The Spectrum Group Members, LLC (HQ0034-25-R-0047)

B-423756 Dec 04, 2025 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights The Spectrum Group Members, LLC, a small business of Alexandria, Virginia, protests the award of a contract to FedWriters, Inc., a small business of Fairfax, Virginia, under request for proposals (RFP) No. HQ003425R0047, issued by the Department of Defense (DOD), Washington Headquarters Services, for training, assistance, and assessment services. The protester challenges various aspects of the agency's evaluation of proposals and source selection decision, including the agency's evaluation of key personnel and the sufficiency of the agency's price evaluation. 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 version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: The Spectrum Group Members, LLC File: B-423756 Date: December 4, 2025 Scott R. Williamson, Esq., and Daniel R. Williamson, Esq., Williamson Law Group, LLC, for the protester. Devon E. Hewitt, Esq., and Matthew L. Nicholson, Esq., Potomac Law Group, for FedWriters, Inc., the intervenor. Stephan Piel, Esq., and Brandon R. Cogswell, Esq., Department of Defense, for the agency. Christopher Alwood, Esq., and Alexander O. Levine, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest challenging agency's evaluation of technical proposals and past performance is denied where the agency's evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the solicitation's evaluation criteria. 2. Protest challenging awardee's pricing as unreasonable and materially lower-priced is denied where the solicitation did not provide for a price realism evaluation. 3. Protest that awardee's proposal contained an impermissible “bait and switch” of its key personnel or, alternatively, that the awardee failed to disclose subsequent proposed key personnel availability before contract award is denied where there is no evidence that the awardee's key personnel are unavailable to perform or that the awardee had actual knowledge of any alleged unavailability. DECISION The Spectrum Group Members, LLC, a small business of Alexandria, Virginia, protests the award of a contract to FedWriters, Inc., a small business of Fairfax, Virginia, under request for proposals (RFP) No. HQ003425R0047, issued by the Department of Defense (DOD), Washington Headquarters Services, for training, assistance, and assessment services. The protester challenges various aspects of the agency's evaluation of proposals and source selection decision, including the agency's evaluation of key personnel and the sufficiency of the agency's price evaluation. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On March 4, 2025, the agency issued the solicitation as a small business set‑aside under the commercial item procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12, using the negotiated procurement policies and procedures established under FAR part 15. Agency Report (AR), Exh. 4, RFP amend. 0003 at 0382‑0385.[1] The RFP sought proposals to provide training, assistance, and assessment services to DOD's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs in support of the National Guard Youth Challenge Program (NGYCP) and the DOD STARBASE program.[2] Contracting Officer's Statement and Memorandum of Law (COS/MOL) at 1. The solicitation contemplated the award of a contract with fixed‑price and time‑and‑materials contract line item numbers (CLINs) for a 1‑month phase-in period, an 11‑month base period, and four 1-year option periods. RFP at 0391; AR, Exh. 3, RFP amend. 0002 at 0336. The RFP established that award would be made on a best‑value tradeoff basis, considering technical approach, past performance, and price. RFP at 0464. The RFP stated that the technical factor was more important than price, and that the non-price factors, when combined, were significantly more important than price. Id. The solicitation also provided that the agency would separately evaluate, on a pass/fail basis, whether each proposal included letters of commitment from three proposed key personnel. Id. at 0463‑0464. Proposals that did not meet this requirement would not be considered for award.[3] Id. The agency was to evaluate proposals under the technical approach factor considering the offeror's phase-in transition plan, staffing plan, key personnel qualifications, and approach to performance work statement (PWS) sections 5.2.3 and 5.3.13.[4] Id. at 0464‑0465. The agency was to assign each proposal an adjectival rating under the factor of outstanding, good, acceptable, marginal, or unacceptable. Id. at 0466. As relevant here, under the technical approach factor, the solicitation instructed offerors to “propose an effective method to accomplish the critical tasks/sub‑tasks listed in PWS [s]ections 5.2.3 and 5.3.13.” Id. at 0461.