Excusable Delay: Government’s Failure To Extend Was “Constructive Acceleration”

Posted on August 2, 2017 by SmallGov Contributor

Federal contractors not so infrequently find themselves in a position where they are unable to complete performance of a contract by the agreed-upon deadline. So, what happens when the delay is neither party’s fault, but the government denies extension of the period of performance or provides inadequate extensions?

In IAP Worldwide Services, Inc. (ASBCA Nos. 59397, 59398, and 59399), the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals found under the legal theory of “constructive acceleration” that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was liable for extra costs incurred by IAP due to the Corps insistence of timely contract delivery despite excusable delays.

No Protest Of Terminated Task Order, Court Says

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Steven Koprince

A contractor could not file a valid bid protest challenging an agency’s decision to terminate the contractor’s task order, according to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

In a recent decision, the Court agreed with the GAO, which also held that the contractor’s challenge involved a matter of contract administration–something outside the bid protest process.

Small Business Ownership And Control: My Govology Podcast

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Steven Koprince

For small businesses, 8(a)s, SDVOSBs, HUBZones and WOSBs, few legal requirements in the world of government contracts are as important as those surrounding ownership and control. I recently joined host Carroll Bernard of Govology for an in-depth podcast exploring these important requirements, including a discussion of common mistakes and misconceptions.

Follow this link to listen to or download the podcast. And don’t stop there–check out Govology’s other great podcasts with government contracting thought leaders, too.

Past Performance: Does Duration Matter?

Posted on July 31, 2017 by SmallGovCon Contributor

Past performance evaluations normally consider two aspects of an offeror’s prior work: whether that performance was recent and relevant. But in making its best value determination, must an agency also consider the duration of an offeror’s past performance?

A recent GAO bid protest decision answered this question, at least under the rules established in the solicitation at hand. In Technica LLC, B-413546.4 et al. (July 10, 2017), GAO denied a protest challenging the sufficiency of an awardee’s past performance even though the awardee’s past performance was much shorter than the protester’s.

SmallGovCon Week In Review: July 24-28, 2017

Posted on July 28, 2017 by Steven Koprince

July has flown by. Soon, my kids will be back in school, the leaves will start to turn, and the annual craziness at the end of the government fiscal year will be here. For now, I’m enjoying a few more weeks of summer. I hope you are too.

Before we head into the last July weekend of the year, it’s time for the SmallGovCon Week In Review. In this edition: the re-arrangement of personnel over at the GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, a new measure attached to the annual defense authorization bill aims to prevent the DoD from spending more on service contracts, the purchase of some “unnecessary” uniforms has led to a criminal probe, and much more.

Senate 2018 NDAA Re-Introduces Flawed GAO Bid Protest “Reforms”

Posted on July 28, 2017 by Steven Koprince

Last year, during consideration of the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, the Senate proposed to “reform” the GAO bid protest process by forcing some unsuccessful protesters to pay the government’s costs, and (more controversially) by denying incumbent protesters profits on bridge contracts and extensions.

Congress ultimately chose not to implement these measures. Instead, Congress called for an independent report on the effect of bid protests at DoD–a wise move, considering that major reforms to the protest process shouldn’t be undertaken without first seeing whether hard data shows that protests are harming the procurement process.

But now, six months before that report is due, the Senate has re-introduced its flawed bid protest proposals as part of the 2018 NDAA.

GovCon Voices: Getting Your Joint Venture Ready In Time For The Next Big Opportunity

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Steven Koprince

Joint ventures can be extremely powerful in helping small businesses capture larger government contracts. Yet, few small businesses know how they work, and even fewer understand the critical timeline and milestones required to have everything in place in time to capture those large opportunities.

In this article, we will discuss why understanding the timeline is so important if you want to leverage your JV for a big win.