Updated August 6, 2025
DIGEST
1. Protest challenging the agency’s evaluation of the awardee’s technical proposal is sustained where the evaluation was inconsistent with the solicitation.
2. Protest that awardee misrepresented the availability of key personnel is denied where the record shows the awardee did not have actual knowledge that any of its proposed key personnel had become unavailable.
3. Protest that the evaluation of the awardee’s proposal was unreasonable is sustained where the record shows that, to mitigate an organizational conflict of interest, the awardee materially altered its technical approach to perform the contract, and there is no evidence that the agency considered the impact of the changed approach on contract performance.
4. Protest challenging the evaluation of past performance proposals is denied where the protester has not established that the agency unreasonably considered the past performance of separate divisions within the offeror, but sustained where the record demonstrates the agency’s evaluation of relevance was not reasonable and consistent with the terms of the solicitation.
DECISION
emissary LLC, a woman-owned small business of Arlington, Virginia, protests the award of a contract to Gemini Industries Inc., a woman-owned small business of Burlington, Massachusetts, under request for proposals (RFP) No. HQ0034-23-R-0290, issued by the Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) for technical support services.[1] The protester challenges the agency’s evaluation of proposals and resulting source selection decision.
We sustain the protest.
Protester: Emissary LLC
Solicitation Number: HQ0034-23-R-0290
Agency: Department of Defense : Washington Headquarters Services
File number: B-422388.3
Outcome: Sustained
Decision Date: July 29, 2025
Track Related GAO Activity Here
