Organizational Conflicts of Interest (Post-Award Protest Primer #13)

Today we’ll consider Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCIs) as a ground of protest.  The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) defines an OCI as a situation where “because of other activities or relationships with other persons, a person is unable or potentially unable to render impartial assistance or advice to the Government, or the person’s objectivity in performing the contract work is or might be otherwise impaired, or a person has an unfair competitive advantage.”  FAR 2.101.  An entire subpart of the FAR (9.5) currently addresses OCIs.  The FAR Councils issued proposed amendments to the OCI regulations nearly seven years ago, 76 Fed.