GSA’s multibillion dollar OASIS (One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services) contract released on July 31st, (OASIS SB RFP and OASIS (Unrestricted) RFP), has already received two formal protests.
The first protest is at the agency level, asserting that the evaluation criteria in the OASIS (Unrestricted) RFP are unfair. Aljucar, Anvil-Incus and Company (AA-I & Co), an SDVOSB, located in Washington, D.C. specifically cited that the Pass/Fail Requirements for Relevant Experience on page 101 of the solicitation, are “unduly restrictive of competition”, as stated by Rudy Sutherland, head of practice for AA-I & Co. According to AA-I & Co., the requirements also conflict with federal policy that allows for vendors to form joint ventures and combine performance, quality, cost and delivery factors in a bid. The protest was also submitted in conjunction with a group called the Voice of Small Business in America which made the protest announcement via their 12-thousand member LinkedIn Group. Sutherland is set to meet with GSA this week but no announcements have been made.
The second formal protest, also filed by an SDVOSB, is with the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Ralph White, managing associate general counsel for Procurement Law at GAO confirmed the protest in an August 9th email statement. The statement identified USfalcon, Inc. had filed the protest challenging the terms of the OASIS solicitation, calling it a “fairly narrow issue”, as stated by Jen Miller, attorney for USfalcon. No official announcements have been made as the case is still currently open but the audit agency estimated November 18th for a formal decision on the protest. The GAO has entered a formal Protest Docket for USfalcon and can be found at gao.gov and referencing the File No. B-408685.1.
The GAO is required to provide a decision within 100-calendar days and has stepped up its efforts in providing a decision far in advance of the allowable 100-calendar day deadline. Whether they conclude it to be, “dismissed, denied or sustained”, we will continue to monitor the GAO website for official determinations.
If you are a small business and were interested in pursuing the OASIS opportunity, we recommend using this time to explore and develop your responses to the other requirements of the solicitation that would not affect the Joint Venture issue or “restrictive” past performance.
GSA has not stated that the Unrestricted OASIS RFP would be affected by these protest, however, it is likely that the award and further developments will also be delayed to hear word on the OASIS SB determination. If you are a large business and were responding to the OASIS Unrestricted RFP, you may still build your responses.
For additional information on the proposed regulations, please feel free to contact ColeyGSA.
Ramiro is a Certified Federal Contracts Manager (CFCM) and as a Senior Consultant with Coley GCS, LLC, a Government Contracts Consulting, Coaching and Training company. Ramiro has over 10 years’ experience helping companies succeed with their GSA schedules.