B-297060, Symplicity Corporation, November 8, 2005

B-297060 Nov 08, 2005 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Symplicity Corporation protests the award of a contract to TMP Worldwide, Inc. (d/b/a Monster Government Solutions) issued by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) under request for proposals (RFP) No. OPM-RFP-04-00032MLJ to operate USAJOBS, an on-line federal employment information system. Symplicity challenges the evaluation of its proposal and the source selection decision. We deny the protest. View Decision B-297060, Symplicity Corporation, November 8, 2005 Decision Matter of: Symplicity Corporation File: B-297060 Date: November 8, 2005 Ariel M. Friedler, Esq., for the protester. R. Alan Miller, Esq., James S. Green, Esq., Kathie Ann Whipple, Esq., and Mark A. Robbins, Esq., Office of Personnel Management, for the agency. Sharon L. Larkin, Esq., and James A. Spangenberg, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Agency's selection of technically superior, higher priced proposal is reasonable, where record supports the agency's assessment of weaknesses in protester's proposal and determination that the lower risk associated with the technically superior proposal was worth the additional price. 2. Discussions were meaningful and not –too vague,— where agency raised weaknesses with the protester in sufficient detail to lead the firm into the areas of its proposal that required improvement or further clarification. DECISION Symplicity Corporation protests the award of a contract to TMP Worldwide, Inc. (d/b/a Monster Government Solutions) issued by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) under request for proposals (RFP) No. OPM-RFP-04-00032MLJ to operate USAJOBS, an on-line federal employment information system. Symplicity challenges the evaluation of its proposal and the source selection decision.[1] We deny the protest. BACKGROUND USAJOBS is an on-line employment information system that provides federal job seekers with searchable access to federal job vacancy listings and job announcements, on-line resume development, and links to information about the federal employment process. RFP, Statement of Work (SOW), sect. 1.3. It is the core of the –Recruitment One-Stop— project, an important e'government initiative of the President's management agenda, for which OPM is the –managing partner.— The original USAJOBS system was a federal government product that was developed, operated, and maintained by OPM employees. In January of 2003, OPM conducted a competition among private sector vendors and selected TMP for award of a contract to develop, operate, and maintain an enhanced USAJOBS system.[2] This procurement is for the follow-on contract to the prior award. The RFP sought a contractor to provide a USAJOBS system with the following capabilities: (1) Searchable access to Federal job vacancy listing and job announcements within the USAJOBS website, StudentJobs website, through USAJOBS by Phone, and on individual agency recruiting sites and pages; (2) E-mail notice of job matching; (3) On-line resume development, storage, and submission integrated with the full range of automated staffing and hiring systems operating across the Federal Government; (4) On-line application status tracking integrated with agency side automated staffing and hiring tools; (5) Employer services for job posting, job announcement creation, and resume database mining accessible via the USAJOBS user interface or through integration; and (6) Content and links to information about the Federal employment process and other Government websites. Id. sect. 1.4. The solicitation contemplated award of a fixed-price contract for a base year with four 1-year options. The evaluation was to be conducted using Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12 for commercial items. Award was to be made on a best'value basis, considering the following factors: (1) overall technical capability (including past performance), (2) pricing, and (3) small business subcontracting plan. Technical capability was said to be –the paramount factor,— but the other factors were –also important to the overall contract award decision.— The technical capability factor included four subfactors, listed in descending order of importance: (1) soundness of proposed technical approach and methodology for accomplishing the defined tasks and meeting the performance standards, (2) management plan and capabilities, (3) past performance, and (4) value of enhancements proposed for USAJOBS. RFP, Art. A.25. The RFP incorporated by reference FAR sect. 52.219-9 with Alternate II (Oct. 2001) for the evaluation of the small business subcontracting plan. RFP, Art.