Link: GAO Opinion
Agency: Department of the Army
Disposition: Protest denied.
Keywords: Proposal Evaluation
General Counsel P.C. Highlight: In reviewing a protest objecting to an agency’s evaluation, it will not evaluate the proposals anew or substitute its judgment for that of the agency; rather, it will examine the record to determine whether the agency’s judgment was reasonable and in accord with the RFP.
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K & S Associates, Inc. (K & S), protests the rejection of its proposal, under a request for proposals (RFP), issued by the Department of the Army (Army), for construction of a digital training facility.
The RFP provided for award to the offeror whose proposal represented the best value to the government based on technical factors and price. K & S was not awarded the contract and received an overall rating of acceptable although its price was lower than the awardee’s. K & S argues that the agency’s evaluation of its proposal was unreasonable and that the agency has not justified its selection of a higher-priced proposal.
GAO states that in reviewing a protest objecting to an agency’s evaluation, it will not evaluate the proposals anew or substitute its judgment for that of the agency; rather, it will examine the record to determine whether the agency’s judgment was reasonable and in accord with the RFP. GAO’s examination of the record supports the agency’s conclusion that the awardee’s previous projects had a greater degree of relevance to the project called for under the RFP. K & S failed to demonstrate that it had experience on projects that were similar overall, it failed to demonstrate that all four of the proposed key individuals had previously worked together on a project as a team, and it failed to demonstrate a capability to plan and schedule the complete project to meet the proposed contract completion period. Therefore, the protest is denied.