FYI—For Your Information, Inc. (B-423774, B-423774.2)

ou should not care.

Categories: Best value, incumbent advantage, key personnel availability

Date: 19 December 2025

URL: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-423774,b-423774.2

FYI, the incumbent provider of DEA human-capital support services, protested the agency’s decision to establish a BPA with C. Evans Consulting. FYI argued the evaluation undervalued its incumbent experience and later claimed the awardee misrepresented the availability of its proposed program manager.

GAO denied the protest. It found the agency reasonably concluded that CEC’s quotation was superior under the nonprice factors and that the slight price premium was justified in the best value tradeoff. GAO also rejected the idea that incumbent status entitled FYI to extra credit beyond what the solicitation actually measured.

The bait-and-switch style claim also failed. The record showed CEC’s proposed program manager had signed a contingent agreement before proposal submission, stayed in communication with the firm, and then executed a noncontingent agreement after award. The protest is denied.

Digest

1. Protest challenging various aspects of the agency's evaluation is denied where, in evaluating quotations, the agency reasonably concluded that the awardee's quotation was superior to the protester's under the noncost/price evaluation factors and that the awardee's slightly higher-priced quotation offered the best value to the agency.
2. Assertion that awardee misrepresented the availability of its proposed program manager is denied where the program manager had signed a contingent agreement prior to submission of awardee's quotation, engaged in ongoing communications with the awardee to confirm his availability and, following notification of award, executed a non-contingent agreement.