Polaris Work Resumes After Bid Protest Dismissal

A bid protest that caused the General Services Administration to pause its rollout of Polaris, the agency’s new IT-focused governmentwide acquisition contract, has been dismissed. GSA is reviewing whether additional changes are warranted for the solicitations for both the Woman-Owned Small Business and the Small Business competition pools. It is expected that the original May 13 submission deadline for these categories will be extended due the protest-related delay.

GSA announced on April 7 that it was “temporarily pausing” work on the RFP, including access to the proposal submission portal, after receiving feedback “related to the evaluation of joint ventures.” The agency wanted to time to consider whether changes were necessary.

The agency encouraged offerors to pause proposal activity pending possible changes. But with the protest in question no longer a factor, proposal teams should not further delay their work, even as offerors wait for official updates from GSA. Although the agency might amend the solicitation, offerors can confidently move forward with elements of the proposal knowing that the protest was dismissed and unlikely to cause major alterations.

GSA’s goal for Polaris is to build on the success of 8(a) STARS III and VETS 2 with a greater emphasis on “emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, automated technology, distributed ledger technology, edge computing, and immersive technology while furthering Administration efforts on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.”

For the latest updates on the Polaris contract, see our Polaris contract page.

OST Global Solutions is here to help maximize your score on your Polaris bid. We will help you develop a draft scorecard, perform a gap analysis to ensure that you make the cut-off score, and find ways to help you out-distance your competition. No matter how much assistance you require, we’re here to help.

Reach out to us to discuss how we can help you develop a winning proposal.

WinMore BD: The companies that succeed in government contracting sustain growth by identifying and pursuing opportunities systematically and aggressively submitting proposals. If you’re looking for help in building a robust pipeline, take our upcoming training in Foundations of Business Development and learn how to take the guesswork out of bidding on federal opportunities. Or, if you want to jumpstart your pipeline, our consultants can help you create a Business Development Strategy, perform a Market Analysis to determine where to focus your contracting pursuits, and help you line up the right opportunities in your pipeline.

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