[Protest of Interior Contract Award for Exhibit Fabrication and Installation]

A firm protested a Department of the Interior contract award for exhibit fabrication and installation, contending that Interior improperly downgraded its bid without advising it of the bid's deficiencies. Interior contended that: (1) advising the protester of a significant deficiency regarding its level of effort would have constituted technical levelling; and (2) it erroneously included the protester's bid in the competitive range. GAO held that Interior did not adequately justify its concerns about the possibility of technical levelling, since it had consistently considered the protester's bid as technically acceptable and within the competitive range. Accordingly, the protest was sustained, and GAO recommended that Interior: (1) reopen discussions; and (2) terminate the current contract and make award to the protester, if appropriate.