Tag Archives: Past performance

GAO: Protester’s “Scant” Past Performance Descriptions Justified Low Score

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If your high school teacher or college professor had asked you to compose an essay up to five pages in length, would you expect an “A” for writing a single paragraph?

Probably not, and the same principle applies when it comes to proposals.  In a recent GAO bid protest decision, the agency gave contractors up to five pages to describe each past performance reference.  Not surprisingly, the GAO held that it was reasonable for the procuring agency to downgrade an offeror’s past performance score when that offeror only provided a one-paragraph write-up of each project.

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GAO: Contractor Cannot Claim “Experience” From Novated Contract

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Michael Jackson famously bought the publishing rights to most of the Beatles’ songs, but purchasing the Beatles’ music didn’t mean that Jackson could claim to have appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.

As the GAO recently held, a similar principle applies in government contracting: simply buying another company’s government contract does not necessarily entitle the new contractor to lay claim to the other company’s experience.

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Joint Ventures and Past Performance: Agency May Consider Experience of JV Members

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Joint ventures seem to be an increasingly popular vehicle for pursuing federal contracts, but the FAR and agency solicitations usually are not written with joint ventures in mind.  As a result, confusion can sometimes arise over how a joint venture’s proposal should be evaluated.

Case in point: past performance.  A joint venture is often a new legal entity, so should it receive a “neutral” past performance score?  Not necessarily.  According to a recent GAO bid protest decision, it is perfectly acceptable for a procuring agency to consider the relevant experience and past performance of the individual joint venture members.

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Single Negative Past Performance Reference Sinks Contractor’s Bid

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Past performance is a key ingredient in most competitive government procurements.  Even if a contractor’s overall past performance record is excellent, a single blemish can damage the contractor’s chances of award.

In a recent GAO bid protest decision, the agency relied on a single adverse past performance reference to assign the contractor a poor past performance rating–even though the contractor strongly disagreed with the adverse reference.  The GAO held that there was nothing wrong with the agency’s past performance evaluation.

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Subcontractors And Past Performance: What Are The Risks?

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Inexperienced small government contractors sometimes rely primarily (or completely) on larger subcontractors to boost their past performance scores.  Although this practice sometimes results in better past performance scores, there are two risks small government contractors should be aware of when it comes to relying on a subcontractor’s past performance: poor evaluations and ostensible subcontractor affiliation.

A recent GAO bid protest decision, coupled with a decision of the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals, demonstrates how each risk may affect a small government contractor.

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Nice Affiliate You’ve Got There–But So What?

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Small contractors often rely upon the experience of corporate parents, subsidiaries, and other affiliates to bolster their past performance scores.  Especially for new subsidiaries and joint ventures with minimal independent past performance, relying on corporate experience can help avoid a “neutral” past performance rating.

However, as two GAO cases show, it isn’t enough to simply identify an affiliate and rely on its experience.  In order to receive credit, an offeror must identify the affiliate’s connection to the contract contemplated by the solicitation.   Otherwise, you’ll leave the contracting officer scratching his or her head, and saying, “so what?”

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