Protest Alleging That Award Was Arbitrary, Capricious, and Contrary to Applicable Procurement Regulations

A contract award was protested under a request for proposals (RFP) for energy monitors. The RFP was issued by Brookhaven National Laboratory, a Government-owned facility operated by Associated Universities, Inc., for the Department of Energy. The protester contended that the selection of the awardee was conditioned on successful negotiation of a contract, which the protester believed was not likely. Since the protester had submitted the lowest cost proposal and believed that it ultimately might be awarded the contract, the protester saw no reason to protest until an award was made. As a result, the prime consideration in resolving the protest was the question of timeliness. The protesting firm was advised by Brookhaven that another firm had been selected for award pending successful negotiation of a contract, and another letter 11 days later from Brookhaven forwarded the Source Selection Board's comments on the protester's proposal and advised that the protester was entitled to a debriefing. Brookhaven believed that this was sufficient information upon which a protest could have been raised. In a letter to Brookhaven, the protester acknowledged that the awardee's proposal had been accepted. Thus, it was apparent that the protester knew that no preselection negotiations, preaward surveys, or inspections would be held. GAO agreed with Brookhaven that the letter informing the protesting firm that it was entitled to a debriefing was sufficient notice of Brookhaven's plans to accept another firm's proposal. Since the protest was not filed until 2 months later, it was untimely, and was therefore dismissed.