Answer the following questions to find out if you have grounds to file a PRE-AWARD Bid Protest::

Remember, a protest should be filed within ten ( 10) days from when you as the contractor knew, or should have knows about the basis of your protest. This protest must be filed before the closing of the solicitation/bid.

1. What kind of contract are you submitting a bid for?

2. What is the anticipated duration of the contract?

3. What is the anticipated value of the contract?

4. What special conditions does the solicitation have?

5. What type of contract is it? ( Sole Source, IDIQ, Partial Set Aside, Total Set Aside, etc.)

6. Is it a Task Order? If yes, what is the value of the Task Order?

7. Are there any unusual circumstances or terms which concern you, outright?

8. Have you ever been awarded a contract from this agency?

9. Have you ever been awarded a contract from any government agency?

10. Have you responded to a similar solicitation before? What happened?

11. How many times has the agency amended the solicitation? Did it permit you to revise aspects of your proposal in response to these amendments?

12. Would your company benefit from delaying award of the new contract? YES/NO

13. Does the solicitation improperly disclose your proprietary data? YES/NO ( You must establish that (1) the material provided to the agency was properly marked as proprietary or submitted to the Government in confidence; (2) the material reflects a design or concept that resulted from the investment of signifiant time and expense; and (3) the material contains data or concepts that could not be obtained independently from publicly available literature or common knowledge)

14. Did the agency cancel the solicitation? YES/NO

15. If you answered YES for 14: Did the agency cancel the solicitation in an effort to avoid the competition or to avoid resolving a protest? YES/NO

16. If you answered YES for 14: Did the agency follow proper procedure when it cancelled the solicitation? YES/NO

17. If you answered YES for 14: Why do you think the Agency cancelled the solicitation?

18. Do you have any reason to believe the agency intends to modify the terms or requirements, post award? YES/NO

19. Are you the incumbent contractor? YES/NO

20. Can the solicitation be adjusted to help you be a more competitive bidder? YES/NO

21. Do you believe the agency is complying with all statutory and regulatory requirements? YES/NO

22. IF the solicitation is for commercial items, does it contain provisions that are consistent with customary commercial practice? YES/NO

23. If you answered NO to 22: has the agency conducted adequate market research to establish that it is customary commercial practice to include such a requirement?

24. If you answered NO to 22: has the agency obtained a waiver to tailor the Federal Acquisition Regulation commercial item provision to meet the needs of the Government? YES/NO

25. Does the solicitation include ll provisions and contract clauses required by statue or regulation? YES/NO

26. Does the solicitation unnecessarily limit the field of competition - did the agency consider whether alternative approaches might satisfy its minimum needs? YES/NO

27. Does the solicitation use design specification or performance specifications?

28. Can the agency state its minimum needs in terms of a performance specification that alternative designs can meet? YES/NO

29. To the best of your knowledge, can the agency establish it actually requires hte design features specified in the solicitation? YES/NO

30. Are the agency requirements pertaining to human safety and national security reasonable? YES/NO. Are there alternative measures/requirements which could be equally as effective? YES/NO

31. Does the solicitation appear to result in an improper bundling of requirements*? YES/NO (Bundled procurements combine separate, multiple requirements into one contract. As a result, they have the potential to restrict competition by excluding firms that can furnish only a portion of the requirement....Mere administrative convenience is not sufficient to justify bundling.)

32. Are any of the solicitation requirements susceptible to two or more reasonable interpretations? YES/NO

33. Can you show that the solicitation provisions are: a) vague or ambiguous? b) Do not create a common basis for evaluating offers proposals? c) Do not permit offers to compete on an equal basis?

