Mission Analytics, LLC (RFQ-24-011595)

B-423140 Dec 26, 2024 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Mission Analytics, LLC, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) of Falls Church, Virginia, protests the award of a contract to Sharp Electronics Co. (Sharp), of Montvale, New Jersey, conducted under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 24-011595, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health for multimedia devices for patient engagement and training. The protester contends that the RFQ should have been set aside for small businesses and that the agency's evaluation and resulting award decision were unreasonable. We dismiss the protest in part and deny it in part. View Decision Decision Matter of: Mission Analytics, LLC File: B-423140 Date: December 26, 2024 Michael Winters, for the protester. Brandon Dell’Aglio, Esq., and Jon J. Gottschalk, Esq., Department of Health and Human Services, for the agency. Suresh S. Boodram, Esq., and Evan D. Wesser, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest alleging that the solicitation should have been set aside for small business concerns is dismissed as untimely where the solicitation issued following the protester’s objections submitted in response to an earlier proposed sole-source award did not specify that it was set aside for small business concerns and the protester did not timely challenge the terms of the solicitation before the closing time for the submission of quotations. 2. Protest challenging the agency’s evaluation of quotations and source selection decision is denied where the agency’s evaluation and resulting award decision were consistent with the terms of the solicitation. DECISION Mission Analytics, LLC, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) of Falls Church, Virginia, protests the award of a contract to Sharp Electronics Co. (Sharp), of Montvale, New Jersey, conducted under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 24‑011595, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health for multimedia devices for patient engagement and training. The protester contends that the RFQ should have been set aside for small businesses and that the agency’s evaluation and resulting award decision were unreasonable. We dismiss the protest in part and deny it in part. BACKGROUND On September 4, 2024, the agency posted a notice of intent to issue a sole-source contract to Sharp on Sam.gov.[1] Agency Report (AR), Tab 2.1, Notice of Intent to Solicit Sole-Source. On September 10, the protester submitted to the agency objections to the notice challenging the agency’s decision to award a sole-source contract for the requirement. AR, Tab 2.2, Mission Analytics Comments. The protester further requested that the requirement be competitively solicited as a small business set-aside. Id. The agency responded to the protester the next day, and confirmed in two separate emails that the agency would cancel the notice of intent to issue a sole-source award and subsequently request a competitive quotation from the protester. AR, Tab 2.3, Agency Response to Objection at 1; Protest, exh. 3, Email from Agency, at 1. The agency subsequently cancelled the notice of intent to sole-source the requirement. On September 12, the agency emailed a statement of work (SOW) and the RFQ to three vendors, including the protester and awardee. AR, Tab 3.2, RFQ Email; Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) at 1. The RFQ did not indicate the procurement method or basis for award that the agency intended to use, nor did it indicate that the procurement had been set aside for small business concerns. However, the agency subsequently explained that because the anticipated value of the procurement was below the simplified acquisition threshold, the agency utilized the simplified commercial acquisition procedures of FAR part 13, the procurement was conducted on an unrestricted basis, and award was made on a lowest-price, technically acceptable (LPTA) basis. COS at 3; Memorandum of Law (MOL) at 2; Federal Procurement Database System (FPDS) Entry for Award No. 75N90024P00682, available at https://www.fpds.gov/common/jsp/LaunchWebPage.jspcommand=execute&reques… (last visited Dec. 16, 2024). Relevant to this protest, the initial SOW specified that “[t]raining is included for the lifetime of the agreement,” while also including under the heading “TRAINING” the indication of “N/A.” AR, Tab 3.2, Sept. 12 RFQ Email at 3. On September 12, the protester submitted questions to the agency which, in part, asked whether the RFQ was set aside for small businesses. AR, Tab 3.3, Email Questions at 1. The agency responded to some of the protester’s questions but did not specifically respond to the protester’s inquiry regarding whether the solicitation had been set aside for small business concerns.