Opinion ID: 2176374
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Contract Award Process

Text: Since 1985, the District of Columbia government has provided dental and vision care benefits to all non-union employees. The District awarded the first contract to administer this program to GIA. On October 7, 1991, near the expiration of this first contract, the District issued a request for proposals (RFP) from qualified minority contractors [1] for a new one-year contract to administer the benefits program during calendar year 1992. The proposed contract also provided renewal options for four one-year extensions. The deadline for the submissions was November 12, 1991. Only two firms bid on the contract: GIA and QDP. A four-person committee, headed by the District Controller, evaluated GIA's and QDP's proposals, rating them on a 110-point scale that took into account company and staff qualifications, proposed service, quality of oral presentation, and contract price. The Committee gave GIA and QDP substantially similar ratings for their qualifications, proposed services, and oral presentations. There was, however, a significant difference between the two firms' price proposals. QDP offered a price of $2.00 per participant for the first year of operation, while GIA's proposed price was $3.35 per participant. The evaluation committee recommended that the District award the contract to QDP. As a result, on January 7, 1992, the District entered into a letter agreement with QDP, authorizing QDP to begin service in accord with the terms of its proposal and providing for the parties to enter into a definitive contract within 183 days. On the same day, the District notified GIA that it had not been selected.