Protest Contending That RFP Should Be Cancelled and Resolicited

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the design, fabrication, installation, and testing of a system which combined civilian and military subsystems to provide aeronautical navigation information to aircraft. In the course of negotiations with the sole offerer, changes in the RFP specifications were made, whereupon the protesting firm asserted that the RFP should be cancelled and a new solicitation issued. The issue was whether the protester has shown that there was no reasonable basis for the FAA decision that the changes in requirements were not so substantial as to warrant complete revision of the RFP. GAO concurred with the agency that the RFP need not be cancelled because of the scope of changes made to the existing contract. In addition, the requirement in the regulations for maximum practical competition in negotiated procurements does not require an agency to cancel an RFP if only one proposal is received.