ACI Technologies, Inc.

B-417011 Jan 17, 2019 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights ACI Technologies, Inc., of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a small business, protests the issuance of solicitation No. N00164-18-9-0001 by the Department of the Navy, Naval Surface Warfare Center, with the intent of entering into an other transaction agreement (OTA) for prototype projects. The protester argues that the solicitation anticipates performance of work that is not related to prototype projects and is therefore outside the agency's statutory authority for OTAs, and that the solicitation improperly provides for work that duplicates existing research. We deny the protest in part and dismiss it in part. We deny the protest in part and dismiss it in part. View Decision 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: ACI Technologies, Inc. File: B-417011 Date: January 17, 2019 H. Todd Whay, Esq., The Whay Law Firm, for the protester. D. Randall Kemplin, Esq., Christopher A. Monsey, Esq., and Eric VanWiltenburg, Esq., Department of the Navy, for the agency. Jonathan L. Kang, Esq., and Laura Eyester, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging the issuance of a solicitation that anticipates selection of a consortium to enter into an other transaction agreement (OTA) for prototype projects is denied in part and dismissed in part where the anticipated work is within the agency's statutory authority to enter into OTAs, and where the protester fails to provide adequate factual support for its contention that the work is duplicative of existing research. DECISION ACI Technologies, Inc., of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a small business, protests the issuance of solicitation No. N00164-18-9-0001 by the Department of the Navy, Naval Surface Warfare Center, with the intent of entering into an other transaction agreement (OTA) for prototype projects. The protester argues that the solicitation anticipates performance of work that is not related to prototype projects and is therefore outside the agency's statutory authority for OTAs, and that the solicitation improperly provides for work that duplicates existing research. We deny the protest in part and dismiss it in part. BACKGROUND The Navy issued the solicitation on September 12, 2018, seeking proposals for the establishment of an OTA with a consortium of contractors who will support the agency's Strategic & Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S2MARTS) initiative. Agency Report (AR), Tab 1, Special Announcement, at 2, 5; Tab 2, Combined Solicitation and Synopsis, at 2.1 The solicitation was issued under the authority of 10 U.S.C. § 2371b, which, as discussed below, authorizes the secretary of a military department to enter into OTAs for prototype projects. The S2MARTS initiative seeks to obtain "innovative technological solutions to address current and future security threats in the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS), trusted microelectronics, and strategic missions hardware environments." AR, Tab 2, Special Announcement, at 2. The agency states that the objectives of the OTA include: "developing a relationship with industry and academia to establish streamlined processes for obtaining innovative, State-of-the-Art (SOTA) technologies," and "establishing an agile and collaborative working relationship amongst the Government and academia/industry." Id. The solicitation states that the agency will select a firm to act as the manager of a consortium of "entities possessing significant technical capabilities to meet Government needs" with regard to prototype projects. Id. The consortium manager will "run the day-to-day operations of the Consortium, solicit and sustain Consortium members, assist Consortium members with proposal preparation, and facilitate financial transactions between the Government and the Consortium or individual Consortium members." Id. The agency advises that "[f]or proposal purposes only, an Offeror should assume 13 - 20 projects per year with a total estimate of $350 [million] for the first five years of operation." AR, Tab 3, Solicitation Revision, at 2. As discussed below, the solicitation identifies 21 technology areas that are "of current, specific interest" under the S2MARTS program. AR, Tab 4, Technology Areas Attachment, at 2. As relevant to this protest, ACI was awarded an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract by the Navy on April 27, 2016, for support of the Navy Electronics Manufacturing Center of Excellence (NEMCOE). Protest at 4. The contract was awarded under the Department of Defense (DoD) Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) program, which is authorized by 10 U.S.C. § 2521(a). See Contracting Officer's Statement/Memorandum of Law (COS/MOL) at 5.