Designer Associates, Inc.

B-293226 February 12, 2004

Protest:

Designer Associates, Inc. protests the decision of the Department of the Air Force and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to place the Air Force requirement for maintenance and repairs services for military family housing at Hill Air Force Base (AFB), Utah, under SBA's section 8(a) business development program for award of a sole-source contract to Creative Times, Inc. Designer Associates contends that the Air Force's decision to offer these requirements to SBA, and SBA's resulting acceptance, were improper.

Decision:

We deny the protest

Decision Summary:

1. Protest that the contracting agency's letter offering requirement to Small Business Administration (SBA) for acceptance into 8(a) program failed to provide SBA with complete and accurate information regarding the proposed offering is denied where the record shows that despite inadequacies in the contracting agency's initial offering letter to SBA, SBA ultimately obtained all of the information required by its regulations and the protester was not prejudiced by the contracting agency's error.

2. Protest that the contracting agency's decision to alter the traditional duration of its service contract, in order to make a noncompetitive award under the SBA 8(a) program, was made in bad faith is denied where there is no evidence of such bad faith and where the record shows that the agency had a valid reason for its action.