Protestable Issues
There are a number of instances, both pre- and post-proposal submittal, when the team involved in developing a proposal to the government should consider filing a protest with the US Government Accounting Office (GAO).
I have recently received several calls wanting help with protests. It is always surprising that CEOs understand little about this process and they never learn the process in advance. They usually wait until the eleventh hour and want it fast and cheap and they want it to be a winner.
A widely held belief among people doing federal business is that a protest costs far too much and is not good business because the agency will retaliate. I reject both claims as not being factual. Now a protest can cost hundreds of thousands,
We recently wrote about the protest process. Here is more detail. Several places exist to protest. They include the Contracting Office (CO), any federal district court, the Washington, DC Federal Court of Appeals, and the General Accounting Office (GAO).
This is one of the most interesting subjects regarding the procurement process. Many people dismiss the process as ineffective since only about 10-12% of protests win. But that reveals a lack of understanding. Most protests fail because they are unskillful.