Veterans2Work, Inc.

B-416935 Jan 09, 2019 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Veterans2Work, Inc. (V2W), of Novato, California, protests the award of a contract to Predictive Index Arizona, Inc., of Scottsdale, Arizona, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 36C250-18-Q-9856, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for services to support the Perfect Match program at the Chillicothe VA Medical Center. The protester argues that, in lieu of procuring the services competitively, the agency should have awarded a sole-source contract to the protester. The protester also objects to the agency's decision to award the contract on a lowest-priced, technically acceptable (LPTA) basis. Finally, V2W objects to the agency's alleged use of V2W's work as the basis for the solicitation's statement of work. We dismiss the protest in part and deny it in part. We dismiss the protest in part and deny it in part. View Decision Decision Matter of:  Veterans2Work, Inc. File:  B-416935 Date:  January 9, 2019 John Reynolds for the protester. Melody A. Goldberg, Esq., and Donald C. Mobly, Esq., Department of Veterans Affairs, for the agency. Elizabeth Witwer, Esq., and Jennifer D. Westfall-McGrail, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1.Protest challenging the terms of the solicitation and the ground rules under which the competition was conducted is dismissed as untimely where the protest was filed after the award of the contract. 2.Protest alleging that the agency improperly released the company’s sensitive information as part of the solicitation is denied where the record reflects that the protester offered to provide the information to the agency for the express purpose of including the information in the solicitation’s statement of work. DECISION Veterans2Work, Inc. (V2W), of Novato, California, protests the award of a contract to Predictive Index Arizona, Inc., of Scottsdale, Arizona, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 36C250-18-Q-9856, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for services to support the Perfect Match program at the Chillicothe VA Medical Center.  The protester argues that, in lieu of procuring the services competitively, the agency should have awarded a sole-source contract to the protester.  The protester also objects to the agency’s decision to award the contract on a lowest-priced, technically acceptable (LPTA) basis.  Finally, V2W objects to the agency’s alleged use of V2W’s work as the basis for the solicitation’s statement of work.[1] We dismiss the protest in part and deny it in part. BACKGROUND The VA issued the RFQ on September 14, 2018, using the commercial acquisition procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12 and the simplified acquisition procedures of part 13.  RFQ at 1, 25; Agency Req. for Dismissal, Oct. 17, 2018, at 2.  The RFQ sought quotations to assist the VA Medical Center in Chillicothe, Ohio, to develop a program referred to as the Perfect Match program.  RFQ at 22.  The purpose of the Perfect Match program is to create job profiles for eight designated VA career fields that will assist the VA in identifying veterans who have the necessary personal skills to be successful in those career fields.[2]  Id.  The statement of work (SOW) requires the contractor to administer an aptitude test to high-performing VA employees currently working in the designated career fields in order to identify qualities and traits--apart from experience and education--that contribute to success in the respective career field.  Id. at 23.  Based on the results of the aptitude test, the contractor is required to create a job profile for each career field, which can be used by the VA to identify veterans who possess the necessary personal skills to be successful in the career field, even where the candidate may lack the necessary experience and education.  Id. at 22-23; Agency Resp. to GAO Request for Information (RFI), Nov. 2, 2018, at 1‑2.  The stated objective of the Perfect Match program is to match a veteran candidate with a VA career field based upon personal skills.  RFQ at 22; Agency Resp. to GAO RFI, Nov. 2, 2018, at 1-2. The Perfect Match program was developed through the VA’s Spark-Seed-Spread Innovation Funding Program, which provides three tiers of funding to support different levels of innovation efforts.  Agency Resp. to GAO RFI, Nov.