Information Technology & Applications Corporation, B-288510; B-288510.2, November 7, 2001

Information Technology & Applications Corporation, B-288510; B-288510.2, November 7, 2001 TITLE: Information Technology & Applications Corporation, B-288510; B-288510.2, November 7, 2001 BNUMBER: B-288510; B-288510.2 DATE: November 7, 2001 ********************************************************************** Decision Matter of: Information Technology & Applications Corporation File: B-288510; B-288510.2 Date: November 7, 2001 Jed L. Babbin, Esq., Sharon L. Babbin, Esq., and Charles R. McCarthy, Jr., Esq., O'Connor & Hannan, for the protester. John D. Inazu, Esq., Department of the Air Force, for the agency. David A. Ashen, Esq., and John M. Melody, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Where request for additional past performance information concerned the role of proposed subcontractors in performing the statement of work and the relevance of the subcontractors' experience to the proposed role, and did not provide offerors an opportunity to revise their offers, the request constituted clarifications under Federal Acquisition Regulation sect. 15.306(a)(2), and did not trigger requirements attending the opening of discussions. DECISION Information Technology & Applications Corporation (ITAC) protests the Department of the Air Force's determination to award a contract to RS Information Services (RSIS), under request for proposals No. FA2550-01-R-0001, for technical services and space operations support (TSSOS) for the Air Force Space Command's Space Warfare Center (SWC), located at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado. ITAC challenges the evaluation of proposals and the agency's failure to conduct discussions with it concerning evaluated deficiencies and weaknesses in its proposal. We deny the protest. The RFP, a small business set-aside, provided for award of a cost-plus-award-fee, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract, for a 60-day phase-in period and a base year, with 7 option years, to furnish TSSOS in support of developing integrated space system support concepts--including integrating existing and advanced technology weapons, platforms, test facilities and technical expertise--so as to enhance combat and research and development capabilities. Under the TSSOS statement of work, the core contract effort will include: (1) support to program management and integration; (2) requirements analysis and technical support, including analysis of Air Force operational requirements and the capability of current space systems to support the identified requirements; (3) development of space warfare concepts of operations, and tactics, techniques and procedures for current and future space systems; (4) modeling, simulation and analysis; (5) education, training and aerospace course development; (6) support of evaluation and user utility demonstration of advanced technology concepts, prototypes and developing systems, including providing experts in command, control, communications, computers and intelligence architectures, systems and processes, and in space systems, architectures and programs; (7) technical support to planning and execution of test and evaluation activities; (8) support for exercises, wargames and experiments; (9) support for real world contingencies and operations; (10) intelligence support; (11) development and maintenance of information systems, computer networks and web sites; (12) support to off-site SWC organizations; and (13) support, planning and setup of SWC conferences. [1] Award was to be made to the offeror whose proposal represented the best value to the government and afforded the greatest confidence that the offeror will best meet the agency's requirements affordably. Proposals were to be evaluated based on the following factors: (1) past performance, under which the agency would evaluate relevant past performance, defined in terms of similarity of technology and type of effort, to determine confidence in the offeror's probability of successfully performing as proposed; (2) mission capability, with subfactors for program management and integration, management and maintenance of information systems, computer networks and databases, response to a core sample task order, and response to a 72-hour contingency sample task order; (3) proposal risk, focusing on the risks of schedule disruption, increased costs, degraded performance and the need for increased government supervision associated with the offeror's proposed approach; and (4) cost/price reasonableness and realism. As part of their cost/price proposal, offerors were required to propose the number of labor hours and the loaded hourly rates (both on- and off-site) for at least five specified labor categories for each year of the contract, basing their labor mix on a yearly budget of $10 million (less government estimated travel and other direct costs).