Decision Released: Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) Advisory Services protest sustainment

File No. B-421227.2, B-421227.3

Digest

1. Protest alleging that the agency unreasonably evaluated the awardee’s technical proposal is sustained where the record does not reflect that the agency evaluated a required staffing submission consistent with the solicitation.
2. Protests challenging the agency’s evaluation of strengths in the protester’s technical and management proposals are denied where the record reflects the evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the solicitation’s evaluation criteria.
3. Protest that the agency unreasonably concluded that the protester’s proposed program manager did not meet the requirements for the position is sustained where the stated basis for the agency’s conclusion is inconsistent with the solicitation and the protester’s proposal.

Discussion

Guidehouse raises multiple challenges to the conduct of the acquisition.[3] First, Guidehouse argues that the agency unreasonably evaluated technical proposals, failing to penalize KPMG for departing from the solicitation’s requirements and to credit adequately the advantages offered in Guidehouse’s proposal. Protest at 14-23; Comments & Supp. Protest at 4-8. Second, the protester argues that ODNI unreasonably evaluated management proposals, assigning an unreasonable weakness associated with Guidehouse’s proposed program manager and failing to assign more strengths to Guidehouse’s approach.[4] Protest at 8-11, 23-27. Finally, Guidehouse asserts that the agency unreasonably conducted the tradeoff analysis, and improperly made the selection decision. Comments and Supp. Protest at 20.

We have considered all of Guidehouse’s challenges and discuss the principal allegations below. We find that some of the challenges provide a basis to sustain the protest …

Decision

Guidehouse Inc., of McLean, Virginia, protests the award of a contract to KPMG LLP, of McLean, Virginia, under solicitation No. 2021-20111300002S, issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) for advisory services. The protester alleges that the agency improperly evaluated proposals and made an unreasonable best-value tradeoff decision.

We sustain the protest.

Read the decision here.

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