NTT DATA Services Federal Government, LLC (B-422235.5; B-422235.6)

NTT DATA Services Federal Government, LLC (B-422235.5; B-422235.6)
Photo by Dane Deaner / Unsplash

Category: Process issue

Date: November 18, 2024

URL: https://www.gao.gov/assets/880/873248.pdf

You should not care.

NTT DATA Services Federal Government, LLC, protested USAID's award to Salient CRGT, Inc., for an IT O&M contract, asserting that Salient had unmitigable OCIs through its work on a related task order. NTT further alleged that USAID's waiver of these OCIs was invalid and improperly executed.

GAO reviewed USAID's OCI waiver under FAR section 9.503, which allows agencies to waive conflicts when determined to be in the government's best interest. GAO found that the waiver was properly executed: it was in writing, set forth the extent of the conflict, and was approved by the head of the contracting activity. Importantly, the waiver's validity did not depend on whether the OCIs identified by NTT were meritorious; USAID opted to waive them regardless to preserve competition. GAO also determined that USAID had conducted a reasonable OCI investigation, which found no actual conflicts.

GAO upheld the agency's use of the waiver and dismissed other OCI-related claims as academic following its execution.

Digest

Protest that agency’s waiver of organizational conflicts of interest is invalid and unreasonable is denied when the waiver is consistent with the requirements of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.