Link: GAO Decision
Protestor: TAG Mississippi Enterprises, LLC
Agency: Department of the Army
Disposition: Protest Denied.
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GAO Digest:
Protest challenging agency’s evaluation of protester’s proposal is denied where evaluation was reasonable and consistent with terms of the solicitation.
General Counsel P.C. Highlight:
TAG Mississippi Enterprises, LLC protested the award to Terra Construction, Inc. of a contract for improvements to the flood control levee in Augusta, Kansas. TAG contended that the agency’s technical evaluation of its proposal was unreasonable and that the resulting award decision was improper. TAG objected to the agency’s determination that its proposal was unacceptable under the personnel evaluation factor, arguing that it was not required to submit a single resume for each of four key personnel positions.
The GAO disagreed with TAG, finding its allegation that the RFP did not require a resume for certain positions to be contrary to the plain language of the RFP. The GAO noted that, when read as a whole, the RFP clearly contemplated a team of individuals working together to carry out the necessary tasks, and that TAG’s proposal of having a single person fill multiple roles was simply untenable.
Contractors should pay close attention to the language of an RFP, and ensure that they strictly adhere to the requirements of the RFP. Where the RFP dictates that offerors “shall” provide certain information, failure to supply all the requested material could result in an “unacceptable” rating on a related evaluation factor.