Stargates, Inc. (N0016420R3003)

B-419349,B-419349.2,B-419349.3 Jan 22, 2021 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Stargates, Inc., of Arlington, Virginia, a small business, protests the Department of the Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command's issuance of a SeaPort Next Generation task order to KMS Solutions, LLC, of Middletown, Rhode Island, also a small business, pursuant to request for proposals (RFP) No. N0016420R3003, for non-personal, system engineering and technical assistance (SETA) support services. Stargates challenges the Navy's evaluation of the technical and cost proposals and contends that the best-value tradeoff and source selection decision was unreasonable. 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:  Stargates, Inc. File:  B-419349; B-419349.2; B-419349.3 Date:  January 22, 2021 Jonathan D. Shaffer, Esq., and Daniel H. Ramish, Esq., Smith Pachter McWhorter PLC, for the protester. Toya Davis, Esq., and Timothy J. Stecker, Esq., Department of the Navy, for the agency. Heather Weiner, 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 agency’s evaluation of proposals is denied where the evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the terms of the solicitation. 2.  Protest that the awardee engaged in an improper “bait and switch” is denied where the record contains no evidence that the awardee did not intend to staff the task order with the proposed key personnel. DECISION Stargates, Inc., of Arlington, Virginia, a small business, protests the Department of the Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command’s issuance of a SeaPort Next Generation task order to KMS Solutions, LLC, of Middletown, Rhode Island, also a small business, pursuant to request for proposals (RFP) No. N0016420R3003, for non-personal, system engineering and technical assistance (SETA) support services.  Stargates challenges the Navy’s evaluation of the technical and cost proposals and contends that the best‑value tradeoff and source selection decision was unreasonable.  We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The RFP, issued January 24, 2020, sought task order proposals from small businesses holding contracts under the Navy’s SeaPort Next Generation multiple-award task order contract to provide a variety of information technology support services under a single cost-plus-fixed-fee task order, for a base year and four 1-year options.  Agency Report (AR), Encl. 2, RFP, at 2.  The solicitation sought SETA services in support of the Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems (IWS) Major Program Manager for Undersea Systems (referred to as “IWS 5.0”).  RFP at 9. The solicitation provided for award on a best-value tradeoff basis, considering the following three non-cost factors, in descending order of importance:  technical and management, staffing plan and personnel, and past performance.  RFP at 112.  The technical and past performance factors were more important than cost, but the solicitation advised that cost could become more important in the tradeoff analysis as the difference between the non-cost factors became closer.  Id.  The technical/ management factor consisted of two sub-elements:  technical capabilities and understanding of the work, and management approach.  Id.  The staffing plan and personnel factor also consisted of two sub-elements:  staffing plan (without cost) and personnel requirements.  Id.  The RFP described the agency’s requirements in a statement of work (SOW).  As relevant here, under the technical/management factor, the solicitation included a hypothetical technical scenario that required offerors to demonstrate their technical expertise and how they would support IWS 5.0 in such a situation.  RFP at 98.  As part of the response to the technical scenario, the solicitation required offerors to “identify how their proposed support in this scenario would be broken out among the twenty-eight (28) discrete elements of the SOW[.]” Id. The Navy received timely task order proposals from two offerors, KMS and Stargates.[1]  Contracting Officer Statement (COS) at 1.  The final evaluation ratings and costs of Stargates’s and KMS’s proposals were as follows:   STARGATES KMS Technical/Management Good Acceptable Staffing Plan & Personnel Good Good Past Performance Substantial Confidence Satisfactory Confidence Total Evaluated Cost $71,621,046 $52,536,654   AR, Encl.