Small Business Status And Task Orders: GAO Provides Some Clarity

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Steven Koprince

According to the GAO, a business qualifies as small for purposes of a task order competition under a Governmentwide Acquisition Contract so long as the business was small for purposes of the underlying GWAC, and the Contracting Officer does not request size recertification in connection with the task order. And even if recertification is required for the task order, the operative date to determine small business status is the date of the task order offer–not the date the task order is awarded.

In a recent bid protest decision, the GAO and SBA both weighed in on the question of small business size status for task order competitions, providing some helpful clarity on this often-confusing topic.

SmallGovCon Week In Review: October 12-16, 2015

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Steven Koprince

Another week is almost over, and that means it’s time to bring you the SmallGovCon Week In Review. This week we look at GSA’s IT consolidation efforts, a bid-rigging scheme that resulted in a seven-year prison sentence, allegations of SDVOSB fraud, and much more.

Bridge Contracts Need Improved Oversight, Says GAO

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Steven Koprince

In a recent GAO review of three agencies’ use of bridge contracts, the agencies in question had “limited or no insight into their use of bridge contracts.”

According to a recent GAO report, a lack of effective guidance for the use of bridge contracts contributed to potential misuse–such as several so-called “bridge” contracts that were longer than three years in duration.

$0.00 Fixed Price: My Interview With Francis Rose

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Steven Koprince

Can an offeror be awarded a fixed-price contract with a winning bid of $0.00? Under the right circumstances, the answer is “yes,” as demonstrated in a recent GAO bid protest decision.

Last week, I joined Francis Rose to discuss the “zero dollar winning bidder,” as well as a troubling case in which an agency’s evaluation of proposals was upheld, even though the source selection authority used a “cut and paste” template from a different evaluation.

Click here to listen to my full interview, and be sure to check out In Depth With Francis Rose weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Eastern, on 1500 AM in the Washington, D.C. metro area and online everywhere.

Offeror’s Employee Relocation Plan May Have Posed Retention Risk, Says GAO

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Steven Koprince

An offeror’s plan to relocate a significant number of employees after the first year of a task order may have posed a risk to the offeror’s ability to retain qualified staff.

In a recent bid protest decision, the GAO held that it was unreasonable for a procuring agency to fail to consider the potential risks of an offeror’s plan to move a portion of its workforce to a different geographical area in order to take advantage of the relatively lower wages of that area.

SmallGovCon Week In Review: October 5-9, 2015

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Steven Koprince

With the recent flooding in the east, we hope that our readers who are being affected are staying safe and dry during this challenging time.

In this edition of SmallGovCon Week In Review, the Air Force is struggling to make service contracts competitive, alleged WOSB fraud leads to a civil fraud lawsuit, Guy Timberlake delves into the merits of simplified acquisitions, and much more.

SBA Proposes Credit For Lower-Tier Subcontracts

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Steven Koprince

Large prime contractors operating under individual subcontracting plans would receive credit for small businesses performing at any subcontracting tier, according to a proposed rule issued yesterday by the SBA.

The proposed rule also requires large primes to assign a NAICS code and size standard to “solicitations” for subcontracts–a notion that may come as a surprise to prime contractors, many of whom do not typically issue formal subcontract solicitations.