As our GSA team was quickly dispatched from INPUT's offices in Reston, VA on Wednesday afternoon having just found out a few hours earlier that John Johnson, GSA Assistant Commissioner was to speak at the ACT/IAC Membership Meeting. Mr. Johnson's appearance provided a status update for the GSA Alliant GWAC. Johnson opened by providing the now familiar events of the Alliant requirement, including the initial Small-Business and Full and Open awards and subsequent protests.

Johnson reviewed Alliant's court appearance providing insight into what the ruling determined were the weaknesses of GSA's initial review process:

• Past Performance Consistency
• Rankings of Basic Contractor's Plans
• Documentation for Price Evaluation
• Trade-offs and Analysis/Rationale Documentation

The new milestones of Alliant:

• Johnson stated that the revised Alliant awards, both small-business and full and open, are anticipated in December 2008.
• Due to Alliant's ongoing evaluation, GSA ANSWER has been extended through June 30, 2009 and GSA Millennia has been extended through October 31, 2009 to allow more time for transition to Alliant once awards have been finalized.

GSA has not reopened the process to receive revised proposals; they are simply asking for revalidated past performance information. In addition, GSA is handling the entire source selection process in-house to avoid any further controversy. But questions remain.

What are the implications for industry and the future of this contract vehicle? With a December 2008 anticipated award timeframe, when can we expect to see task orders beginning to fly through Alliant? Should we expect another round of protests following the December awards? Clearly, GSA has had a hard time getting this vehicle off the ground. With both industry and Federal Government watching to see how Alliant performs, the looming pressure on GSA continues.