U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Bid Protests #B-424517, B-424517.2

NIH Emergency Customer Service Call Center Support Services Procurement

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), under the Department of Health and Human Services, sought emergency customer service call center support services to handle a range of operator functions. - Government Buyer: - Department of Health and Human Services - National Institutes of Health (NIH) - Center for Information Technology - OEMs and Vendors Mentioned: - cFocus Software Incorporated (awardee) - AFCO LLC (AFCO Global Solutions, incumbent and protester) - Products/Services Requested: - Emergency customer service call center support services - Operator services for general informational calls - Emergency call handling - Paging requests - Teleconferencing support - Placing national and international calls - Assistance for hearing impaired/deaf community (teletypewriter/text telephone) - Notable Requirements: - Emphasis on technical capability, management approach, and staffing plan - Key personnel qualifications and letters of commitment required - Organizational experience and certifications considered in evaluation - Fixed-price order structure - Multi-year contract with base and option periods

Description

This procurement involved a protest against the issuance of an order for emergency customer service call center support services by the Department of Health and Human Services, NIH. The protest challenged the evaluation and best-value determination made under RFQ No. NIH-CIT-2026-1, specifically alleging unreasonable evaluation of quotations and misrepresentation of key personnel availability. The agency evaluated quotations based on technical capability and management approach, staffing plan, key personnel qualifications, and organizational experience and certifications, ultimately awarding the order to cFocus Software Incorporated. The protest was denied by the GAO after review.

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