negotiated procurements and sealed bidding, as well as the different evaluation schemes employed by the Government.

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Federal News Network

OCTOBER 23, 2024

I also think a lot of companies under COMET didn’t have capabilities to bid back in 2019,” said Gissa Sateri, the director of the civilian business unit at SAIC. “I SAIC, which won a spot on COMET and plans to bid on COMET II, was one of about 400 companies at the industry day for the BPA last December.

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Government Contracts

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

Government Accountability Office sustained all four aspects of a competitor's protest over how their bids were evaluated. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will have to reconsider a contract it awarded to a public relations firm after the U.S.

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Government Contracts

JANUARY 23, 2024

Department of Agriculture reasonably found weaknesses that sank a bid from Virginia-based IT Concepts Inc. Government Accountability Office concluded, finding the agency's evaluations were sound. to provide organizational management and support services to the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S.

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FedScoop

MAY 28, 2024

In February 2024, the bureau said it was in the last phase of evaluation but an award wouldn’t be made until bid protest challenges to the contract filed with the Government Accountability Office were resolved. The post FBI’s $8 billion information technology services contract is its largest ever appeared first on FedScoop.

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The Procurement ClassRoom

MAY 19, 2024

By ensuring that all transactions, including bid submissions and contract awards, are immutable and visible, blockchain can significantly reduce opportunities for corruption. Combining Blockchain and AI The combination of blockchain and AI offers a powerful tool for creating a transparent, accountable, and efficient procurement system.

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Federal Construction Contracting

JUNE 5, 2023

The acquisition evaluation was to be carried out in multiple phases, the first of which involved offerors submitting a self-scoring sheet with points based on the offeror’s representations concerning its experience and other capabilities. Per the solicitation, “[o]nly the highest rated offerors will advance to phase 2 of the evaluation.”

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SmallGovCon

NOVEMBER 8, 2024

While the federal government uses wage determinations for many occupations that contractors must abide by, things are different with professional occupations such as physicians, accountants, engineers, and (yours truly) attorneys. Under the first phase, NOAA would evaluate demonstrated prior experience and the staffing plan.

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FedScoop

AUGUST 23, 2024

After that, the agency expects to run CIO-SP4 and CIO-SP3 alongside each other for a period of one to two months to account for any issues moving over to a new vehicle, NITAAC Director Brian Goodger said. What’s left Before CIO-SP4 can be awarded, the remaining bid protests must be resolved. But corrective action does take time.

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LexBlog: Contracts & Procurement

MARCH 22, 2022

Department of Defense (DOD) has just locked in its Enhanced Postaward Debriefing procedures, making it easier for contractors to understand the source selection and contract award process and make informed bid protest decisions. Critically, enhanced debriefing procedures also grant the contractor more time to submit a bid protest.

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Federal News Network

JANUARY 4, 2024

Foes are vanquished, in this case Boston Consulting Group, losing its OASIS+ bid protest at the Government Accountability Office. 21 and the Government Accountability Office has until April 1 to decide. It’s clear that they misevaluated our bid. It’s hard for companies to bid when there is no there.

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Procureware

JANUARY 22, 2018

When considering all steps from start to finish, the administrative time for a bid is typically reduced by an impressive 50 to 70 percent! One of the most common questions I hear from procurement staff during implementation is, “how should the supplier bid responses be structured?” My answer is always “yes.”

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Tracker Intelligence

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

A multi supplier framework, structured into Lots where suppliers can bid for multiple sections based on their qualifications, brings flexibility and competition, making it advantageous for newer businesses. This increased accountability results in fairness, mutual trust and competition among the suppliers.

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How to Crack a Nut

JULY 1, 2024

This guest post by Saema Jaffer* explores the policy approaches that can be followed in the UK, and elsewhere, in relation to the use of AI in the writing and evaluation of tender documents. I suppose at this rate, you could just get AI to write all your bids for you?” Was it simply the evaluation question? says a buyer.

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Government Contracts & Investigations

SEPTEMBER 13, 2023

The end of the Fiscal Year is upon us, which typically coincides with a flurry of procurement activity and then a wave of bid protests. As most of you know, there are three primary fora for bid protests: procuring agencies, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the Court of Federal Claims (COFC). B-420800, et al.

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American City & Country

AUGUST 27, 2024

City and county governments are often key buyers of landscape equipment and supplies, says Keith McGinty , director of bids and government accounts at SiteOne Landscape Supply , a firm that sells soil maintenance products, irrigation, lighting, nursery products, tools, equipment, safety items and hardscapes in addition to landscape supplies.

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Government Contracts & Investigations

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

The question disappointed healthcare contractors should ask is whether the agency acted unreasonably in its evaluation and selection of the awardee. If the answer is “yes”—or even “maybe”—healthcare companies may file a bid protest at the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) or the U.S. B-421325, 2023 CPD ¶ 74 (Mar.

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