If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!)

Sometimes it is difficult for the Government acquisition machine to operate as efficiently as the commercial world’s. (Understatement of the year…it is difficult almost all the time)

Kevin and Paul discuss an acquisition that started well, with the Air Force creating an acquisition strategy that would allow them to select the best combination of proposals that satisfied all their requirements – and ended with a GAO protest decision to deny the Air Force “leeway” to conduct tradeoffs on paired proposals.

We applaud both the Air Force, for putting together a plan to get the best possible result for the mission, and the protester, for raising their hand in a timely manner when the RFP didn’t clearly explain how an offeror could present a winning offer. It’s unfortunate that this had to end up with a GAO protest. We hope this story will help both Government and industry become more sensitive to the need for open communication to resolve conflicts early without having to resort to the GAO.