Inside the good, the bad and ugly of debriefings and bid protests

UPDATE: There is still time to register for this great event. Click here.

Contractors can spend tens of thousands of dollars and much more to pursue contracts. When they fall short, they want to know why.

The main source of insights into unsuccessful bids is agency debriefings. But unfortunately, debriefings are woefully inadequate, according to our research. The result is that companies often file bid protests: not just because they think they should have won but to really know know why they lost.

Our next Washington Technology Power Breakfast is Sept. 21 at the Tower Club in Tysons, Virginia. We’ll dive deep into the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Debriefings and Bid Protests.

I’ll present the results of our latest research into the quality of debriefings and what leads companies to file bid protests. The report is nearly complete and the results aren’t pretty. Most of the respondents see poor quality of debriefings as driving the need to file bid protests.

We’ll also have as a speaker Ralph White, managing associate general counsel for procurement law at the Government Accountability Office. He manages the protest process and will share his insights on what is happening with protests. I’m calling it the "Myths and Misunderstandings" of bid protests.

We’ll have a panel of attorneys including Jerry Howe, general counsel for Leidos;James Fontana, managing partner of Dempsey Fontana; and Cy Alba, partner with PilleroMazza. They’ll discuss the decisions to protest and also what happens when your contract gets protested. Look for them to provide some insights on specific cases they’ve handled.

Yvonne Vervaet, chief growth officer and senior vice president for ManTech International, will share her insights on how to get the most out of a debriefing.

This is a great opportunity to hear from experts in the field in order to get a better understanding on why debriefings are important and why bid protests are fact of life in the market.

The event starts at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast and networking. The program then kicks off at 8 a.m. Everything will wrap up by 10:30 a.m.

Click here to sign up. See you there.