Two large services contractors have filed protests over the Defense Information Systems Agency's ENCORE III solicitation, which has generated controversy by using the lowest-price, technically acceptable contracting approach.
The sprawling, multiple-award ENCORE III contract -- which could be worth up to $17.5 billion over 10 years -- is meant to help the Pentagon and other federal agencies migrate to a new DOD information network.
Booz Allen filed a pre-award protest dated April 25, arguing that even though the solicitation promises to use an LPTA model, DISA has "issued recent amendments to the RFP that are improper under an LPTA approach, presumably to address shortcomings in the originally flawed LPTA RFP."
Additionally, Booz Allen's protest argues the RFP "effectively requires that offerors propose uncompensated overtime at peril of elimination from the competition" and the technical/management evaluation factor "improperly covers only a small portion of the work specified."
Booz Allen seeks a revised RFP that addresses the problems as well as reimbursement for the cost of pursuing the protest.
CACI, in a protest filed the same day, argued "the solicitation is ambiguous, inconsistent with law, and unsuitable for the type of procurement here."
In particular, the contractor notes that the agency says it will evaluate price by multiplying proposed rates by estimated quantities, but does not provide the estimates. Additionally, CACI argues the agency's "evaluation scheme for evaluating cost/price does not take into account the realism of rates or other costs."
CACI's protest states the "technical/management criteria is flawed because it is vague, fails to give sufficient detail to provide a reasonable measure of technical acceptability, is not rationally related to the performance requirements sought under the IDIQ contract, and fails to provide for an adequate cost realism analysis."
The company, which contends LPTA is the wrong approach for this procurement, seeks a revised version of the solicitation and reimbursed costs.
In a statement provided to Inside Defense on Thursday, DISA said it is "precluded from speaking publicly during source selection and acquisition-sensitive stages in the contracting process, including ENCORE III."
Last month, two industry associations asked Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall to intervene in the procurement, arguing LPTA is an inappropriate approach for this vehicle.
The letter, sent by the Professional Services Council and the IT Alliance for Public Sector, says the use of the low-cost strategy "directly contradicts [Kendall's] March 2015 memo on the appropriate use of LPTA."
The "technological complexity" of the solutions to be bought under ENCORE III as well as the "disparate technical capabilities" of competitors necessitate a different buying model, the letter adds.
Additional reporting by Tony Bertuca.