UKCan I protest a contract award I think was unfair?
Yes — to the agency, the GAO (most common), or the Court of Federal Claims. But protests challenge process errors, not disappointment, and deadlines are brutal: generally within 10 days of knowing the basis, or 5 days after a required debrief to get the automatic stay. In FY2024, 52% of GAO protests yielded some relief.
Viable grounds look like: the evaluation departed from the solicitation’s stated criteria, offerors were treated unequally, or the price analysis was materially flawed. GAO must decide within 100 days; filing within the post-debrief window triggers an automatic suspension of contract performance.
The formal sustain rate is modest — 16% of GAO merit decisions in FY2024 — but agencies often take voluntary corrective action when a protest exposes a real flaw, which is why the overall effectiveness rate reached 52%. Weigh legal cost and the buyer relationship before filing; protest broken process, not lost hope.
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