Protest of VA Contract Award for a Community-Based Outpatient Clinic

A firm protested a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) contract award for a community -based outpatient clinic, contending that VA's award decision was based on an unreasonable evaluation of proposals. GAO held that contemporaneous documentation did not establish that the selection was consistent with the solicitation's evaluation criteria. Accordingly, the protest was sustained, and GAO recommended that VA (1) determine whether the stated preferences reflect VA's actual needs, (2) amend the solicitation if the preferences do not reflect its needs, obtain and evaluate new proposals, and make award in accordance with the amended evaluation criteria, (3) reevaluate the proposals under the original solicitation criteria if it is determined that the preferences reflect VA's actual needs, and make a new award selection decision.