[Request for Reconsideration of Decision Sustaining Protest of AID Contract Award]

A firm requested reconsideration of a decision sustaining a protest by another firm which had alleged that the Agency for International Development (AID) had improperly awarded a contract to it, the incumbent, under a request for proposals (RFP) to provide services for foreign visitors to the United States. In that decision, GAO held that the RFP was inadequate to promote effective competition and resulted in a de facto sole-source award to the incumbent. The incumbent, in requesting reconsideration, claimed that the decision was erroneous in fact because GAO, in concluding that the RFP was inadequately detailed, did not consider the unique nature of the services required and the flexibility needed from the contractor. The incumbent also took issue with the GAO finding that the requirements in the RFP were restrictive, stating that the original protester's claims to this effect were indicative of its inability to meet the agency's minimum needs. GAO held that, despite the unique nature of the services being acquired, the RFP should have been structured in a more appropriate format including data from the previous period of performance to indicate requirements, thereby encouraging more effective competition. GAO also held that, although the incumbent disputed the legality of a GAO opinion that a transition period for offerers to meet the requirements in the RFP would have been clearly less restrictive, it had no basis for this position. Accordingly, since there was no indication that material errors of fact or law existed in the prior decision, GAO affirmed that decision with its recommendation that corrective action be taken.