Global Solutions Network, Inc., B-289342.4, March 26, 2002

B-289342.4 Mar 26, 2002 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Cancellation of solicitation in negotiated procurement is not objectionable where agency's changed requirements. Global contends that the contracting officer instead should have amended the solicitation and requested revised proposals. The technical proposal was to be evaluated under eight identified subfactors and was worth 62 of the total available 150 evaluation points. The NDC requirement was worth 50 points (i.e. Cost justification (8 points) were other factors for consideration. Offerors were advised to prepare their proposals in line with these point values which. Technical factors were to be more important than cost. Three offers were received in response to the RFP. An award was made to Phoenix Group. View Decision Global Solutions Network, Inc., B-289342.4, March 26, 2002 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Global Solutions Network, Inc. protests the cancellation of request for proposals (RFP) No. 3-JC-111-11, issued by the Department of Labor for Job Corps program services in the Washington, D.C. area. The protester contends that the cancellation lacks a reasonable basis; Global contends that the contracting officer instead should have amended the solicitation and requested revised proposals. We deny the protest. The Job Corps provides residential occupational training, education, counseling, career transitioning and other support services to young adults from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The RFP, a small business set-aside, contemplated the award of a contract for a 2-year base period with three 1-year options, for the operation of the Potomac Job Corps Center. The RFP also included a requirement for the development and operation of a National Development Center (NDC), a separate model center providing, among other things, Job Corps staff development training and internships, testing of new policy initiatives, development opportunities for potential small business center operators, and an informational visitors center. RFP at B-1, F-1, and G-6. The solicitation, as amended, included a restriction providing that the awardee under the RFP could not operate (or subcontract at) other centers until 1 year after the conclusion of the contract; operators/subcontractors at other centers also could not compete for the operations contract/subcontracts at the Potomac Job Corps Center. RFP at C-19; amend. 1. Section M of the RFP, as amended, provided the evaluation scheme for award. The technical proposal was to be evaluated under eight identified subfactors and was worth 62 of the total available 150 evaluation points; the NDC requirement was worth 50 points (i.e., one-third of the total available points); and past performance (25 points), staff qualifications (5 points), and cost justification (8 points) were other factors for consideration. Offerors were advised to prepare their proposals in line with these point values which, the RFP explained, indicated the importance of the various portions of the proposals. Technical factors were to be more important than cost. RFP at M-2, M-11. Three offers were received in response to the RFP. An award was made to Phoenix Group, Inc., the firm determined to have submitted the proposal most advantageous to the government. Global filed a protest with our Office challenging, among other things, the agency's failure to inform offerors of the basis upon which their NDC proposals would be evaluated. Global specifically questioned the agency's actions in increasing the point value of the NDC evaluation factor to equal one-third of the available evaluation points without providing any explanation or justification for the increased value. /1/ Global also challenged the evaluation of the past performance and cost proposals, the adequacy of discussions held with the firm, and the agency's alleged failure to perform a technical/cost tradeoff, and raised alleged conflicts of interest between agency personnel and the awardee. The agency reports that, while reviewing the procurement in response to the protest, it found merit in Global's protest of the RFP's evaluation terms regarding the NDC component of the RFP's requirements. The agency states that it concluded that it had failed to develop a clear idea of what it expected from the NDC and, as a result, decided that it would postpone creation of the NDC until a workable model was formulated. Accordingly, the agency concluded that amendment of the solicitation to include additional criteria related to the NDC was not a viable option. Rather, the agency decided to remove the NDC requirement from the Potomac Job Corps Center procurement and to resolicit later on the basis of its changed requirements. /2/ The agency terminated the Phoenix contract, cancelled the RFP, and issued a new solicitation, RFP No. 3-JC-212-11, for the operation of the Potomac Job Corps Center which eliminated any requirement for the NDC.