Government Contractor Evaluation Criteria of Technical Proposals in GAO Protests

GAO protests based on errors in the government’s technical evaluation criteria of contractor proposals are very common. In order to prevail in a bid protest, a bid protest lawyer will have to show that the agency’s actions were unreasonable.

Common approaches to challenging government contract evaluation criteria can range from an unreasonable, unequal, and inadequately documented technical evaluation of contractor proposal to source selection teams applying more lenient standards to other proposals.

Using improper technical contract evaluation criteria can also occur due to the Agency’s failure to evaluate the technical proposal by the RFP’s technical proposal evaluation criteria and FAR Part 15; factual and mathematical errors in the interpretation of the proposals; or conducting improper discussions.

When conducting evaluations of contractor proposals the agency should do so in accordance with the RFP’s technical evaluation directions and source selection criteria, show meaningful evaluation of proposals and document its analysis of weaknesses and risks in several areas.

This typically means first comparing the proposal with the Solicitation’s criteria and at the trade-off point if there are risks in the various proposals.

What Should a Technical Evaluation of Contractor Proposal Include?

The key to submitting sound technical proposals is to gain more strengths than weaknesses. In addition, if you are fortunate enough to get a significant amount of strengths in your proposal, you may be able to get the award based upon a higher price. See information about arbitrary and capricious agency actions.

• Under FAR Part 15, the Agency can justify awarding to a higher-priced technical evaluation of contractor proposal if using its technical government contract evaluation criteria shows that your proposal is stronger than your competition.
• Innovative solutions that can solve the government’s problem.
• Show the government that you can recruit and keep qualified staff.
• One of the major landmines that can be found in your evaluation is to not give details about your recruiting ability.
• Do not simply say that you will hire incumbent personnel.

To improve your scores based on the government’s technical bid evaluation criteria, you should at least discuss given the incumbent employees right of first refusal. Then discuss how you plan on recruiting them. You will get low points if you do.

Make sure that your quality control measures explain how you plan on preventing disasters from occurring with source selection criteria. Some government contracting agencies may choose to assign you a weakness for not adequately explaining quality control measures in your technical proposal. The government wins in bid protests simply because they will be complying with the stated RFP criteria.

GAO Protest and Government Contractor Technical Bid Evaluation Criteria Errors Under FAR Part 15

Oftentimes, agencies may go through several rounds of evaluations per its technical bid evaluation scheme. Although the solicitation does not have to give the public every single detail about source selection criteria, the agency must still document how it resolved any problems seen with your technical evaluation. In a protest, this means showing compliance with the government contract evaluation criteria in the RFP and FAR Part 15 requirements.

GAO’s authority in a protest for improper technical proposal evaluation criteria: Your technical bid evaluation is a matter within the agency’s discretion. In reviewing a GAO protest of an agency’s evaluation of proposals, GAO will only look at the record to decide whether the agency’s judgment was reasonable and consistent with the stated evaluation criteria and applicable procurement statutes and regulations.

Common areas of improper agency contractor technical proposals: GAO protests have often been sustained where the contracting agency did not properly analyze the technical proposal contract evaluation criteria should be in accordance with the stated solicitation criteria. This includes improper evaluations of:

• Proposed staffing
• Resumes of key staff
• Ability to recruit people
• Approaches to PWS requirements

However, GAO will sustain a protest where the agency’s conclusions are inconsistent with the solicitation’s technical evaluation criteria, undocumented, or not reasonably based. Read about SBA certificate of competency decisions.

When filing a GAO protest challenging the evaluation of contractor proposal, your bid protest lawyer must be able to articulate factual allegations about why the agency’s selection evaluation was in error. You can usually get some information when requesting a debriefing.

See How We Can Help You in Bid Protest Cases

For help challenging unreasonable technical evaluation of contractor proposal in GAO protest, call our GAO bid protest lawyers at 1-866-601-5518.  FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION.