DOAS_Protest_Decision RE RFP 40800DOI0000016 .pdf

Phone: 404-656-5514 200 Piedmont Avenue SE Suite 1804 West Tower Atlanta, Georgia 30334-9010 Fax: 404-656-6279 www.doas.ga.gov

Brian P. Kemp Governor

Rebecca N. Sullivan Commissioner

May 15, 2024

VIA US Mail and E-MAIL

Alex Hontos, Partner, Trial Group Dorsey & Whitney, LLP 50 South Sixth Street Suite 1500 Minneapolis, MN 55402 hontos.alex@dorsey.com

RE: Protest Regarding RFP 40800-DOI0000016 “OCI Contact Center”

Dear Mr. Hontos:

This letter is in response to Maximus US Services, Inc.’s (“Maximus”) protest relating to the above referenced solicitation and request for extension of the protest period. Both the request and the protest are denied for the reasons outlined below.

Background: On December 12, 2023, the Department Administrative Services (“DOAS”) issued Request for Proposal 40800-DOI0000016 entitled “OCI Contact Center” (“RFP”) on behalf of the Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner (“OCI”). The solicitation closed on January 26, 2024. A Notice of Intent to Award (“NOIA”) was posted on May 3, 2024, announcing OCI’s intent to award a contract to VIMO Inc. DBA GetInsured (“GetInsured”).

On Monday, May 6, 2024, at 3:26PM ET, Maximus’s Vice President of Business Development, Southeast contacted the Issuing Officer, requesting a debrief “to gain insights on the scoring outcomes for future opportunities”, referencing RFP Attachment A Section 2.1.14 and Georgia Procurement Manual (“GPM”) Section 6.6. Maximus requested that the debrief be scheduled before the end of the day on Wednesday, May 8th. Additionally, Maximus requested scoring graphics that were referenced in the NOIA. The Issuing Officer responded at 3:48PM ET, acknowledging receipt of the email and indicating that the document was located on the Georgia Procurement Registry (“GPR”) titled “Contact Center Bid Tabulation”. After additional clarification from Maximus regarding the information that it sought, the Issuing Officer attached the referenced graph to the NOIA the following day (Tuesday).1 The Issuing Officer also offered two potential dates for debriefing, May 15th and May 16th. On Wednesday, May 8, 2024, Maximus contacted the Issuing Officer and requested an earlier date for the debriefing, indicating “We are eager to receive feedback and insights”. The Issuing Officer responded that per policy, the debriefing process cannot take place until the Notice of Award has been posted.

Maximus responded that it was not aware of the requirement and requested the invitation for May 15th.

On May 13, 2024, DOAS received Maximus’s protest of the NOIA. In Maximus’s protest, Maximus contends that it “has concerns regarding the intended award decision and GetInsured’s ability to perform and provide a Contact Center and inbound Mailroom for Georgia Access” to OCI. Maximus contends that “at this time, DOAS has released only a single

1 The graph referenced was simply a graph of the information provided in the Cost Score, Validated Score, and Final Cost Score + Validated Score columns, and the graph was attached to the Bid Tabulation the next day.

DocuSign Envelope ID: 76ABD0E2-BB84-474D-8F8E-91E6F0C1077A mailto:hontos.alex@dorsey.com

Phone: 404-656-5514 200 Piedmont Avenue SE Suite 1804 West Tower Atlanta, Georgia 30334-9010 Fax: 404-656-6279 scoring tabulation sheet and the notice of intent to award and has released no procurement records in response to Maximus’s public records requests.” Maximus also contends that despite its request for a prompt debriefing, the State has indicated that a debriefing will not take place until after the protest period has expired. Maximus requests that DOAS extend the protest period because DOAS has not made mandatory disclosures of procurement information, has not responded to Maximus’s public records requests, and has not afforded Maximus a debriefing. Maximus also reserves the right to file an amended protest until at least ten calendar days after the agency’s release of procurement records.2

Records Request: Maximus has requested that DOAS extend the protest period, stating that DOAS had not made mandatory disclosures of procurement information and had not responded to Maximus’s public records requests.

According to GPM Section 6.5.7., titled “Filing Deadlines,” protests must be received within ten (10) calendar days after the protesting party knows or should have known of the action being protested, or by the protest filing deadline in Table

6.8, whichever is earlier. Table 6.8 specifies that challenges to an intended contract award exceeding $250,000 must be filed within ten calendar days of the NOIA posting date. In this case, Maximus was required to file a protest on or before

May 13, 2024, which it did. Maximus is now seeking to extend the timeframe to submit its amended protest, alleging that DOAS failed to provide records in a timely manner.

GPM Section 6.5.7. “Filing Deadlines” states that if a state entity does not provide access to records included in the register of proposals or the administrative review within one business day of issuance, an interested supplier may request an extension of the filing period to extend the protest period by the number of days it took the state entity to produce the records beyond the first business day. On Friday, May 3, as required under Section I.6. “Public Access to

Procurement Information” of the GPM, the Issuing Officer posted a bid tabulation on the GPR, recording each proposal that conformed to the solicitation advertisement's terms, along with their cost score and validated technical score, fulfilling its obligation.

On Friday, May 10, 2024, at 11:53 AM, DOAS received Maximus’s records request through its records management portal, requesting copies of the winning proposal (cost and technical), all competitor proposals (cost and technical), all evaluation notes, technical scoring evaluations, and any vendor presentation materials used during the evaluation period.3 DOAS produced all responsive records on the next business day, Monday, May 13, 2024. The procurement system cannot function if contract awards are subject to indefinite challenges; thus, the GPM provides a specific timeframe for challenging contract awards. Although the GPM allows for extension of the timeframe under certain circumstances, these are limited. Since Maximus waited until the end of the NOIA period to request the documents from

DOAS, and DOAS provided the records the following business day, which is timely, Maximus is not entitled to additional time to supplement or amend its protest. Therefore, I deny Maximus’s request.

Request for Debriefing: Maximus appears to assert that DOAS should extend the protest period because DOAS has not provided Maximus with a debriefing. However, DOAS’s debriefing process is not adversarial and cannot be used to challenge a state entity’s selection and award process. The purpose of the supplier debriefing process is to improve suppliers’ understanding of the procurement process and to help them enhance the competitiveness of future

2 Maximus also asserts that DOAS should stay further procurement activities during the extended protest period and until resolution of any amended and supplemental protest Maximus submits. See Section 6.5.8. of the GPM.

3 Maximus indicated that it submitted a records request to OCI on May 6th. As provided in GPM Section I.6. entitled “Public Access to Procurement Information,” “For all solicitations conducted by SPD, records requests may be submitted through DOAS’s records management portal located at https://orr.doas.ga.gov/.” As provided in Section 1.1. of Attachment A of the RFP, “Department of Administrative Services is issuing this solicitation on behalf of the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance & Safety Fire”.

https://orr.doas.ga.gov/

Phone: 404-656-5514 200 Piedmont Avenue SE Suite 1804 West Tower Atlanta, Georgia 30334-9010 Fax: 404-656-6279 responses. 4 As provided in Section 6.6.2. of the GPM entitled “Process for Requesting and Conducting Supplier

Debriefings”, the procuring entity should, whenever possible, attempt to conduct the supplier debriefing within thirty

(30) days of the written request, but only after the protest process and any related litigation are resolved. As the protest process concludes upon issuance of the Notice of Award, and the issuing officer was not obligated under the terms of the GPM to conduct a supplier debriefing prior to close of the NOIA, I deny Maximus’s request to extend the protest period.

Other Contentions: As Maximus's concerns about the award decision and GetInsured's capability to manage a Contact

Center and inbound Mailroom for OCI are vague and unsubstantiated, I must conclude that Maximus's protest on these matters is without merit.

Accordingly, your protest and related requests are denied.

Sincerely, Jim Barnaby Deputy Commissioner cc: Towanda Cuthbert, DOAS Issuing Officer, Towanda.cuthbert1@doas.ga.gov

Gabriel Harsell, harsell.gabriel@dorsey.com Christopher DeLong, delong.christopher@dorsey.com

4 See Section 6.6 “Supplier Debriefing Process”.

mailto:Towanda.cuthbert1@doas.ga.gov mailto:harsell.gabriel@dorsey.com mailto:delong.christopher@dorsey.com