AdapTech General Scientific, LLC.

B-293867 June 4, 2004

Protest:

AdapTech General Scientific, LLC protests the award of a contract to Resource Management Concepts, Inc. (RMC) under request for proposals (RFP) No. N00421-03-R-0114, issued by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division as a competitive section 8(a) set-aside for support services. AdapTech challenges the agency's source selection methodology and asserts that RMC engaged in an improper "bait and switch" of its proposed personnel.

Decision:

We deny the protest

Decision Summary:

1. Where underlying evaluation record confirms agency's finding of no significant difference in technical quality between protester's and awardee's equally-rated proposals, source selection authority reasonably concluded that awardee's lower-priced proposal represented "best value" to the government.

2. Allegation of improper "bait and switch" scheme by awardee based on job offers to incumbent key and non-key personnel is denied where there is no showing that awardee misrepresented availability of its proposed key personnel; job offers were made after incumbent personnel contacted awardee post-award; contract includes key personnel substitution provision; although awardee plans to request substitution of 3 of 11 key personnel, all but one proposed key employee--who left the firm--is available to perform if substitution is not approved; and potential substitution of non-key personnel could have no impact on evaluation, which focused on key, not non-key, personnel qualifications.