ProSphere Tek, Inc.

B-410898 Mar 10, 2015 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Akira Technologies, Inc., of Washington, D.C., a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small business, protests the terms of request for proposals (RFP) No. VA118-15-R-0558, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for information technology (IT) services. We dismiss the protest in part and deny it in part. We dismiss the protest in part and deny it in part. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This version, with no redactions, has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:      Akira Technologies, Inc. File:                B-410898 Date:              March 10, 2015 Christopher R. Shiplett, Esq., Randolph Law, PLLC, for the protester. Desiree A. DiCorcia, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agency. Brent Burris, Esq., and Edward Goldstein, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1.  Protest arguing that solicitation should have been set aside for small businesses is dismissed as untimely because the face of the solicitation clearly established that awards were being reserved, not set aside, for small businesses, and the protester did not raise this grounds for protest until after the closing time for receipt of proposals. 2.  Protest that agency acted unreasonably when it did not reserve awards for HUBZone small business concerns is denied where the record shows that the agency’s reserve strategy was reasonable and in accordance with applicable regulations. DECISION Akira Technologies, Inc., of Washington, D.C., a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small business, protests the terms of request for proposals (RFP) No. VA118-15-R-0558, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for information technology (IT) services.  We dismiss the protest in part and deny it in part. BACKGROUND The RFP, issued on November 19, 2014, anticipates the award of up to 20 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts, each with a five-year base period and one, five-year option period.  RFP at 19.  The RFP seeks total IT services solutions, including the following major functional areas:  program management, strategy, enterprise architecture and planning; systems/software engineering; software technology demonstration and transition; test and evaluation; independent verification and validation; enterprise network; enterprise management framework; operations and maintenance; cyber security; training; IT facilities; and other solutions encompassing the entire range of IT requirements for the agency.  Id. at 16.  The RFP establishes a maximum total value of $22.3 billion for all orders placed under the awarded contracts, to include the base and option period.  Id. at 11.    As relevant here, the RFP provides that the VA intends to award up to 20 contracts, with four of those awards reserved for Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business concerns (SDVOSBs), four additional awards reserved for SDVOSBs or Veteran Owned Small Business concerns (VOSBs),[1] and four more awards reserved for small business concerns generally (i.e., without regard to socioeconomic status).  Id. at 120.  As discussed more fully below, the reserve strategy employed by the VA in the RFP is pursuant to section 1331 of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which provides agencies the discretion to reserve one or more contract awards for small business concerns when using full and open competition in a multiple-award procurement.  Pub. L. No. 111-240, 124 Stat. 2504 (codified at 15 U.S.C. § 644(r)(3)); see also Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) § 19.502-4(a) (implementing the Small Business Jobs Act provision regarding reservation of awards for small businesses); 13 C.F.R.