In our last post, we discussed a few procedural rules that can exclude an otherwise meritorious ground from protest. There are also a number of substantive issues that the GAO’s rules exclude from review. See 4 C.F.R. § 21.5. We address them below, plus a bonus ground that might as well be non-protestable. Contract Administration Matters: ...›
Before diving into the various protest grounds that may result in a sustained protest at the GAO, let’s look at some sure losers. These are issues that are not protestable and would likely result in a quick dismissal. This week, we’ll discuss procedurally defective protests. Our next post will look at substantive protest grounds that ...›
Today we’ll discuss stays of award and performance during the pendency of a bid protest. There are two kinds of protest stays: pre-award stays and post-award stays. Although the former are outside the scope of this primer, we’ll briefly address them first for the sake of completeness. Stay of Contract Award Pre-award protests, as a ...›
Post-award protests generally involve arguments about confidential, source-selection sensitive information – proprietary bid and proposal material, past performance data, cost and pricing information, nonpublic agency estimates, and the judgments of agency evaluators and source selection personnel. Neither the government nor the competitors want that sort of information to be disclosed to anyone without rigorous protections. ...›
We’ve discussed debriefings and the timelines and timeliness rules that apply to post-award protests. Today we’ll discuss remedies. If you file a protest to challenge a contract award and you win the protest, that means you win the contract, right? Well, certainly not immediately. And, depending on the facts, maybe not at all. A protester ...›
Now that we’ve discussed the award letter and debriefings, we’ll move on to next steps: timeliness of initial protest filings and the protest timeline. In the context of all post-award debriefings, there are two timeliness considerations: First, meeting the GAO’s timeliness requirements and, second, whether the filing will result in an automatic stay. Having discussed ...›
You just received an email: “We appreciate your interest in the XYZ procurement. The Agency determined that your proposal did not represent the best value to the Government. Award has been made to Acme Corp. at a price of $50,000,000.” After kicking your trashcan across the office, what do you do next? If the procurement ...›
Welcome to the first in a new series of articles on post-award bid protests! A lot of misunderstandings and misinformation surround the bid protest, and traps abound for the wary and unwary alike. To dispel some of this confusion and explore some of the substantive and procedural issues peculiar to protests, we are launching this ...›