Protest Denied: $222M DHS Intelligence Enterprise mission solutions and data operations support award

Added January 8, 2024

DIGEST

1. Protests that agency unreasonably evaluated proposals are denied where evaluation was consistent with the stated evaluation criteria.
2. Evaluation of awardee’s key personnel was proper where agency reasonably determined that resumes of awardee’s proposed personnel demonstrated compliance with solicitation’s minimum qualifications.
3. Protest that agency unreasonably evaluated staffing approaches is denied where the protester has not demonstrated that the agency was obligated to consider the awardee’s performance of different task order in its evaluation under this solicitation.

DISCUSSION

AnaVation challenges multiple aspects of the evaluation of the awardee’s proposal, as well as its own proposal.  The protester contests each of the agency’s criticisms of AnaVation’s proposal under the technical factor.  1st Supp. Protest at 5-12; Comments & 2nd Supp. Protest at 3-11.  AnaVation also challenges the agency’s evaluation under the management factor, asserting that Deloitte’s proposed key personnel failed to meet the solicitation’s minimum experience requirements and that the agency’s evaluation of the offerors’ staffing approaches was unreasonable and unequal.  Comments & 2nd Supp. Protest at 12-18; Supp. Comments at 2-13.  Finally, AnaVation contends that these errors in the underlying evaluation rendered the agency’s source selection decision unreasonable.5  Protest at 7-10; 1st Supp. Protest at 14-15; Comments & 2nd Supp. Protest at 18. In filing and pursuing this protest, AnaVation has made arguments that are in addition to, or variations of, those discussed below.  We have considered all of the protester’s arguments and, while we do not address them all, none provides any basis on which to sustain the protest.  Technical Evaluation  AnaVation contests the agency’s evaluation of its proposal under the technical factor, challenging each one of the five findings that the agency identified as having “lowered the expectation of success” for that factor.  1st Supp. Protest at 5-12; Comments & 2nd Supp. Protest at 3-11.  DHS counters each of the protester’s arguments, defending the agency’s findings as reasonable, evenhanded, and consistent with the solicitation.  Memorandum of Law (MOL) at 5-8.

This task order competition was conducted pursuant to FAR part 16.  Under these provisions, the evaluation of proposals, including the determination of the relative merits of proposals, is primarily a matter within the contracting agency’s discretion, because…

DECISION

AnaVation LLC, of Reston, Virginia, protests the issuance of a task order to Deloitte Consulting LLP of Arlington, Virginia by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under request for task order proposals (RFTOP) No. 70QS0223R00003063, for mission solutions and data operations support to provide information technology (IT) services for technical project management support and the technology development of products.  The protester challenges the agency’s evaluation of proposals and resulting source selection decision.  We deny the protest.

See the decision here.

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