GAO Upholds Agency Decision to Issue a Sole Source Bridge Contract
On October 5, 2018, the GAO denied a protest challenging the award of a bridge contract related to the Air Force’s Network-Centric Solutions-2 (NETCENTS-2) IDIQ procurement. The Air Force was not satisfied with the incumbent's performance during the base year and decided not to exercise the option to allow it to continue work. This left the Air Force in a predicament. To continue IT services previously provided by the incumbent, Technica Corporation, until a new contract award could be made, the Air Force issued a sole source "bridge contract" to Leidos Innovation Corporation, a large business. The Air Force justified this sole source procurement based on "urgent circumstances." The GAO upheld the Air Force's decision and found that "the agency’s need for the services is of an urgent nature, and that providing a fair opportunity to all NETCENTS-2 vendors would result in unacceptable delays." This case illustrates the significant discretion an agency has when justifying a sole source procurement based on urgent and compelling circumstances.
