Protest Involving Proposal Evaluation Factors

A protester against a contract award argued that the solicitation was vague and that an evaluation factor contrary to the solicitation was used. The protest was timely since its filing was reasonably withheld for lack of sufficient information concerning the basis for protest. Although the relative importance of technical and cost factors was not clear, the solicitation indicated that both would be considered, and the agency properly selected a lower-priced proposal with a lower technical score. However, future solicitations should contain more explicit statements of the relative importance of evaluation factors.