Protest of Proposal Evaluation

A firm protested that an agency improperly evaluated its technical and price proposals submitted under a request for proposals (RFP). The record showed that the: (1) RFP emphasized that the technical aspects of proposals were significantly more important than price; (2) protest focused almost entirely on the agency's evaluation of cost and failed to mention any of the technical areas of which the agency had previously advised the protester; and (3) agency did not consider an offered 3-percent discount in evaluating the protester's price proposal. The protester contended that: (1) it had the ability to perform the contract as well as any other bidder; (2) as the initial protest was timely, additional materials which supported the protester's technical proposal should be accepted for consideration even if filed late; and (3) its discount was enforceable by law or contract and should have been considered in the price evaluation. The agency contended that, even if the discount had been considered, the protester's proposal would not have been accepted due to its low rating overall. GAO found that: (1) the protester's assertion that it was capable of performing the contract as well as any other bidder did not constitute a timely protest against the specific technical deficiencies of which the agency had advised the protester; and (2) the propriety of the agency's decision not to consider the discount in the cost evaluation did not need to be resolved since it did not affect the selection decision. Accordingly, the protest was dismissed in part and denied in part.