Chaedrol GAO Protest Log 20240912: AccelGov

AccelGov, LLC - B-422618.2, B-422618.3

You should not care.

Category: Task Order Competition

Date: August 30, 2024

URL: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-422618.2%2Cb-422618.3

AccelGov, LLC protested the issuance of a task order to CompQsoft, Inc., arguing that the agency unreasonably failed to assign additional strengths in its proposal and evaluated proposals in a disparate manner. GAO found that the protester's claims amounted to mere disagreements with the agency's evaluation rather than substantive errors. GAO noted that the agency reasonably assessed the proposals based on their merit and the established evaluation criteria, ultimately concluding that the selection of CompQsoft's higher-priced, technically superior proposal was justified. The protest was denied, as GAO upheld the agency's evaluation process, affirming that the differences in assessment were due to variances in the proposals themselves, not disparate treatment. This case illustrates the importance of having robust proposal submissions and the limited grounds for successful protests when agencies follow their established evaluation guidelines.

Digest

1. Protest arguing that evaluators unreasonably failed to assign additional strengths in the protester's proposal is denied where the protester presents nothing more than its disagreement with the agency's assessment of the proposal's merits.

2. Protest contention that the agency evaluated proposals in a disparate manner is denied where the record reflects that evaluation differences were the result of differences in offerors' proposals.

3. Protest that the best-value tradeoff failed to consider the protester's lower price is denied where the record does not support the protester's contention, but shows instead that selection of the awardee's higher technically rated, higher-priced proposal was reasonable and consistent with the solicitation.