Decision Released: NSA Signals Intelligence Services protest denial

B-423053, B-423053.2

Digest

1. Protest challenging the evaluation of the protester’s proposal under the management factor and ability to staff factor is denied where the record reflects a reasonable evaluation conducted in accordance with the terms of the solicitation.
2. Protest challenging the agency’s decision to exclude the protester’s proposal from the competitive range is denied where the record supports the decision as reasonable.
3. Remaining technical and cost evaluation challenges are dismissed where the record demonstrates no possibility of competitive prejudice.
4. Allegations of organizational and personal conflicts of interest are dismissed because the protester was reasonably excluded from the competitive range and therefore is not an interested party to maintain such protest grounds.

Discussion

Mission Essential challenges the technical and cost evaluation of its proposal and the agency’s decision to exclude its proposal from the competitive range, argues that the agency conducted a disparate evaluation, and raises allegations of organizational and personal conflicts of interest. The NSA defends the LUCIDLOBSTER procurement on all grounds.

As discussed below, we deny the protest. We first address the challenges to the agency’s evaluation of Mission Essential’s proposal under the management factor and the ability to staff factor and conclude that the evaluation was conducted reasonably and in accordance with the solicitation. Next, we address the agency’s competitive range determination and explain that we find it unobjectionable. Following that, we address the remaining technical and cost evaluation challenges, to include the allegations of disparate treatment, and …

Decision

The Mission Essential Group, LLC (Mission Essential), of New Albany, Ohio, protests the exclusion of its proposal from the competitive range under request for proposals (RFP) No. H98230-23-R-0003, issued by the National Security Agency (NSA) for signals intelligence services. The protester challenges the agency’s evaluation of its proposal and competitive range determination and raises allegations of organizational and personal conflicts of interest.

We deny the protest.

Read the decision here.

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