Inserso Corporation

B-417791,B-417791.3 Nov 04, 2019 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Inserso Corporation, of Vienna, Virginia, protests the terms of request for quotations (RFQ) No. 1369887, issued by the Department of the Air Force for information technology (IT) and cybersecurity services. Inserso asserts that the agency is using lowest-priced, technically acceptable (LPTA) award criteria in violation of section 813(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2017, Pub. L. No. 114-328, 130 Stat. 2000, 2270-71 (2016) (codified at 10 U.S.C. § 2305 note), as amended by the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2018, Pub L. No. 115-91, § 822, 131 Stat. 1283, 1465 (2017) (section 813(c)). We deny the protest. We deny the protest. 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:  Inserso Corporation File:  B-417791, B-417791.3 Date:  November 4, 2019 Richard P. Rector, Esq., and Daniel J. Cook, Esq., DLA Piper LLP (US), for the protester. Colonel Patricia S. Wiegman-Lenz, and Christopher M. Judge, Esq., Department of the Air Force, for the agency. Mary G. Curcio, Esq., and Laura Eyester, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Solicitation for information technology services which provides for award based on a tradeoff between price and past performance does not violate statute which requires agencies of the Department of Defense to avoid using lowest-priced, technically acceptable award process or criteria to the maximum extent practicable.  DECISION Inserso Corporation, of Vienna, Virginia, protests the terms of request for quotations (RFQ) No. 1369887, issued by the Department of the Air Force for information technology (IT) and cybersecurity services.  Inserso asserts that the agency is using lowest-priced, technically acceptable (LPTA) award criteria in violation of section 813(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2017, Pub. L. No. 114-328, 130 Stat. 2000, 2270-71 (2016) (codified at 10 U.S.C. § 2305 note), as amended by the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2018, Pub L. No. 115-91, § 822, 131 Stat. 1283, 1465 (2017) (section 813(c)).  We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The agency issued the solicitation on July 9, 2019, to holders of the General Services Administration (GSA) 8(a) Streamlined Technology Acquisition Resources for Services (STARS) II contracts, which are multiple-award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts for various information technology services and service-based solutions.  The RFQ seeks quotations to provide personnel, services, and technical and management support to operate and maintain all functional servers and multi-user computer systems at several Air Force installations.  The RFQ contemplates the award of a fixed-price task order with a 1-year base period, three 1-year option periods, and one 6-month option period.  Agency Report (AR), Tab 7, RFQ, at 2, 62-66.  The solicitation provides that quotations will be evaluated using technical acceptability, past performance, and price factors.  RFQ at 2-6.  The technical acceptability factor contains two subfactors:  (1) management approach, and (2) staffing and retention plan.  Id. at 3-4.  The agency will first rank quotations according to price, from lowest to highest, and will evaluate the five lowest-priced quotations as either technically acceptable or unacceptable, reserving the right to evaluate additional quotations for technical acceptability if deemed to be in the best interest of the government.  Id. at 2-3.  The agency will evaluate only technically acceptable quotations under the past performance factor.  Id. at 5. Past performance is to be rated for recency, relevancy, and quality.  Id. at 5-6.  Past performance must be considered recent to be evaluated for relevancy and quality.  Id. at 5.  The RFQ states that relevancy will be evaluated as relevant or not relevant and quality will be assigned ratings of very good, satisfactory, neutral, or unsatisfactory.  Id. at 6.  Based on the evaluation of individual performance efforts, the agency will assign a performance confidence assessment rating of substantial confidence, satisfactory confidence, no confidence, or unknown confidence.  Id. at 6-7.  The RFQ also states that the agency will issue the task order on a best-value tradeoff basis, as follows: For this procurement, the Best Value determination will be made based on a tradeoff approach.  The Government will award a task order resulting from the RFQ to the responsible offeror whose quote is responsive to the RFQ, technically acceptable and considered to be [the] Best Value based upon a price/past performance trade-off. . .