USSOCOM / Industry Collaboration NDIA Debrief 20 August 2015 Strategic Business Solutions

Overview 2  How this Meeting Came About  Who Attended – Invitations to Participate  Ground Rules  No discussion of active USSOCOM procurements  No marketing to Government  Positive Dialog  Perspectives  Scope / Data  Causes / Solutions

Goals and Objectives 3 GOAL: Zero Protests OBJECTIVES: 1.Gain a strategic understanding of both government and industry perspective on the protest environment. 2.Debunk myths and provide a common understanding of the true scope of the protest issue. 3.Improve relations and communications between industry and USSOCOM Acquisition professionals 4.Develop strategies for eliminating the causes of protests 5.Establish mechanisms for addressing potential protests before they are filed – both at industry and government levels

GAO Bid Protest Statistics 4

5 FY 2014FY 2013FY 2012FY 2011FY 2010 Cases Filed 2,561 (up 5%) 2,429 (down 2%) 2,475 (up 5%) 2,353 (up 2%) 2,298 (up 15%) Cases Closed2,4582,5382,4952,2922,226 Merit (Sustain + Deny) Decisions Number of Sustains Sustain Rate13%17%19%16%18% Effectiveness Rate43% 42% ADR (cases used) ADR Success Rate83%86%80%82%80% Hearings 4.7% (42 cases) 3% (31cases) 6% (56 cases) 8% (46 cases) 10% (63 cases) Effectiveness Rate – Based on protester obtaining some form of relief from the Agency

GAO Protest Process 6

USSOCOM Protest Data 7

8 7 Protests/ 6 Procurements 17 Protests/ 9 Procurements 12 Protests/ 11 Procurements 24 Protests/ 19 Procurements 7 Protests/ 3 Procurements Corrective action, 2 Corrective action, 4 Corrective action, 5 Corrective action, 1 Corrective action, 3

USSOCOM Protest Data 9

Fact vs. Fiction 10 FictionFact 44% of all contracts are protestedFewer than 5% of all contracts are protested (DoD approx. 1%) Most protests are frivolousGAO sustains approximately 18% of protests and greater than 40% result in some form of relief or corrective action

Why DoD Contractors File Protests  Decision maker at the contractor expects to win  The Government really does make mistakes  Delay the award or program to hurt competition  Prove we did everything possible  Poor Debrief  Protest as a matter of policy  Obtain competitive intelligence  Hurt the winner  Delay loss of revenue stream 11 Steve Roemerman, “Why DoD Contractors File Protests, Why Some Don’t, and What the Government Can Do,” 2010

Environmental Conditions 12  No new procurements in sight  Government spends too much time trying to prevent a protest  Decline of experience among government procurement staff  Poor government communications  Poor legal advice from contractor’s retained counsel  New procurement or competitive factors  Increase in value of contracts  Longer periods of performance  Decreasing Government spending  Insourcing Steve Roemerman, “Why DoD Contractors File Protests, Why Some Don’t, and What the Government Can Do,” 2010

Reasons for Protests – The Data 13  Size determination disputes  Failure to follow process or criteria  Technical  Socio-economic status disputes  Poorly written requirements  Failure to adequately document findings  Improve agency clarity, communications, and debriefs

Why Contractors Don’t File Protests 14  No one ever wins  Fear of negative consequences  Cost  Extending the embarrassment and pain Steve Roemerman, “Why DoD Contractors File Protests, Why Some Don’t, and What the Government Can Do,” 2010

What Can Government Do? 15  Communicate agency sustain rates  Senior agency official communicate with contractor  Communicate selection factors prior to proposal submission  Communicate changing environmental factors openly with prospective bidders  Hold effective debriefs as soon as possible after decisions are made; discuss merits and lack thereof in proposals; demonstrate that winner submitted best proposal IAW evaluation criteria; follow FAR  Invest in efforts to identify and implement efficiencies  Increase transparency  Split up contract awards, where feasible

Why Contractors Don’t File Protests 16  No one ever wins  Fear of negative consequences  Cost  Extending the embarrassment and pain Steve Roemerman, “Why DoD Contractors File Protests, Why Some Don’t, and What the Government Can Do,” 2010

Key Discussion Items 17  Appearance that all Bidders are not treated equally  Scripted Debriefs  Communication Steve Roemerman, “Why DoD Contractors File Protests, Why Some Don’t, and What the Government Can Do,” 2010

Recommendations 18  Use of Checklist to Help Potential Bidders Make Bid/No Bid Decision  Be certain it is what you really want  Post Procurement Lessons Learned with Bidders and Government  Monthly Government Program Review with Industry (similar to PEO-STRI PALT)  Contracting Specialists “intern” with industry during proposal process or at least RFI Shred  More objective criteria for “Best Value” Determinations  Pre-defined Price Ranges to Prevent Best Value from Turning into LPTA  Second Industry Day after release of Draft RFP  More Single Award Procurements

Recommendations 19  Better Linkage Between C and L&M  C Written by Operators; L&M Written by Contracting Staff  Conduct Pre-Award Size Determination For Small Business Set Asides  Pre-Award Education Briefings – Explain Pre-Award Qualification Checks, Affiliation Criteria, and Grounds for Filing Protest  Tax Return Data of Bidders Available to all Bidders  Peer Review of Solicitations Prior to Release  Discontinue Practice of “Cut & Paste” RFPs  Stand up to Protests (Effectiveness Rate)  There is no deterrent to protest

Specific Action Items 20  Dialog with PEO-STRI to Replicate PALT Process Here  Closer Examination of Cost Reasonableness and Cost Realism  Examine Feasibility of Government / Industry “Exchange” Program  Explore Peer Review Process / Establish Criteria  Better Data Collection Efforts to Allow for Better Root Cause Analysis  Explore Recommendations to Solicit More Input from Industry on Draft RFPs  Research Decision Support Tools (Decision Lens)