Aspen Systems Corporation

B-272213.2 Oct 22, 1996 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights A procurement for services supporting an information clearinghouse was properly set aside for exclusive small business participation. The RFP was issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for information retrieval services. The CDC Small And Disadvantaged Business Utilization Specialist (SADBUS) recommended to the contracting officer that the CDC conduct the procurement as a total small business set-aside because there appeared to be six small business firms that were capable of performing the contract work. Interested small businesses were requested to submit technical and experience information. The contracting officer determined that only one small business concern was qualified. View Decision Matter of: Aspen Systems Corporation File: B-272213.2 Date: October 22, 1996 A procurement for services supporting an information clearinghouse was properly set aside for exclusive small business participation, where the agency head's designee reasonably determined that the agency could expect offers from at least two responsible small business concerns and that award would be made at a fair market price, notwithstanding that the contracting officer had earlier reached a contrary conclusion. Attorneys DECISION Aspen Systems Corporation protests the decision of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to set aside request for proposals (RFP) No. 200-96-0502(P) for exclusive small business participation. The RFP was issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for information retrieval services. We deny the protest. The CDC initiated this procurement to obtain a contractor to develop, maintain, and operate a comprehensive centralized clearinghouse for information concerning HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, and other preventable diseases. The CDC Small And Disadvantaged Business Utilization Specialist (SADBUS) recommended to the contracting officer that the CDC conduct the procurement as a total small business set-aside because there appeared to be six small business firms that were capable of performing the contract work. In response to the SADBUS' recommendation, the contracting officer published a "sources sought" notice in the Commerce Business Daily to evaluate the interest and capability of small business concerns. Interested small businesses were requested to submit technical and experience information, subject to a 20- page limitation, to demonstrate their capability to perform the contract. Fourteen small business concerns submitted technical capability statements. The contracting officer determined that only one small business concern was qualified, that eleven firms were not qualified, and that two firms were "obviously not qualified." With respect to the one qualified small business, the contracting officer determined that it was unlikely that this firm would submit a proposal at a reasonable price because, in a prior procurement, this firm had submitted an offer for similar services which was approximately 30 percent higher than the eventual contract award price. The contracting officer decided not to set aside the procurement for exclusive small business participation based upon her view that it was not reasonable to expect offers from at least two responsible small business concerns at a reasonable price. Under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Sec. 19.502-2, a contracting officer is only authorized to set aside a procurement for exclusive small business participation where there is a reasonable expectation that offers will be obtained from at least two responsible small business concerns and award will be made at a fair market price. The HHS Office of Small And Disadvantaged Business Utilization Specialist (OSBDU) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) Procurement Center Representative (PCR) disagreed with the contracting officer's conclusion because of contacts OSBDU and the PCR had from three interested small businesses that appeared capable of performing the contract work. Also, the OSBDU and PCR believed that the contracting officer made too restrictive an evaluation of the interested small business concerns' capability statements, which caused the contracting officer to eliminate capable small businesses for a perceived lack of capability, even though the particular concerns could have been addressed in complete technical proposals. The PCR requested that the contracting officer set aside the procurement for exclusive small business participation. The contracting officer denied this request. In accordance with FAR Sec. 19.505, [1] the PCR appealed the contracting officer's decision to the Director of the CDC. The CDC Director upheld the contracting officer's determination that this procurement should not be set aside for exclusive small business participation.