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 2016-06-24 U.S. Government Publishing Office 1998-03-19 monographic deposited born digital 17 p. GA 1.13:B-278516.2 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-B-278516-2 P0b002ee18fd4d368 f:2785162 DGPO 2016-06-24 2016-06-24 GAOREPORTS-B-278516-2 machine generated eng fdlp COMPTROLLERDECISION GAOREPORTS-B-278516-2 B-278516.2 Comptroller General Decision 1. Agency reasonably selected the awardee's lower-rated, lower-cost proposal over the protester's proposal, where the solicitation permitted award based on a cost/technical tradeoff and the source selection official, in weighing the respective merits of the two firms' proposals, reasonably determined that the proposals were close in technical merit, that the protester's technical scoring advantage reflected the protester's advantages as the incumbent contractor, and that the awardee offered a substantially lower evaluated cost, even considering the additional "learning curve" costs to the government associated with the awardee's technical weaknesses.<p/>2. Protest that the awardee materially misrepresented the availability of 1 of its 45 proposed key personnel, who left after the proposal was submitted, is denied, where the agency was aware of the individual's unavailability and the offer of this individual had minimal impact on the agency's evaluation of proposals and source selection.<p/>3. Protest allegation that the awardee engaged in "bait-and-switch" practices by proposing personnel that the awardee did not intend to use in contract performance is denied, where no substitution of personnel has been offered and the awardee's unrebutted explanation of its advertisement for qualified personnel in the area in which the contract is to be performed is that the awardee wished to identify a pool of talent for future use but that the awardee intended to use the personnel proposed. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-B-278516-2/html/GAOREPORTS-B-278516-2.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-B-278516-2/pdf/GAOREPORTS-B-278516-2.pdf GAO/B-278516.2 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-B-278516-2 Comptroller General Decision GAO/B-278516.2; Veda Incorporated, B-278516.2, March 19, 1998;