By Grace Mahan Among the reasons why a governmental agency might disqualify an offeror from consideration for a procurement is the existence of an organizational conflict of interest (OCI). Indeed, according to FAR § 9.504(a)(2), a contracting officer must act to avoid or mitigate a potential OCI. If an OCI cannot be neutralized, an agency...
Month: March 2018
The SBA’s Guide to the Ostensible Contractor Rule
By Grace Mahan In a recent size appeal decision, Emergent, Inc., SBA No. SIZ-5875, the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearing and Appeals (OHA) reinforced the criteria it uses to evaluate the “ostensible subcontractor” rule. The rule provides that when a prime contractor is unusually reliant on a subcontractor or when a subcontractor is...
Bargains or Red Flags: Satisfying An Agency’s Cost-Realism Analysis
By Grace Mahan Like any other commercial customer, government agencies seek out bargains in their contracts for goods and services. Accordingly, it behooves government contractors to price their bids competitively. However, although tendering the lowest bid seems like a surefire way to win a contract award, the strategy can lead to the correction or dismissal...