GAO’s outcome prediction alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) can be a tempting option for all parties to a protest, as it provides a preview of sorts for GAO’s written decision. A recent GAO decision, however, underscores that despite its relative informality, outcome prediction ADR can have significant repercussions on future protest developments.
In Will Technology, Inc; Paragon TEC, Inc., B-413139.4 et al., __ CPD ¶ __ (Comp. Gen. June 11, 2018), NASA issued a procurement for acquisition and business support services. Twenty companies submitted proposals in response to the Solicitation. After evaluating the submissions, NASA determined discussions would be necessary and endeavored to establish a competitive range comprised of 5 bidders. As relevant to this blog, Will Technology (“WTI”), Paragon, and Canvas were all included within the competitive range and received discussions. Following discussions, all three companies submitted revised proposals.
NASA evaluated the revised proposals and announced Paragon as the awardee, due in part to the strengths assigned to its proposed Project Manager. NASA provided WTI with a written debriefing of its award decision on August 3, 2017. In response, WTI filed a timely GAO protest, challenging the evaluation of its past performance and proposed experience.
GAO subsequently conducted outcome prediction ADR with WTI and NASA. Outcome prediction ADR is a process where, after the protest record has been developed and the parties have submitted written briefing, the GAO attorney will advise the parties of the likely outcome of the case if GAO issued a written decision. Following outcome prediction ADR, the parties are encouraged to take appropriate action to resolve the protest (i.e. the protester withdraw the protest or the agency take corrective action, as the case may be) before GAO issues a written opinion.
WTI was advised during outcome prediction ADR that GAO would likely deny its protest. After ADR, WTI notified GAO and NASA of its intent to file a protest before the Court of Federal Claims. Importantly, at this time, WTI also voluntarily withdrew its GAO protest.
Before filing its complaint with the Court of Federal Claims, however, WTI provided NASA with additional information regarding alleged improprieties in NASA’s evaluation of proposals. As a result, NASA suspended contract performance and reconvened the Source Evaluation Board to conduct an investigation. As NASA had concluded it was necessary to conduct a reevaluation, WTI never filed a protest before the Court of Federal Claims.
During the investigation, NASA determined it had improperly credited Paragon’s project manager with experience the project manager did not actually possess. As such, NASA revised Paragon’s evaluation. This, in turn, resulted in Paragon’s proposal no longer representing the best value to NASA. Accordingly, NASA revised its source selection decision and announced award would now be made to Canvas.
On March 1, 2018, Paragon, WTI, and Canvas each received debriefings explaining the basis for the revised award decision. WTI timely submitted a second protest. Among other things, WTI again challenged NASA’s evaluation of its past performance and proposed experience. These arguments essentially renewed the same allegations WTI raised in its first protest that GAO predicted it would deny during ADR.
At this point, the Army and NASA became enthralled in a battle over timeliness. Accordingly, a little background on GAO’s bid protest regulations is helpful at this juncture. In order to be considered timely, a protest after award must be filed within 10 days of when the protester knew or should have known the basis for protest. 4 C.F.R. § 21.2(a)(2). The sole exception to this rule occurs for protests where a debriefing is both requested and required. Under such circumstances, a protest is timely if it is filed with GAO within 10 days of the debriefing’s conclusion.
Responding to WTI’s protest, NASA argued the renewed challenges were untimely. According to NASA, since WTI’s renewed grounds concerned evaluation issues of which WTI was aware following its first debriefing on August 3, 2017, it was now untimely to challenge those same protest grounds after the second debriefing on March 1, 2018.
WTI countered that its protest was timely as it was filed within 10 days of the March 1, 2018, debriefing, which also resulted in a new awardee. According to WTI, since NASA had reconvened the Source Selection Board and conducted a reevaluation, it could timely raise the same protest grounds.
GAO concluded that NASA had the better of the argument. As GAO explained, “[t]he record demonstrates that WTI knew the basis for the agency’s evaluation of its proposal more than 10 days before WTI filed its March 5, 2018 protest.” As such, WTI’s protest was untimely.
GAO did not stop there, however. Instead, it turned to WTI’s argument that its renewed challenges were nevertheless timely because they were filed within 10 days of the second debriefing. GAO similarly rejected this line of argument and explained as follows:
[A] new source selection decision or the reevaluation of proposals does not provide a basis for reviving otherwise untimely protest allegations where the basis of the otherwise untimely protest allegations concern aspects of the agency’s evaluation that were not subsequently affected by the agency’s corrective action.
GAO also made a point to note that WTI’s prior protest had been voluntarily withdrawn after GAO conducted outcome prediction ADR. According to GAO, “we see no reason to provide the protester here with a second opportunity to re-file protest allegations that it chose to withdraw from our forum after being notified that they would be denied.” Thus, GAO dismissed WTI’s renewed protest of NASA’s evaluation of its past performance and proposed experience.
Will Technology serves as a cautionary tale for protesters confronted with the opportunity of conducting outcome prediction ADR. While the factual circumstances of Will Technology are unique, the fact remains that in the eye of the GAO, by voluntarily withdrawing its protest following outcome prediction ADR, WTI conceded its ability to continue challenging its past performance and proposed experience evaluations. While voluntary withdrawal of its protest seemed like a reasonable action at the time, it ultimately doomed any future attempts to raise the same issues with GAO.
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