Link: GAO Opinion
Agency: General Services Administration
Disposition: Protest denied.
Keywords: Proposal Requirements
General Counsel P.C. Highlight: An offeror has the obligation to affirmatively demonstrate that its proposal will meet the government’s needs, and has a duty to establish that what it is proposing will meet the solicitation requirements where required to do so.
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Douglass Colony/Kenny Solar, JV (Douglass) protests the award of a contract, under a request for proposals (RFP), issued by the General Services Administration (GSA), for grid tied, ground mounted carport photovoltaic (PV) systems.
The RFP was issued as a small business set-aside and sought fixed-price proposals to install the PV systems. The statement of work (SOW) required the contractor to provide a turnkey project, including design and installation of a ground mounted PV system. Although Douglass’s proposal was the lowest priced, it was found to be “significantly unacceptable” since it did not provide one of the required layout drawings and the dimensions provided were significantly smaller than what was required.
GAO states that in reviewing an agency’s technical evaluation, GAO will consider whether it was reasonable and in accord with the evaluation criteria listed in the solicitation. GAO also states that where, as here, a solicitation requires offerors to furnish information necessary to establish compliance with the specifications, an agency may reasonably find a proposal that fails to include such information technically unacceptable.
GAO finds that Douglass’s drawings did not meet the material requirements of the solicitation, which required the drawing to meet the design guidelines, including specific dimensions. Since Douglass’s dimensions did not meet the design guidelines, the GSA reasonably found that the proposal was unacceptable. The protest is denied.