United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao_comptroller_general legislative 2016-06-23 U.S. Government Publishing Office 1997-09-23 monographic deposited born digital 7 p. GA 1.13:B-277270 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-B-277270 P0b002ee18fd45fd2 f:277270 DGPO 2016-06-23 2016-06-23 GAOREPORTS-B-277270 machine generated eng fdlp COMPTROLLERDECISION GAOREPORTS-B-277270 B-277270 Comptroller General Decision 1. Protest alleging that agency officials provided the awardee inside information that gave it a competitive advantage and that evaluators were biased in favor of the awardee is denied where the protester has provided no detail to substantiate its allegations and there is nothing in the record to support them.<p/>2. Protest alleging that agency improperly made an upward adjustment to the protester's proposed costs to reflect the agency's estimate of the amount of a reasonable award fee, without first discussing the matter with the protester is denied where: (1) the RFP was for a cost-plus-award-fee contract and clearly indicated that offers should include an award fee, but the protester's offer did not do so; (2) the agency considered the award fee a key element for ensuring excellent performance; (3) the RFP cautioned that the agency intended to award the contract on the basis of initial proposals without discussions; (4) the protester has indicated that it intended to propose an award fee if the subject had been raised during discussions; and (5) the agency reasonably estimated the protester's award fee based upon the median percentage for award fees contained in other proposals. <p/>3. Award of a contract to the offeror of the higher technically rated, higher-cost proposal was permissible where the agency reasonably determined that the superior technical merit of the awardee's proposal was worth its higher cost. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-B-277270/html/GAOREPORTS-B-277270.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-B-277270/pdf/GAOREPORTS-B-277270.pdf GAO/B-277270 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-B-277270 Comptroller General Decision GAO/B-277270; Environmental Affairs Management, Inc., B-277270, September;