PPQs Submitted Late? “No Problem,” Says GAO–At Least In One Case

While being fashionably late to a party may give the impression that one is a busy and popular person that was held up with other business, being fashionably late in federal contracting will typically have dire consequences.

However, a recent GAO bid protest decision demonstrates that when providing completed past performance questionnaires, or PPQs, being fashionably late may be acceptable – at least when the references were submitted directly by government officials, rather than the offeror.

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When Agencies Don’t Return Past Performance Questionnaires: A Cautionary Tale

Past performance evaluations often hinge on government officials completing and returning past performance questionnaires.  But what happens when the government doesn’t return those PPQs?

In one case, at least, the answer was “nothing good.”  In a recent GAO bid protest decision, only two of six PPQs were returned for the lowest-priced offeror–and that offeror ended up losing the contract to a firm with a higher past performance score.

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