The commitment of proposed key personnel in a competitive proposal is usually straightforward, until it isn’t. A recent GAO protest illustrates the challenges protesters can raise in addressing the commitment and availability of proposed key personnel.
The protester argued the awardee’s key personnel statements of commitment were invalid because they were not signed by the key personnel. GAO denied, finding that the solicitation terms permitted the statement of commitments to be signed by a key person’s current employer.
The protester also claimed that the proposed Project Manager candidate of the awardee, a key position, was not available because a job opening was advertised before award that was the same as the PM position under the award. The proposed PM also made statements in a LinkedIn post that he had taken a position with another firm. GAO notes that the candidate had signed a letter of commitment stating that he would take the position if award was made. They found that the advertisement of the PM position and the candidate’s comments on LinkedIn did not demonstrate that the candidate was unavailable for the award.
The GAO decision states: “While an offeror generally is required to advise an agency when it knows that one or more key employees have become unavailable after the submission of proposals, there is no such obligation when the offeror does not have actual knowledge of the employee’s unavailability.”
As explained in the decision, advising agencies of changes in proposed staffing and resources, even after proposal submission, is based on the notion that a firm may not properly receive award of a contract based on knowing material misrepresentations in its offer. In other words, offerors must inform the Contracting Officer when they know, or have been informed, that a proposed key personnel candidate is no longer available for the proposed contract.
Read the details here.
Can a Key Person’s Current Employer Sign Their Commitment Letter? No Problem, Says GAO.
