Attesa Group, LLC (B-423096)

You should not care.

Category: Technical evaluation, process issue, past performance

Date: 16 January 2025

URL: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-423096

Attesa Group LLC, an 8(a) small business, protested the award of an acquisition-support contract to Nakupuna Services LLC by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). The protest focused on MCC's evaluation of proposals, specifically weaknesses identified during Attesa's Phase III oral presentation, including concerns about its performance management, employee benefits, and recruitment practices. GAO found that MCC’s evaluation was reasonable, adequately documented, and in line with the solicitation’s criteria:

• Performance management: MCC assigned a weakness for Attesa's "three-strike" rule for addressing poor performance, which was seen as unrealistic for critical failures.
• Employee benefits: Attesa received a weakness for offering only one health insurance option, a concern based on an agency survey of incumbent employees.
• Recruitment practices: MCC flagged potential inefficiencies in Attesa’s dual recruitment efforts due to its joint venture structure.

GAO denied the protest.

Digest

Protest challenging the agency’s evaluation of proposals is denied where the agency’s evaluation was generally reasonable, adequately documented, and in accordance with the terms of the solicitation, and, to the extent any errors were made, such errors were not competitively prejudicial to the protester.