A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision offers an important reminder that agencies cannot apply evaluation criteria that differ from the language of the solicitation. In Veterans Management Services, Inc., B-424182.2; B-424182.3 (June 22, 2026), GAO sustained a bid protest after finding that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) improperly limited its review of
What happens when a mentor-protégé joint venture fractures before a federal contract is awarded — and the mentor company that supplied all of the experience and past performance tries to protest the resulting contract award? The United States Court of Federal Claims answered that question decisively in IBSS v. United States, dismissing the bid
The long-anticipated award decisions for the Solutions for Enterprise Wide Procurement VI, commonly known as NASA SEWP VI, represent one of the most significant procurement developments in the federal marketplace. With an estimated ceiling value approaching $60 billion and expected to serve as a major governmentwide acquisition contract for information technology products and services across
A government contractor submitted an email bid on time — and still lost the contract before anyone at the agency ever saw the proposal. That is the painful reality at the center of Rick Aviation, Inc. v. United States, a June 2026 decision from the United States Court of Federal Claims that carries significant
A recent decision from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims delivers an important — and sobering — message to small businesses competing for federal innovation funding: Historical ties to foreign countries of concern can be sufficient, standing alone, to disqualify a company from receiving a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award, even when those ties
Federal contractors should be paying close attention to a growing issue in government procurement: the use of shadow AI and generative artificial intelligence by agency evaluators during proposal evaluations.
As federal agencies increasingly experiment with AI tools in procurement and acquisition processes, evaluators may be using generative AI platforms to summarize proposals, identify strengths and
A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) bid protest decision highlights a recurring issue in federal procurements: Agencies often take corrective action, but reevaluation errors can still lead to a sustained protest. In N&S Property Services, LLC, GAO sustained a second protest after corrective action, finding that the agency’s evaluation was unreasonable, poorly documented, and
Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements have become one of the most important — and most misunderstood — vehicles for doing business with the federal government. Once limited to niche research programs, OTAs are now widely used across the Department of Defense and civilian agencies to accelerate acquisition of emerging technologies, prototypes, and innovative capabilities.
For
A recent decision from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition (ODRA) delivers significant rulings on two fronts: the unenforceability of contractual bid protest bars in FAA procurements, and the FAA’s renewed commitment to transparency in its adjudicative proceedings. Protest of Cavan Solutions, 2026 WL 1284037 (O.D.R.A. 2026), is required reading
A recent executive order marks a significant policy shift in federal procurement by directing agencies to default to fixed-price, performance-based contracting. Framed as an effort to promote fiscal discipline, transparency, and accountability, the order reflects concerns about cost overruns and inefficiencies associated with cost-reimbursement models. This post examines the order’s key provisions, its legal and