R&D Dynamics Corporation, B-285979.2, November 14, 2000

B-285979.2 Nov 14, 2000 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Is denied where the allegations are not supported by the record. That these government personnel had an improper conflict of interest with MITI and should not have participated in the evaluation process. /1/ We deny the protest. The SBIR Program is conducted pursuant to the Small Business Innovation Development Act. DOD issues an SBIR solicitation twice a year listing the research topics for which it will consider SBIR program admission. If phase I is successful. Proposals are judged competitively on the basis of scientific. Firms are expected to obtain funding from the private sector and/or non-SBIR government sources to develop the concept into a product for sale in private sector and/or military markets. at 1 (DOD's SBIR website). View Decision Matter of: R&D Dynamics Corporation File: B-285979.2 Date: November 14, 2000 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION R&D Dynamics Corporation protests the Department of the Army's determination to award Phase II funding to Mohawk Innovative Technology, Inc. (MITI) for a project both firms proposed under the Department of Defense (DOD) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. R&D alleges that government personnel improperly advised the firm that it need not pursue "Fast Track" procedures in order to obtain phase II funding for the "Oil-Free Auxiliary Power Unit and Propulsion System Technology" project, and that these government personnel had an improper conflict of interest with MITI and should not have participated in the evaluation process. /1/ We deny the protest. The SBIR Program is conducted pursuant to the Small Business Innovation Development Act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 638 (1994 & Supp. IV 1998), which requires certain federal agencies to reserve a portion of their research and development funds for awards to small businesses. As part of its SBIR program, DOD issues an SBIR solicitation twice a year listing the research topics for which it will consider SBIR program admission. Firms first apply for a 6-month phase I award of $60,000 to $100,000 to test the scientific, technical, and commercial merit and feasibility of a certain concept. If phase I is successful, the firm may be invited to apply for a 2-year phase II award of $500,000 to $750,000 to further develop the concept. Proposals are judged competitively on the basis of scientific, technical, and commercial merit. After the completion of phase II, firms are expected to obtain funding from the private sector and/or non-SBIR government sources to develop the concept into a product for sale in private sector and/or military markets. > at 1 (DOD's SBIR website). Historical data shows that approximately 40 percent of phase I projects are awarded a phase II contract. Id. However, DOD also offers a "Fast Track" process for phase II contracts. If the phase I contractor attracts outside investments in accordance with established requirements, its proposal is evaluated for phase II award under a separate, expedited process. Id. at 2. Historical data from between September 1997 and July 2000 shows that 95 percent of the phase I projects that qualified for the Fast Track by attracting the required outside investment were selected for phase II award. > at 5. DOD Fiscal Year (FY) 1999 SBIR Program Solicitation 99.2 listed the available SBIR topics for FY 1999 for phase I proposals. At issue here, the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) solicited topic A99-019, "Oil-free Auxiliary Power Unit and Propulsion System Technology," which called for a contractor to "develop innovative oil-free compliant foil bearing and seal technology in a size class suitable for application in the oil-free auxiliary power unit and gas turbine turbomachinery systems used in Army vehicles." Solicitation at Army-25. A foil bearing replaces the traditional ball bearing and lubricant system with a series of lightweight foil strips that hold the rotating assembly in place when at rest. As the rotating assembly turns, it creates an air cushion between the assembly and the foil strips, which significantly reduces friction. The air cushion spreads the foil strips away from physical contact with the rotating assembly in a way that nearly eliminates physical wear on the foil bearings and reduces the failure rate of the bearing. Protest at 4-5. Both R&D and MITI received phase I funding for this topic in January 2000 and began considering the upcoming phase II proposal process. Section 4.3 of the solicitation set forth the following evaluation criteria for phase II proposals: a. The soundness, technical merit, and innovation of the proposed approach and its incremental progress toward topic or subtopic solution; b. the qualifications of the proposed principal/key investigators, supporting staff, and consultants; and c.