NOVAD Management Consulting, LLC (86614920R00007)

B-419194.9 Sep 30, 2022 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights NOVAD Management Consulting, LLC (NOVAD), a small business of Landover, Maryland, requests that our Office recommend the agency reimburse it for the reasonable costs of filing and pursuing a protest of the award of a contract by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to Compu-Link Corporation, doing business as Celink, of Lansing, Michigan, under request for proposals (RFP) No. 86614920R00007 for reverse mortgage loan services. The protester challenged the agency's evaluation of proposals, conduct of discussions, and best-value tradeoff. The protester also argued that the agency insufficiently addressed an organizational conflict of interest (OCI) on the part of Celink. After our Office advised the parties during an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) conference that GAO likely would sustain the protest, the agency stated that it would take corrective action, and we dismissed the protest as academic. The request is granted in part and denied 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: NOVAD Management Consulting, LLC File: B-419194.9 Date: September 30, 2022 Gunjan R. Talati, Esq., Jennifer L. Andrews, Esq., and Jamie C. Lipsitz, Esq., Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, and Marlon Griffith, Esq., The Griffith Law Group PLLC, for the protester. Julie Holvik, Esq., Justin D. Haselden, Esq., and Julie K. Cannatti, Esq., Department of Housing and Urban Development, for the agency. Nathaniel S. Canfield, Esq., Michael A. Willems, Esq., and Evan D. Wesser, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Request that GAO recommend reimbursement of protest costs is granted in part where the agency unduly delayed taking corrective action in response to clearly meritorious protest arguments, and denied in part where other protest grounds were not clearly meritorious and are readily severable. DECISION NOVAD Management Consulting, LLC (NOVAD), a small business of Landover, Maryland, requests that our Office recommend the agency reimburse it for the reasonable costs of filing and pursuing a protest of the award of a contract by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to Compu‑Link Corporation, doing business as Celink, of Lansing, Michigan, under request for proposals (RFP) No. 86614920R00007 for reverse mortgage loan services. The protester challenged the agency’s evaluation of proposals, conduct of discussions, and best‑value tradeoff. The protester also argued that the agency insufficiently addressed an organizational conflict of interest (OCI) on the part of Celink. After our Office advised the parties during an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) conference that GAO likely would sustain the protest, the agency stated that it would take corrective action, and we dismissed the protest as academic. The request is granted in part and denied in part. BACKGROUND The agency issued the RFP on August 27, 2020, on an unrestricted basis. Agency Report, Tab 2, RFP at 1d.[1] The RFP anticipated the award of a single fixed‑price contract, with reimbursable contract line items, for a base year and four 1-year option periods. RFP at 14. The solicitation contemplated that award would be made on a best‑value tradeoff basis, considering the following evaluation factors: technical approach; quality control plan; management plan; past performance; socioeconomic participation; and price. Id. at 155‑61. The non‑price factors were of equal importance and, when combined, were significantly more important than price. Id. at 161. Relevant here, the RFP required offerors to submit a technical approach demonstrating, among other things, logical and feasible methods for meeting the requirements of the performance work statement (PWS), and a labor mix and level of effort with labor categories and number of hours for each labor category. Id. at 145. The agency would evaluate how well each proposal demonstrated logical and feasible methods for meeting the PWS requirements, as well as how well the proposed labor mix was based upon reasonable assumptions and was consistent with PWS requirements and the proposed technical approach. Id. at 156. With respect to the socioeconomic participation factor, the RFP required offerors to include letters of commitment from all subcontractors proposed to perform more than 10 percent of the total cost of labor. Id. at 147‑48. Among the information required to be included in each letter was an identification of the work or professional service disciplines to be provided, as well as any key personnel who would provide support under the subcontract. Id.