An incumbent contract wasn’t entitled to receive “extra credit” in the agency’e evaluation of offerors’ transition plans.
In a recent bid protest decision, the GAO held that the agency reasonably awarded a non-incumbent more strengths than the incumbent in the evaluation of transition plans, writing that incumbency alone doesn’t automatically entitle the incumbent to the highest-possible transition plan score.
How does a company go about challenging overly restrictive terms in a solicitation? In order to make such a challenge (and some of them do succeed), it is necessary to show something more than just the fact that a protestor cannot meet the terms of the solicitation.
A recent GAO decision provides a real-world example of how not to challenge a solicitation as overly restrictive of competition and reinforces that this can be a difficult thing to prove at GAO.
As we head into the second half of May, it is time for graduation parties and summer fun. But before we enjoy the weekend, it’s Friday and time for the SmallGovCon Week in Review.
In this week’s edition, we highlight GAO giving contractors a second chance to make it into the OASIS unrestricted pool; an audit showing that DOD isn’t giving small businesses enough opportunity; DSS’ plans for a new methodology to vet security of contractor facilities; and more.
When a bidder submits a bid under a sealed bid procurement, it is responsible for ensuring that the bid is timely submitted. But what happens if a bidder wants to revise a bid that’s already been submitted?
As a recent GAO case shows, even a revised bid must be timely submitted in order for it to be considered. If a bidder tries to revise its bid too late in the process, it might end up costing itself the award.
I am back in Lawrence after a great trip to Flint, Michigan on Friday for the Region 6 PTAC’s Meet the Buyer event. My luncheon keynote covered some of the most important recent developments for government contractors, including the SAM “hack,” some major pieces of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, and much more.
A big thank you to Jasmine McKenney, Maureen Miller and their colleagues for inviting me to speak. And thank you, as well, to everyone I met at the event–particularly those who stuck around after the keynote to ask such great questions.
Next up on the travel agenda: a flight south to Houston, where I’ll be presenting next week at the 17th Annual DOE Small Business Forum & Expo. Hope to see you there!
On May 21, 2018, the VA will suspend SDVOSB and VOSB applications for “approximately thirty (30)” days while the VA transitions to a new VIP interface.
According to a notice posted on the VA OSDBU website, the suspension will affect “both new applications and applications for re-verification.” However, the VA CVE “will continue processing previously submitted applications during the suspension.” The VA doesn’t beat around the bush: “any applicants (Veterans) that desire to have their cases begin the verification process before the suspension start date, should strongly consider case submission completion to VIP prior to May 21, 2018.”
For all the mothers out there, happy Mother’s Day! We hope you have a great, relaxing weekend. But first, it’s Friday, and time for the SmallGovCon Week in Review.
In this week’s edition, we’ll discuss an important update to the VA’s CVE application process. We’ll also update you on the on-going saga regarding the Department of Education’s student loan servicing contracts and, as is our (unfortunate) custom, highlight some of the week’s examples of government contractors behaving badly.
Enjoy!