Administrative Conference of the United States Launches Study of Agency-Level Bid Protests

Abstract

The Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) is undertaking a study of agency-level bid protests. The author of this article has been engaged by the Administrative Conference to undertake that study. The project will study agency-level bid protest procedures under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and agency-specific regulations. It will analyze agency regulations governing various aspects of agency-level bid protests, including review above the level of the contracting officer, standard clauses governing protest procedures, and the exchange of information during protests. The study will offer a series of options for agency-level bid protest procedures, and recommendations regarding when specific procedures may be appropriate for adoption. This article summarizes the phases of the study and the process for the Administrative Conference's review, and outlines the research plan for the study. The study will build on an analytical structure for effective bid protest systems suggested by former Associate Dean Daniel Gordon, in "Constructing a Bid Protest Process: Choices Every Procurement Challenge System Must Make," 35 Public Contract Law Journal 427 (2006), available here: https://ssrn.com/abstract=892781.

Note: Reprinted from The Government Contractor, with permission of Thomson Reuters. Copyright © 2019. Further use without the permission of West is prohibited. For further information about this publication, please visit http://legal.thomsonreuters.com, or call 800.328.9352.

Keywords: Bid protests, Agency-level bid protests, Administrative Conference of the United States

JEL Classification: K23, H57