Enhanced Postaward Debriefing Rights

On March 22, 2018, the Department of Defense (DoD) published a Memorandum entitled “Enhanced Postaward Debriefing Rights.” This was issued to implement paragraphs (b) and (c) of Section 818 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 which amended 10 USC 2305(b)(5) and 31 USC 3553 (d)(4).

This memo requires the DoD to include more information in the debriefings than currently given. Specifically, the Government must provide a redacted copy of the Source Selection Decision Document and give the unsuccessful offeror an opportunity to submit additional questions within 2 days after the debriefing. The debriefing won’t be considered concluded until those questions are answered in writing, and they must be answered within 5 days. This provision is applicable to small business awards between $10 Million and $100 Million or for any contract (regardless of size of the business) valued over $100 million.

The memo also warned DoD agencies that it must suspend contract performance upon receipt of a GAO protest: within 10 days after the date of award, or 5 days after the debriefing if no additional questions are posed, or 5 days after the written answers are delivered if additional questions are asked – whichever is later.

For help crafting debriefing questions or a discussion about whether or not to protest, please feel free to contact us.

Senior VA TAC Engineer joins F&A!

We are pleased to announce that Chris Swenarton has joined our team!

Prior to joining Ferlise and Associates, Chris functioned as a Program Manager (PM) for the VA’s Technology Acquisition Center (TAC).   In that role, Chris served as the Source Selection Evaluation Board (SSEB) Chair and as the Technical Factor Chair for numerous high dollar value, mission critical Information Technology (IT) acquisitions at the TAC to include T4 and T4NG.   Chris also managed the development and deployment of numerous cloud-based IT solutions to address the VA’s massive compensation claims backlog.   These innovative IT solutions digitized all paper-based claims documentation, improved the accuracy of claims rating decisions, and reduced the backlog by over 85%.

Prior to his years at the VA, Chris supported the Department of the Army for over 25 years.   His experience includes serving as Acting Director for the CERDEC’s Space and Terrestrial Communications Directorate (S&TCD) where he managed a workforce of over 400 employees in the development and testing of battlefield communications technologies.   Chris also served as the Deputy PM for Tactical Radio Communications Systems (TRCS) and as Chief of the Technical Management Division for three unique PM offices:  TRCS, Field Artillery Tactical Data Systems (FATDS), and Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T).

Chris has received numerous civilian awards and decorations, most notably the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service and the Fort Monmouth Employee of the Year.  He holds a Bachelor’s of Chemical Engineering from Villanova University (1984) and a Masters of Computer Science (1992) from Monmouth University.

Welcome aboard Chris!