MacAulay-Brown, Inc.

B-417159 Mar 13, 2019 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights MacAulay-Brown, Inc., of Dayton, Ohio, protests the award of a contract to Parsons Government Services Inc., of Pasadena, California, under request for proposals (RFP) No. W52P1J-19-R-0014, issued by the Department of the Army, for defensive cyberspace operations mission planning. MacAulay contends that the Army misevaluated its proposal, failed to conduct a price realism analysis, made an irrational best-value determination, and improperly used Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 13.5 procedures. 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: MacAulay-Brown, Inc. File: B-417159 Date: March 13, 2019 Jason A. Carey, Esq., J. Hunter Bennett, Esq., and Brooke G. Stanley, Esq., Covington & Burling, LLP, for the protester. Debra J. Talley, Esq., and Erica A. Harder Smith, Esq., Department of the Army, for the agency. Paula J. Haurilesko, Esq., and Laura Eyester, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest that the agency improperly assessed a deficiency to the protester's proposal is denied, where the agency reasonably concluded that the proposal did not substantively address a solicitation requirement. DECISION MacAulay-Brown, Inc., of Dayton, Ohio, protests the award of a contract to Parsons Government Services Inc., of Pasadena, California, under request for proposals (RFP) No. W52P1J-19-R-0014, issued by the Department of the Army, for defensive cyberspace operations mission planning. MacAulay contends that the Army misevaluated its proposal, failed to conduct a price realism analysis, made an irrational best-value determination, and improperly used Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 13.5 procedures. We deny the protest in part and dismiss it in part. BACKGROUND The RFP provided for the award of a fixed-price contract to provide a mission execution framework that provides a real-time, dynamic network environment for cyber defenders to collaborate, understand, plan, manage, and execute defensive cyberspace operations missions.1 AR, Tab 2, RFP, at 2. The RFP contemplated a 5-year period of performance. AR, Tab 3, Statement of Work (SOW), at 6. The RFP provided for award to the offeror whose offer represents the best value to the government based on an integrated assessment of an oral presentation, technical/management approach, and price. AR, Tab 11, RFP amend.1, attach. 3, Evaluation Factors for Award, at 1, 3. The oral presentation was significantly more important than the other two evaluation factors and technical/management approach was slightly more important than price. Id. at 3. The RFP advised offerors that any offer that was evaluated as unacceptable in terms of any of the evaluation factors might be rejected. Id. at 4. In addition, the RFP advised that any significant inconsistency between the offeror's oral presentation, technical/management approach, and proposed price, if unexplained in the offer, might be grounds for rejection of the offer as a result of the offeror's misunderstanding of the work required or an inability to perform any resultant work under the contract. Id. The RFP stated that, under the technical/management approach factor, the agency would evaluate each offeror's methodology and approach to implementation of the solicitation requirements to ensure, among other things, that it is realistic and feasible, and that it will ensure minimum interruptions to installation operations caused by network outages. Id. at 6. In this regard, with respect to software infrastructure requirements, the RFP provided for a continuity of operations program (COOP) as follows: The Contractor shall deliver subject matter expertise to support multiple armories in the event that COOP is implemented and services are moved to the backup location. Contractor support shall involve assisting in the performance of the responsibilities of the armory personnel to include System Administrator (SA)/[Defense Base Act (DBA)] responsibilities. The Contractor shall ensure that COOP servers are maintained at the proper level and that all cybersecurity controls are in place. The Contractor shall ensure specific duties/responsibilities and alternate work locations will be outlined in the [Defense Cyberspace Operations (DCO) standard operating procedures (SOP)] documentation ([to be determined]). AR, Tab 3, SOW, at 17-18. The RFP also provided a list of 13 COOP tasks for which the contractor would be responsible. Id. at 18. The Army received proposals from seven offerors, including MacAulay and Parsons. AR, Tab 35, Source Selection Decision Memorandum, at 3.