A protest is a formal challenge to an agency’s solicitation terms or award decision, typically filed at the Government
Accountability Office (GAO), the Court of Federal Claims, or the agency itself. Common grounds include unreasonable evaluations,
unequal discussions, organizational conflicts of interest, or flawed best-value tradeoffs. Protests follow strict filing deadlines
and procedural rules; automatic stays of performance may apply under the Competition in Contracting Act if timely filed. For
offerors, protests are a tool to ensure fairness and transparency, but they also entail cost and schedule impacts. Agencies
mitigate protest risk through well-documented market research, clear evaluation criteria, and rational source selection decisions.
- Procurement & RFP Basics
Protest (GAO)
A legal challenge to the terms of a solicitation or to the award decision.
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Related Glossary Terms
Post-award explanation of evaluation results to offerors, used for learning and protest decisions.
Evaluation method allowing the buyer to trade higher price for superior non-price factors.
Defines factors, subfactors, and relative importance used to rate proposals.