Watch for Conversion of Best-Value Evaluation to Lowest-Cost, Technically Acceptable
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 12.04.13
With budgetary pressures increasing, agencies are more prone to make cost the determinative factor in their evaluations – regardless of the actual evaluation scheme – improperly converting a procurement into a lowest-cost, technically acceptable one. As demonstrated in GAO's recent decision in Logistics 2020, Inc. (Nov. 6, 2013), this may occur when a solicitation calls for a best-value award, but the agency uses evaluation criteria that merely measure whether proposals are technically acceptable, not whether any qualitative differences exist between proposals.
Insights
Client Alert | 4 min read | 06.25.26
Twin Executive Orders Seek to Spur Quantum Leap in Technology and Cybersecurity
On June 22, 2026, President Trump signed two executive orders, “Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks” (Quantum Security EO) and “Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation” (Quantum Innovation EO), marking the most significant federal action on quantum technology since the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act of 2022, which directed agencies to harden their information systems against quantum-enabled hacking. The orders seek to speed the development of quantum computers, which are advanced processors that can calculate multiple possibilities simultaneously and thus solve problems exponentially faster than traditional computers. At the same time, the orders look to protect against the danger that quantum technology can “break” traditional encryption by easily decoding it. Of particular note for government contractors, the Quantum Security EO directs agencies to update federal acquisition regulations to require contractors by 2031 to adopt information processing standards that resist quantum-enabled codebreaking.
Client Alert | 7 min read | 06.24.26
Client Alert | 3 min read | 06.24.26
Client Alert | 4 min read | 06.23.26
EPA Hands Over AI Data Center Regulation to States and Communities to Develop Best Practices
