Lynch Consultants, LLC (47QFDA23Q0009)

B-421713.2,B-421713.3 Nov 02, 2023 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Lynch Consultants, LLC, of Arlington, Virginia, a small business, protests the issuance of a multiple award schedule order to 11th Hour Search, LLC, of Falls Church, Virginia, also a small business, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 47QFDA23Q0009, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA), Federal Acquisition Service, for professional financial support services for the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, in Bethesda, Maryland. Lynch argues that GSA lacked a valid basis to take corrective action in response to an earlier protest, misevaluated the quotations, and made an unreasonable source selection decision. We deny the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. No party requested redactions; we are therefore releasing the decision in its entirety. Decision Matter of: Lynch Consultants, LLC File: B-421713.2; B-421713.3 Date: November 2, 2023 Richard D. Kelley, Esq., Allison K. Riddle, Esq., and Harrison J. Clinton, Esq., Bean Kinney & Korman, PC, for the protester. Jonathan T. Williams, Esq., Katherine B. Burrows, Esq., James N. Rhodes, Esq., and Annie B. Hudgins, Esq., Piliero Mazza PLLC, for 11th Hour Search, LLC, the intervenor. Luis Then, Esq., and Maria DiGiovanni, Esq., General Services Administration, for the agency. Paul N. Wengert, Esq., and Tania Calhoun, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST In a competition for a multiple award schedule task order, protest that the agency misevaluated the protester’s quotation and made an unreasonable source selection decision is denied where the evaluation and best-value tradeoff were reasonable and consistent with the solicitation. DECISION Lynch Consultants, LLC, of Arlington, Virginia, a small business, protests the issuance of a multiple award schedule order to 11th Hour Search, LLC, of Falls Church, Virginia, also a small business, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 47QFDA23Q0009, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA), Federal Acquisition Service, for professional financial support services for the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, in Bethesda, Maryland. Lynch argues that GSA lacked a valid basis to take corrective action in response to an earlier protest, misevaluated the quotations, and made an unreasonable source selection decision. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND GSA issued the RFQ on December 16, 2022, to obtain quotations from service-disabled veteran-owned small business vendors for issuance of a schedule task order under the procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 8.4, Federal Supply Schedules. The RFQ provided specific instructions for vendors whose quotations proposed schedule contractor teaming arrangements, and separate instructions for those proposing subcontracting arrangements. For subcontracting arrangements, the RFQ directed the vendor to “clearly describe . . . the subcontractor’s experience and technical capabilities,” and to “clearly detail its prime/subcontractor agreement(s) . . . the type and extent of work to be performed by the proposed subcontractor(s)” and “clearly delineate” the subcontractors’ “roles and responsibilities.” Agency Report (AR), Tab 3, RFQ amend. 4 at 52. The RFQ also advised the vendor to provide a technical and management approach that would “ensure its subcontractors will provide high quality services, adhere to professional and privacy standards, and perform excellent customer services” under the RFQ requirements. Id. Quotations were to be evaluated under three non-price factors, in descending order of importance: corporate experience, management approach, and key personnel. Id. at 60. The management approach factor evaluation, the only one at issue here, would assess whether the vendor demonstrated a complete understanding of the requirement and the capacity to successfully manage multiple work streams that deliver requirements iteratively and incrementally throughout the life cycle of the task order, and its “approach to managing client/end user’s expectation with the ideal labor mix.” Id. at 61. Price would be assessed for fairness and reasonableness; a total price would be calculated as the sum of prices for the base period and option years. Id. at 63. The RFQ identified four potential adjectival ratings for evaluation of quotations under the management approach factor. The highest rating, excellent, represented a quotation that was high quality, met all requirements, exceeded “some or many requirements,” showed a “thorough understanding of the requirements,” and its risk of unsuccessful performance was “very low.” Id.