Public Contracting Institute Blog
The Public Contracting Institute blog supplement our govcon training offerings with insightful articles written by leading professionals across the government contracts industry. Our professionals publish articles on topics on government contracts administration, accounting, bids/proposals, disputes, claims, and much more. For more inforamation about our blog, reach out to seminars@publiccontractinginstitute.com.
Additionally, look for the PCI Practical Matters Podcast, coming soon! It will cover the latest news in our industry, along with insightful commentary on the most important topics in Government Contracting.
Modification Signed Under Protest: Agency Must Consider All Documents in the Transaction
What happens when an agency seeks to obtain a contractor’s signature on a modification, but the contractor is not happy with the prices/costs in the mod? The answer is that the agency must consider a written cover letter of objection (or protest), and if a request for...
Agency Has Only Limited Requirement to Seek Clarifications
Offerors should carefully consider the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) requirements for “clarifications” that agencies must comply with when establishing a competitive range in a negotiated procurement as well as the FAR requirements for...
Agency Reasonably Limited Quotation Revisions as Part of Corrective Action
In a recent protest at the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”), the GAO held that limiting quotation revisions when taking corrective action was within the discretion of the agency, provided that the agency concluded that only certain information was...
Agencies Must Look Beyond Adjectival Ratings in Source Selection
One of the recurring themes in bid protests that are sustained by the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) is the need for agencies to look “beyond adjectival ratings,” and qualitatively assess the underlying merits of the technical proposals in...
Details of the “Present Effect” Rule
In a long and detailed opinion, the Office of Hearings and Appeals (“OHA”) of the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) discusses many of the bases of the “present effect” rule which is found in the SBA rules at 13 CFR §121.103(d). Size Appeal of Enhanced...
Past Performance: The Experience of an Offeror’s Personnel
In evaluating past performance of an offeror, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) has a longstanding series of decisions that generally permit the experience of an offeror’s personnel to be counted. The experience of the personnel will not be...
When Correction of a Bid Will Be Permitted
Even where correction of a bid that results in displacement of a lower bid, it will be permitted where the existence of the mistake and the intended bid is ascertainable from the information contained in the solicitation and the bid itself. FAR...
Boards Cannot Grant Injunctive Relief
The jurisdiction of the Boards of Contract Appeals is limited, and a recent case reminds us that Boards cannot grant injunctive relief or specific performance. BVB Const., Inc v. Dept of Veterans Affairs., CBCA 6318, Feb. 12, 2019. The appellant sought relief which...
Conceding the Government’s Case in Termination for Default
A government termination for default is a drastic sanction which requires that the government produce solid evidence proving that the termination was reasonable and justified. If the government establishes a prima facie case of the contractor's default,...
Material Misrepresentation in Proposal
A recent Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) bid protest demonstrates how easy it is for an offeror to make a material misrepresentation in its proposal, resulting in a sustained protest and the loss of an award. Sev1Tech, Inc., B-416811, Dec. 18, 2018. Two...