[Protest of Army Contract Award for Computer Science Course Instruction]

B-222416: Jul 3, 1986

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A firm protested an Army contract award to another firm for course instruction services, contending that: (1) the Army awarded the contract based on initial proposals, without conducting discussions; (2) the Army could not be certain that it obtained the lowest possible cost; (3) the solicitation contained a number of errors; (4) the Army inordinately rushed the award; and (5) the awardee's qualifications were uncertain. GAO held that: (1) the solicitation reserved the Army's right to award the contract based on initial proposals; (2) the Army conducted a cost analysis and determined that the awardee's price was lower than the government estimate; (3) the portion of the protest relating to the solicitation specifications was untimely filed; (4) the protester was not prejudiced by the pace and duration of the evaluation process; and (5) it would not consider the matter of the Army's determination of the awardee's responsibility. Accordingly, the protest was denied in part and dismissed in part.