Alliant small-biz GWAC gets a second look

The General Services Administration is taking another look at its Alliant Small Business contract awards.

GSA asked the 62 small businesses on the governmentwide acquisition contract to extend their offers until Oct. 28, in a notice officials sent to those firms. Companies had until March 26 to tell GSA if they would agree to the extension, the notice stated.

"GSA is being proactive in the [Alliant Small Business contract] evaluation by conducting a new past-performance survey based upon the information provided in the existing proposals," the agency wrote.

GSA won't use the same contractor that worked on the previous past-performance survey in this next round, it said. However, GSA will continue to follow the evaluation criteria established in the solicitation and will not accept any revisions to offers.

The agency awarded spots to 62 companies on its five-year, $15 billion Alliant Small Business governmentwide contract December 17.

The Alliant Small Business contract is a major contract in government information technology for the 62 small firms currently on the contract. The contract's value rivals the $17 billion in sales on GSA's largest schedule contract, Schedule 70.

Alliant Small Business offers access to a range of management and technical support services. Agencies can buy complex IT services under a pre-competed multiple award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract.

GSA is reviewing its Alliant Small Business award decisions because of a Federal Claims Court ruling made March 3, the notice stated. Judge Francis Allegra halted any action on the Alliant contract because of numerous problems. Allegra found problems with the past performance information GSA used in the formula to determine contract awardees.

GSA based its past-performance evaluations on "sketchy" information, and the agency used that information as a major factor in awarding the massive governmentwide contract, Allegra wrote in his opinion on the Alliant case.

After protests of the GSA's initial Alliant awards in July, the same protesting companies sued in the claims court. Before the judge's decision, GSA had awarded the places on the contract to 30 companies. GSA is currently reviewing 62 proposals it received for the Alliant contract.

Matthew Weigelt writes for Federal Computer Week, an 1105 Government Information Group publication.