A couple of weeks ago, I explored the Court of Federal Claims case of SH Synergy, LLC v. United States. In that blog, linked below, I looked at the first question raised in the protest that centered on the question of whether a mentor with two approved mentor protégé joint ventures with two different protégés under the SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program is restricted from placing competing offers for a solicitation, in this case GSA’s Polaris solicitation. The answer to that was yes, they are restricted pursuant to 13 C.F.R. § 125.9. Because this decision was chocked full of useful information, and as promised, I’m back to look at the second issue tackled in this mammoth COFC opinion: did the solicitation’s terms, which required mentor-protégé joint ventures, woman-owned small business joint ventures, and service-disabled veteran owned small business joint ventures to be evaluated in the same manner as offerors, generally, violate procurement regulations? As you will see, the answer to that question is also yes, and it appears that this decision has already had an impact on other procurements.
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COFC Confirms: Mentor-Protege JVs from the Same Mentor Can’t Bid Against Each Other
Those who work within the federal government contracting world are likely to have noticed that, lately, many large indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracting vehicles are soliciting offers. However, with large contracting vehicles, which are often worth billions of dollars and promise many awards, there are often many protests. And Polaris, Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology Next Generation 2 (T4NG2), and Chief Information Officer – Solutions and Partners 4 (CIO-SP4), to name just a few of such solicitations, are no exception. Although many bid protests are filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) also has jurisdiction over such matters, and COFC decisions are usually more indepth and the review of information from the agency more robust than at GAO.. This post will discuss the first of three main issues SH Synergy, LLC v. United States, and, because there is so much useful information packed into the decision’s 75 pages, we’ll plan a separate post for other issues.
Continue readingSmallGovCon Week in Review: June 27- July 1, 2022
Happy Fourth of July, Readers! We hope you have a fun and relaxing holiday weekend planned. Here are 3 fun facts about Independence Day:
- The Declaration of Independence Was Written on a Laptop. Not a modern laptop, but still. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on a writing desk that could fit over one’s lap. This device was referred to at the time as a “laptop.”
- There is Something Written on the Back of the Declaration of Independence. According to the History Channel, a simple message is written upside-down across the bottom of the signed document that reads, “Original Declaration of Independence dated 4th July 1776.”
- The Designer of the 50-Star Flag Lived in Lancaster, Ohio. In 1958, a history teacher asked students to redesign the national flag as both Alaska and Hawaii neared statehood. Robert G. Heft, who was 16 at the time, designed a new flag using the old 48-star flag and spent $2.87 on materials. His design earned him a B-minus to which he challenged by sending it to Washington D.C. to be considered by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
While you are enjoying the weekend, we have provided a few noteworthy articles pertaining to federal government contracting for your reading consideration, including Polaris timing update, category management struggles for small businesses, and predictions for the 2023 NDAA. Enjoy your 4th!
Continue readingPolaris: GSA Releases Solicitations, New Q&A
GSA recently released new solicitations for the Small Business Pool and the Women Owned Small Business Pool. The Q&A has some additional details on the Polaris solicitation. As we’ve written about, the purpose of the Polaris solicitation is to provide federal agencies with information technology services from qualified small businesses. I’ll mention some of the highlights from both the solicitations and the update, which includes some more information on the timing for the solicitation, other small business pools, and other items. Also, GSA will be extending the due date for proposals.
Continue readingPolaris GWAC: GSA Issues Draft RFP Sections
GSA has been hard at work on the Polaris solicitation. The goal: provide federal agencies with information technology services from qualified small businesses. GSA recently released the updated draft versions of the submission instructions and evaluation criteria for Polaris. Like CIO-SP4, which we blogged on in detail, Polaris is going to be of interest to many small business IT contractors. So, here are a few highlights from the draft sections.
Continue readingFive Things You Should Know: the FAR’s Independent Pricing Certification
Small businesses will see several major multiple-award solicitations in 2021, including CIO-SP4 and Polaris. As contractors develop their capture strategies for important procurements like these, one frequently-asked question is, “can I be on multiple teams?”
While there is no simple one-size-fits-all, yes/no answer to the “multiple teams” question, an often-overlooked FAR provision provides some important guidance. Let’s take a look at five things you should know about the FAR’s Certificate of Independent Price Determination.
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