34. Is there a reasonable relationship** between the agency's disclosed cost or price evaluation method and the likely cost or price of performance? YES/NO

35. Is the agency soliciting a sole-source procurement?

36. If you answered YES to 35: is the agency invoking the " one responsible source exception" or the " unusual and compelling urgency exception" ?***

37. If you answered YES to 35:does it contain an accurate description of the goods/services to be procured? YES/NO

38. If you answered YES to 35: is the description of the goods/services clear and concise? YES/NO

39. If you answered YES to 35:Does it allow prospective sources a solid opportunity to demonstrate their ability to meet the agency's needs? YES/NO

40. If you answered YES to 35:Is the notice misleading? YES/NO

41. If you answered YES to 35:Does it contain inaccurate information? YES/NO

42. If you answered YES to 35:Does the notice misclassify the type of work being solicited? YES/NO

43. If you answered YES to 35: Is the notice too general? YES/NO

44. If you answered YES to 35: were you unreasonably deprived of an opportunity to become an approved source? YES/NO

45. If you answered YES to 35: did the agency take appropriate steps to promote competition? YES/NO ( For example, did the agency update its work manuals? Did it consider alternative methods for attaining its needs/requirements? Did it undertake a study to determine the potential cost savings the agency could reap from enhanced competition?)

46. If you answered YES to 35 and the agency invoked the "unusual and compelling urgency" exception to justify SSP, was the award limited to the minimum quantity and time needed to satisfy its immediate exigent requirement ? YES/NO/NA

47. If you answered YES to 35: Did the Agency complete a written J&A to support its argument for invoking an exception to full and open competition? YES/NO

48. If you answered YES to 47: Does the J&A correctly state the services and goods to be acquired? YES/NO

49. If you answered YES to 47: Does the J&A place a correct dollar value to the acquisition? YES/NO

50. If you answered YES to 47: Is the length of the contract reasonable and correct and does it seem to support its proposal that only one contractor exists that can perform the work? YES/NO

51. If the Agency is issuing a solicitation for aRequirements Contract, does the Agency disclaim is obligation to order all of its requirements from a particular contractor? YES/NO

52. If the Agency is issuing a solicitation for an Indefinite Quantity Contract, does it specify a guaranteed minimum quantity that is more than a mere nominal amount?(Note, the GAO has found that a guaranteed minimum quantity, as little as $500, satisfies the requirement for mutual consideration.) YES/NO

53. Did the contracting officer engage in reasonable efforts to determine the availability of small businesses**** for the acquisition? YES/NO ( This includes conducting market research to determine whether there are responsible small businesses capable of competing for the award)

54. Was the procurement classified under the correct North American Industry Classification System Code ( NAICS Code)? YES/NO

55. Was the size and socioeconomic status of your business determined by the SBA or the Agency? SBA/Agency

56. Should a portion of the acquisition have been set aside for small business? In other words, is the government's requirement severable into two or more portions? YES/NO; Do any small businesses have the technical competence and capacity to satisfy the potential set-aside portion at a fair market price? YES/NO; Is the acquisition subject to simplified acquisition procedures? YES/NO

57. Is the Agency using sealed bidding procedures? YES/NO

58. If you answered YES to 57: a) Is there sufficient time to do so? Will the award be made on the basis of price? Are there any discussions necessary? Will the agency receive more than one sealed bid?

*Note: Bundling requirements may be permitted where an agency (1) lacks sufficient personnel to administer multiple contracts; (2)reasonably concludes that consolidation will result in substantial cost savings or efficiencies; (3) needs a single contractor to perform all the requirements to ensure the effective coordination and integration of interrelated tasks; (4) is  attempting to avoid the need to analyze the source of technical problems and the resulting “finger pointing” amongst contracts; (5) is bundling the requirements to ensure military readiness; (6) reasonably expects it will not receive competition for all of its requirements if it solicits for them separately. Mere assertion of these circumstances is insufficient, the agency must be able to provide these considerations actually exist

** For example, can you establish that the agency’s cost or price evaluation method does not account for the solicitation’s contemplated delivery schedules, considers services that will not be provided per the contract, or attempts to evaluate only a portion of the performance costs.

***The Government may not be obligated to submit a notice under the “ unusual and compelling urgency” exception if the Government would be significantly injured by the agency’s compliance with the required timeframe for potential offerors to respond.

****THE RULE OF TWO:: All acquisitions above the micro-purchase threshold but less than the simplified acquisition threshold must be set aside for small businesses, unless the Contracting Officer concludes there is no reasonable expectation of receiving offers from two or more capable and responsible small business concerns that will be competitive as far as market price, delivery, and quality are concerned.

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