Subsidium Inc. (19FS1A25Q0002)

B-423708 Sep 11, 2025 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Subsidium, Inc., a small business of Manassas, Virginia, protests the establishment of a federal supply schedule (FSS) blanket purchase agreement (BPA) with Concordant LLC, a small business of Laramie, Wyoming, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 19FS1A25Q0002, issued by the Department of State's Foreign Service Institute (FSI) for human resources and acquisition professional support services. The protester alleges the agency failed to provide a timely requested brief explanation of award, and contends the agency failed to document a tradeoff rationale. We dismiss the protest in part and deny it in part. View Decision Decision Matter of: Subsidium, Inc. File: B-423708 Date: September 11, 2025 Chris Clark, for the protester. John W. Cox, Esq., Department of State, for the agency. Heather Self, Esq., and Peter H. Tran, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest that agency failed to provide a brief explanation of award is dismissed because the allegation does not provide a basis for protest. 2. Protest contending the agency failed to document a tradeoff rationale to justify payment of the awardee’s price premium is denied where the record shows the agency documented the basis for its tradeoff decision. DECISION Subsidium, Inc., a small business of Manassas, Virginia, protests the establishment of a federal supply schedule (FSS) blanket purchase agreement (BPA) with Concordant LLC, a small business of Laramie, Wyoming, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 19FS1A25Q0002, issued by the Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute (FSI) for human resources and acquisition professional support services. The protester alleges the agency failed to provide a timely requested brief explanation of award, and contends the agency failed to document a tradeoff rationale. We dismiss the protest in part and deny it in part. BACKGROUND On January 10, 2025, the agency issued the solicitation to FSS contract holders seeking quotations for the provision of senior contract specialists, human resources classification specialists, and human resources employee relations specialists. Req. for Dismissal attach. 1, Award Decision at 3.[1] The solicitation contemplated establishment of a single BPA with a 1-year base period and four 1-year option periods. Id. at 5; Req. for Dismissal, attach. 3, RFQ Instructions and Evaluation for Award (RFQ) at 16. Award would be made on a best-value tradeoff basis using a phased evaluation process. RFQ at 16. In phase I, the agency would assess the following four items on a pass/fail basis: (1) small business participation document; (2) active representations and certifications from the System for Award Management (SAM.gov); (3) proof of required facility clearance; and (4) a completed Department of Defense Form 254 (“Contract Security Classification Specification”). RFQ at 17. For phase II, the agency would evaluate vendors’ technical approach and assign a rating of high confidence, some confidence, or low confidence. Id. at 17, 22. Similarly, for phase III, the agency would assign confidence ratings after evaluating vendors’ past performance. Id. at 21. Finally, in phase IV the agency would evaluate vendors’ prices. Id. at 22. With respect to order of importance of the evaluation phases, the solicitation established phase I was more important than phase II, which, in turn, was more important than phase III, and that the three non-price phases (I, II, and III) combined were significantly more important than phase IV, price. RFQ at 17. Additionally, section 12.3 of the solicitation provided that: At any time prior to selection, including upon receipt of quotation, the Government may exclude a quotation from further consideration for any material failure to follow instructions, including the omission of required information, or when the Quoter is no longer considered to be among the most highly rated quoters being considered for award. Id. at 16 (emphasis added). The agency received five quotations, including those submitted by the protester and awardee. Req. for Dismissal attach. 1, Award Decision at 4. The agency evaluated the protester’s and awardee’s quotations as follows:   Subsidium Concordant Phase I -- Small Business/Clearance Pass Pass Phase II -- Technical Low Confidence High Confidence Phase III -- Past Performance Low Confidence High Confidence Phase IV -- Price $5,222,941.52 $8,856,029.52   Comments encl.