Manutek Inc. (1305M425R0001)

B-423476.2,B-423476.4 Jan 08, 2026 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Manutek Inc., of Canton, Michigan, protests the award of multiple indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts to other firms under request for proposals (RFP) No. 1305M425R0001, issued by the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), for professional, scientific, and technical services. Manutek argues that the agency unreasonably evaluated its proposal and improperly made the selection decision. We deny the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of: Manutek Inc. File: B-423476.2; B-423476.4 Date: January 8, 2026 Manohar Gaddam for the protester. Jillian Stern, Esq., Andrew Parker Frank, Esq., and Lauren Williams, Esq., Department of Commerce, for the agency. Todd C. Culliton, Esq., and Tania Calhoun, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest that the agency unreasonably evaluated the protester's proposal and improperly made the selection decision is denied where the record shows that the evaluation and selection decision were consistent with the terms of the solicitation and the proposal's contents. DECISION Manutek Inc., of Canton, Michigan, protests the award of multiple indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts to other firms under request for proposals (RFP) No. 1305M425R0001, issued by the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), for professional, scientific, and technical services. Manutek argues that the agency unreasonably evaluated its proposal and improperly made the selection decision. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On October 15, 2024, NOAA issued the RFP to procure professional, scientific, and technical services using the procedures set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 15, Contracting by Negotiation. Agency Report (AR), Tab 1, RFP at 8.[1] This acquisition, known as the ProTech 2.0--Weather Domain, solicits services under four agency domains (i.e., satellite, fisheries, ocean, and weather).[2] Id. at 15. The RFP contemplated a multiple-award IDIQ contract (between 10 and 25 awardees) that allows for the issuance of commercial and non‑commercial task orders on fixed-price, cost‑reimbursement, time-and-materials, and labor-hour bases. Id. at 15, 130. Orders would be placed over a 5‑year base period and a 5-year option period. Id. at 15. The ceiling value for all orders placed is $8 billion. Id. Awards would be made to the highest technically rated offerors (HTRO) with fair and reasonable pricing. AR, Tab 2, RFP, amend. 1 at 131. Nonprice factors included the following (listed in descending order of importance): demonstrated technical experience, management approach, and past performance. Id. Proposals were to be submitted in two phases with an advisory recommendation provided after the first phase. Id. at 122 During phase one, offerors would submit administrative information and a technical experience self-assessment matrix. RFP, amend. 1 at 121-122. As part of phase two, offerors would provide information validating their technical experience, reference contracts demonstrating past performance, and cost/price information, as well as conduct an oral presentation discussing their management approaches. Id. at 113. Forty-four offerors, including Manutek, submitted phase one proposals prior to the October 30, 2024, deadline. Contracting Officer's Statement (COS) at 4. NOAA evaluated the proposals, and advised 30 offerors, including Manutek, to proceed to phase two. AR, Tab 8, Business Clearance Memorandum (BCM) at 8. Thirty-one offerors, including Manutek, submitted phase two proposals prior to the December 13, 2024, closing date. AR, Tab 8, BCM at 8; COS at 11. Under the nonprice factors, the agency evaluated Manutek's proposal as demonstrating “some confidence” under the relevant technical experience factor, as “low confidence” for the management approach factor, and as “exceptional” under the past performance factor. AR, Tab 8, BCM at 14.[3] The agency evaluated Manutek's cost/pricing information as “reasonable.” Id. When selecting awardees, the agency used the HTRO methodology and initially identified 15 proposals that received a rating of “high confidence” under either the relevant technical experience or management approach factors without any negative findings. AR, Tab 8.a, Source Selection Decision (SSD) at 9. For these 15 offerors, the agency determined that all had positive past performance information. Id. Next, the agency considered the remaining proposals for award and determined that six offerors had been evaluated as demonstrating at least “some confidence” under the relevant technical experience and management approach factors with evaluative findings that were on balance neutral (i.e., the positive findings balanced out any negative findings).