LinQuest Corporation (FA2518-22-R-0027)

B-422285,B-422285.2 Apr 11, 2024 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights LinQuest Corporation, of Herndon, Virginia, challenges its exclusion from the competitive range under request for proposal (RFP) No. FA2518-22-R-0027 issued by the United States Space Force for research and development support services for the Joint Navigation Warfare Center (JNWC) at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, and other designated locations. LinQuest argues that the agency erred in evaluating its proposal, conducted misleading discussions, and erred in excluding its proposal from the competitive range. 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: LinQuest Corporation File: B-422285; B-422285.2 Date: April 11, 2024 Kevin P. Mullen, Esq., Lyle Hedgecock, Esq., Krista Nunez, Esq., and Roke Iko, Esq., Morrison & Foerster LLP, for the protester. Colonel Patricia S. Wiegman-Lenz, Ledara Y. Clark, Esq., Lawrence M. Anderson, Esq., United States Air Force, and B. Eric Beckstrom, Esq., United States Space Force, for the agency. Michael Willems, Esq., and Evan D. Wesser, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Agency-level protest timely transmitted by electronic mail and received by the agency’s servers prior to the deadline for receipt of protests, but not ultimately received by the contracting officer, is nonetheless considered timely filed for purposes of establishing timeliness of a subsequent protest to our Office. 2. Protest of an agency’s decision to establish a revised competitive range excluding the protester is denied where the protester’s proposal remained technically unacceptable following voluminous discussions and the agency reasonably concluded that the protester’s proposal would require significant revision to become acceptable. DECISION LinQuest Corporation, of Herndon, Virginia, challenges its exclusion from the competitive range under request for proposal (RFP) No. FA2518-22-R-0027 issued by the United States Space Force for research and development support services for the Joint Navigation Warfare Center (JNWC) at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, and other designated locations. LinQuest argues that the agency erred in evaluating its proposal, conducted misleading discussions, and erred in excluding its proposal from the competitive range. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The agency issued the RFP on August 25, 2022, seeking to award a single indefinite‑delivery, indefinite‑quantity contract on the basis of a best-value tradeoff between technical factors and price. Agency Report (AR), Tab 1, Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) at 3; Tab 2, Memorandum of Law (MOL) at 2. The solicitation contemplated a two-phase evaluation. AR, Tab 16, Evaluation Factors for Award at 2. In the first phase, the RFP provided that offerors would submit a phase I proposal demonstrating expertise related to various requirements that would be evaluated on an acceptable/unacceptable basis. Id. Only offerors whose phase I proposals were found acceptable would be permitted to submit phase II proposals. Id. Phase II proposals would be evaluated on the basis of five factors: (1) scenarios/questions; (2) staffing plan; (3) phase-in plan; (4) small business participation; and (5) price and contract documents. Id. The RFP provided that factors three and four would be evaluated as either acceptable or unacceptable, and that factors one and two were of equal importance, and, when combined, were more important than factor 5. Id. The agency received five phase I proposals in response to the RFP, including one from LinQuest, all of which were found acceptable. MOL at 4. All five offerors submitted phase II proposals, and the agency subsequently established an initial competitive range including all five offerors. Id. at 5. The agency then opened discussions, and, relevant to this protest, the agency issued 59 evaluation notices (ENs) to LinQuest, addressing several weaknesses, significant weaknesses, and deficiencies. See AR, Tab 85, LinQuest ENs. The agency then conducted additional oral discussions to provide LinQuest an opportunity to ask questions about the ENs. MOL at 5. During those oral discussions agency officials expressed an intent to discuss each of the ENs, but the protester repeatedly said they were “good” and requested to proceed to the next EN, ultimately asking questions about only 11 of the 59 ENs.