While losing a procurement is never easy, many contractors will learn some valuable lessons from a debriefing. On top of that, a debriefing can delay bid protest filing deadlines at GAO. However, recently, GAO clarified that the bid protest filing deadline delay for debriefings only applies to GAO protests. A protestor found this out the hard way after a pre-award debrief, and multiple protest actions.
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Back to Basics: Debriefings
Debriefings are a crucial part of the complicated world of bidding on Government contracts. They can provide wonderful insight to contractors on where they can improve, where their proposals were strong, and in cases, may provide information that could indicate to a contractor that a bid protest may be warranted. Therefore, it is vitally important for contractors to understand what Debriefings are, what they can and can’t provide you, and why they matter. Previously, we here at SmallGovCon discussed 5 things you should know about Debriefings, but in this post we will do a more detailed dive into Debriefings based on the current regulations and contracting landscape.
Continue readingDoD Proposes DFARS Amendment to Enhance Debriefings
Receiving a notice that a competitor received an award can be a punch to the gut. This feeling is compounded when the requested debriefing is short on details. Offerors are normally left with more questions than answers.
The DoD has proposed to amend the DFARS to enhance debriefings in certain procurements. The correct amount of information in a debriefing is an ever-moving target; hopefully, this new proposed amendment will be a step in the right direction.
Continue reading5 (More) Things You Should Know: Bid Protests
It’s early October, which means that the federal government’s end-of-fiscal-year contracting binge has drawn to an end. With the spate of contract awards, this time of year typically sees an increase in the number of bid protests being filed, or at least contemplated.
If you’re considering filing a bid protest, here are five (more) things to keep in mind:
Continue readingGAO Dismisses Untimely Protest Grounds, Incumbent Should Have Known of Pricing Issues Based on Debriefing
GAO will frequently dismiss protest grounds based on its strict timeliness rules, as we’ve written about before on the blog. Generally, GAO’s bid protest regulations require a contractor to file a protest within “10 days after the basis of protest is known or should have been known.”
But sometimes knowing when a protest ground is untimely can be difficult. For instance, where a protester should have known the basis for protest based on an inference from a debriefing response and its incumbent knowledge, does that debriefing start the 10-day protest clock running? A recent GAO decision answers that question in the affirmative.
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