The Risk of Writing Your Bid Proposal
By: Leanna Ajour, Esq. California & Colorado Attorney
Your company has its specialties and you’re good at what you do. But, providing well-written proposals detailing to legally thorough degree, the work that you do and the methodology you will use to complete a bid proposal is what we do.
Having a well-written proposal is essential to obtaining the federal government contracts that allow you to do what you do best. Failing to get the expertise necessary can make or break your opportunity for a contract. But, don’t just take my word for it.
In recent case APT Research, Inc. on August 8, 2014, the GAO (among other issues) evaluated the Agency’s realism analysis for labor rates. On that point, the protestor argued that a closer analysis of the direct labor rates would show that the awardee’s proposed lower rates created a substantial risk that the company would not be able to hire the incumbent personnel, and were therefore unrealistic. More specifically, the protestor stated that 88% of the awardee’s total labor hours were proposed at direct labor rates lower than those proposed by APT.
The GAO reasoned; however, that regardless of the number crunching, awardee’s proposal was better written and more detailed. The GAO stated that “an offeror bears the burden of submitting an adequately written proposal and it runs the risk that its proposal will be evaluated unfavorably where it fails to do so.”
The GAO reasoned that the awardee was more favorably rated because awardee more thoroughly explained its approach and method to meeting the tasks and demonstrated that it understood the PWS requirements. In this recent case, the GAO ultimately held that its independent review confirmed awardee’s more detailed proposal and denied the protest.