Mission SOLAIYA JV, LLC (B-421775.11)

Category: Compliance issue, mentor-protege

Date: November 7, 2024

URL: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-421775.11

You should not care.

Mission SOLAIYA JV, LLC (MSJV) protested its exclusion from GSA’s OASIS+ awards, arguing that GSA wrongly found its proposal noncompliant with a requirement that mentor-protégé joint ventures submit at least one qualifying project from either the joint venture itself or the protégé. MSJV’s proposal included a project from SOLAIYA's parent company instead, accompanied by a meaningful relationship letter to establish the connection. MSJV contended that using a project from an affiliate was valid under the RFP’s guidelines.

GAO denied the protest, explaining that the RFP clearly required mentor-protégé joint ventures to submit a project from the joint venture or protégé, making MSJV’s interpretation unreasonable. GAO emphasized that the qualifying project requirement was not a scored evaluation element, unlike elements eligible for affiliate resources under a meaningful relationship letter. GAO found GSA’s evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the solicitation, ultimately upholding the agency’s decision to deem MSJV ineligible.

Digest

Protest challenging exclusion of the protester’s proposals from consideration for award is denied where the agency’s evaluation of the proposals was reasonable and consistent with the terms of the solicitation.