MiMoCloud ()

B-419482 Mar 25, 2021 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights MiMoCloud, a small business located in College Park, Maryland, protests the Department of the Army's rejection of the phase I proposal it submitted in response to the Department of Defense's (DOD) Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program broad agency announcement (BAA) topic number A20B-T024, for a soldier borne radar detector. The protester asserts that the agency unreasonably evaluated its proposal. We deny the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of:  MiMoCloud File:  B-419482 Date:  March 25, 2021 Tejbir Phool for the protester. Brian Weber, Esq., and Matthew R. Wilson, Esq., Department of the Army, for the agency. Mary G. Curcio, Esq., and Jonathan L. Kang, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest that the agency unreasonably rejected the protester’s phase l proposal submitted in response to a Small Business Technology Transfer solicitation is denied where agency evaluation did not violate solicitation or procurement regulations and was otherwise reasonable. DECISION   MiMoCloud, a small business located in College Park, Maryland, protests the Department of the Army’s rejection of the phase I proposal it submitted in response to the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program broad agency announcement (BAA) topic number A20B-T024, for a soldier borne radar detector.  The protester asserts that the agency unreasonably evaluated its proposal.  We deny the protest. BACKGROUND STTR is a government-funded program that solicits proposals, in three phases, from domestic small business concerns to engage in federal research and research and development.  Agencies use the STTR program to award contracts or grants to small business concerns that are participating in cooperative research and development.  See 15 U.S.C. § 638(e)(6). In phase I (project feasibility), the agency evaluates the scientific, technical and commercial merit of the ideas submitted.  Agency Report (AR), Tab 4, BAA at 6.  In phase II (technology development), major research and development is funded to develop projects into technology to support the warfighter.  Id.  In phase III (commercialization), small businesses are expected to obtain non-STTR government or private funding to transition phase II technologies into a product or service for the government and commercial marketplace.[1]  Id.  The protest here concerns a phase I funding decision.  Contracting Officer’s Statement and Memorandum of Law (COS/MOL) at 6.  The period of performance for a funded contract is generally between six to twelve months with twelve months being the maximum period allowable.  BAA at 6. DOD issued the BAA on May 6, 2020.[2]  COS/MOL at 2.  As relevant here, the solicitation anticipated the award of a phase I contract for responding to Army topic number A20B-T024, soldier borne radar detector, for the development of a radar early warning receiver for the dismounted soldier’s uniform, armor, or battle kit that identifies and locates a ground surveillance radar (GSR) threat.  BAA at 92.  The solicitation described the requirement as follows: Phase I must show the feasibility of the technical approach through a demonstration of the preliminary designs including breadboard or demonstration board of electronic components, signal processing, electronic integration with uniform, armor, or soldier kit, and detailed plans for placement as well as size, weight and power.  The sensor should capture sufficient information to identify GSR system from a library of waveforms.  It must also be able to find angle of arrival and estimate of the location relative the user.  The system must perform for [GSR] signals in the X and Ku Bands (8-18 GHz).  It is not necessary to demonstrate the integration of the technology into a complete system, however, the planned technical approach and feasibility for system integration for Phase II must be included.  Id. at 92-93. As relevant here, the solicitation required offerors to submit a statement of work for phase I which addressed the following: Provide an explicit, detailed description of the Phase I approach. . . .  The Statement of Work should indicate what tasks are planned, how and where the work will be conducted, a schedule of major events, and the final product(s) to be delivered.  The Phase I effort should attempt to determine the technical feasibility of the proposed concept. The methods planned to achieve each objective or task should be discussed explicitly and in detail. Id.