Opportunity

The purpose of this notice is to provide information regarding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) May 26, 2017, decision to take corrective action on protests received pertaining to the awards made on March 7, 2017, under the Request for Proposal (RFP) Number HSHQDC-16-R-00118 for the Flexible Agile Support for the Homeland (FLASH) requirement. DHS has made the decision to cancel the FLASH solicitation, HSHQDC-16-R-00118, and Terminate for Convenience of the Government the eleven associated awards. After a review of the protests filed and a thorough assessment of the source selection documentation and mission requirements, DHS determined that it should take corrective action in the form of cancelling the solicitation. In making its decision to take corrective action, DHS considered several factors, including: While the planning, solicitation, and source evaluation approaches used were innovative, DHS did not properly align associated business processes and documentation requirements. Significant changes in agency requirements that evolved during the award and protest periods would result in the need for significant amendments. Key evaluation team members are no longer with the agency, thereby limiting the agency's ability to fairly reevaluate the technical challenges. While disappointed with the outcome of the protests, the DHS Acting Under Secretary for Management is proud of the creativity, flexibility, and willingness of the FLASH acquisition team and industry participants to experiment. According to the Chief Procurement Officer, "Our goal in the Procurement Innovation Lab is to always encourage and enable the process of innovation regardless of the outcome." DHS recognizes that innovation emanates as much from failure as it does from success. The Department is committed to using this opportunity to obtain feedback from industry and all members of the acquisition team so that we can apply the lessons learned to all future procurement actions.