Key personnel are an important term in many proposals. Establishing the resume, experience, and availability of personnel that will perform major functions of a contract is a key (dad joke) aspect of a winning proposal. As one offeror found out, when key personnel become unavailable, the technical acceptability of the entire offer can be in jeopardy.
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GAO Affirms any Discussions During Evaluations Must be Meaningful
Evaluation of offers is a crucial point in the procurement process. During this time period, an agency may, in certain procurements, reach out with discussion questions meant to bring clarity to the decision-making process. However, any such discussions must be meaningful.
As one offeror recently found out, meaningful discussions even apply in so-called simplified acquisitions.
Continue readingCOVID-19 Federal Workforce Vaccination Deadline Extended to January 4, 2022
This morning, the White House released updated Covid-19 vaccination guidelines. This update includes a nearly month-long delay in the mandate implementation. Previously, all federal workers and contractors must have either been fully vaccinated or granted some form of extension or accommodation by December 8, 2022. Fully vaccinated means two weeks following the final dose, meaning the actual deadline was early November for employees to begin the two-shot cycle of Pfizer or Moderna.
The new deadline also comes with updated recommendations from OSHA.
Continue readingHUBZone FAQ Update: Maps and Other Changes
The SBA’s HUBZone program can be a confusing program to understand and comply with. Keeping on top of the regulations requires keeping up on legislative and program changes on a revolving basis. The SBA has recently frozen the HUBZone maps and changed principal office rules. In a corresponding move, the SBA has updated the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section for the HUBZone program to clarify some details on HUBZone Program rules.
Here are some key points you should know about this latest FAQ update.
Continue readingCIO-SP4 Amendment 10: More Changes and No Delay
Amendment 10 clarifies obligated dollar values, how to have subcontracted federal work counted, restrictions to contractor participation in task areas, evaluation of contractor program manager(s), establishing a static date from which to calculate the three-year look-back for corporate experience relevance, and evaluation of labor rates.
Needless to say, there is a lot of things packed into Amendment 10, and here’s the kicker, proposals are still due August 20th! With little time to digest, let alone alter, proposals in line with Amendment 10, NITAAC has left little room for offerors to catch up with the changes.
Continue readingGAO’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Conference – Too Little, Too Late
The costs of filing a bid protest can dissuade some protesters from submitting bid protests. One silver lining for protesters is a recommendation for reimbursement of costs upon a sustained decision. However, even when GAO says a protest is “clearly meritorious”, the protest may still be dismissed prior to GAO issuing a decision.
What happens when an agency takes corrective action in the face of a likely sustained GAO decision? One protester recently found out.
Continue readingCIO-SP4 Amendment 9, a Last Minute Stay
With less than 24 hours left until proposals were due, NIH released Amendment 9, staying the proposal deadline until August 20, 2021 at Noon Eastern. Amendment 9 says it changes very little, but the innocuous cover letter belies a major change to evaluations for Other Than Small and Emerging Large Businesses (OTSBs and ELBs).
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