B-298766, R&D Dynamics Corporation, December 11, 2006

B-298766 Dec 11, 2006 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights R&D Dynamics Corp. (RDDC) protests the decision of the Department of the Army not to fund its Phase II proposal under the Department of Defense (DOD) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program solicitation No. FY06.1. We deny the protest. View Decision B-298766, R&D Dynamics Corporation, December 11, 2006 DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: R&D Dynamics Corporation File: B-298766 Date: December 11, 2006 William T. Welch, Esq., Barton, Baker, McMahon & Tolle, LLP, for the protester. Vera Meza, Esq., U.S. Army Materiel Command, 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 Protester's challenge to agency's decision not to fund its proposal under Phase II of a solicitation issued under the Department of Defense Small Business Innovation Research program is denied, where the agency reasonably evaluated the protester's proposal and ranked it 21st out of 34 proposals received, and funding was available only for the 19 highest ranked proposals. DECISION R&D Dynamics Corp. (RDDC) protests the decision of the Department of the Army not to fund its Phase II proposal under the Department of Defense (DOD) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program solicitation No. FY06.1. We deny the protest. The SBIR program is conducted pursuant to the Small Business Innovation Development Act, 15 U.S.C. sect. 638 (2004), which requires certain federal agencies to reserve a portion of their research and development funds for awards to small businesses. In addition to advancing the role of small businesses and the participation of minority and disadvantaged persons in research and development, the objectives of DOD's SBIR program include stimulating technological innovation in DOD's critical technology area and increasing the commercial application of DOD'supported research and development results. The program has the following three phases: Phase I is to determine the scientific, technical, and commercial merit of ideas; Phase II is the principal research and development effort resulting in a well'defined, deliverable prototype; and in Phase III, the small business seeks to obtain private and public funding to develop the prototype into a viable commercial product for sale to military and/or private sector markets. Only those firms that are awarded Phase I contracts are eligible to participate in Phases II and III. Solicitation No. FY05.2, paras. 1.1, 1.2.[1] The Phase I solicitation included Army –Topic— No. A05-035, –Revolutionary Non'Contacting Gas Path Seals for Improved Turbine Engine Performance.— The objective of this topic was to –[d]esign and develop innovative, non-contacting, compliant gas path seals that improve turbine engine performance for military and commercial jet engine applications.— Supplemental Agency Report (SAR) (Nov. 13, 2006), encl. 2. RDDC received a Phase I award under this topic for its Phase I proposal, –Foil Face Seal for Advanced Gas Turbine Engines.— On March 7, 2006, RDDC and other Phase I contractors were invited by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory to submit a proposal for Phase II. Contracting Officer's Statement at 3; Agency Report (AR), Tab E. These Phase II proposals were considered for award in the Army's –Advanced Propulsion Technologies— technology area. Contracting Officer's Statement at 4. The Phase II proposals were to be evaluated for –overall technical merit— based on the following three factors, listed in descending order of importance: 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. Qualifications include not only the ability to perform the research and development but also the ability to commercialize the results. c. The potential for commercial (Government or private sector) application and the benefits expected to accrue from this commercialization. AR, Tab G, Solicitation No. FY06.1 Evaluation Criteria. Other factors that could be considered in the Phase II selection process include a commitment for Phase III follow-on funding, the possible duplication with other research or research and development, program balance, budget limitations, and the potential of a successful Phase II effort leading to a product of continuing interest to DOD. Id. The evaluation was conducted in two –tiers.— First, a technical evaluation team (TET), consisting of personnel representing participating organizations, performed a technical assessment and forwarded the –best— proposals for a second level of review.