Protest Alleging That Agency Made Improper Grant Award

A company protested a noncompetitive grant award by the Office of Minority Business Enterprise (OMBE), contending that OMBE abandoned the practice of awarding contracts under Federal procurement procedures in favor of grant awards in order to make a sole-source award and avoid statutory requirements for competition. The company further contended that it should have been given an opportunity to compete for the award. The protest was denied since OMBE awarded a grant rather than a contract for the purpose of complying with the requirements of the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act of 1977.