The delay of contract award or performance triggered by a GAO protest, coupled with the increasing number of GAO protests, has also prompted concerns about the potential impact of protests upon government agency operations, especially in the Department of Defense. [...] The increase in the effectiveness rate could indicate that not only are the number of protests increasing but the number of protests that have merit is increasing. [...] The agency then evaluates the bids or proposals based on the criteria set forth in the solicitation and awards a contract to the winning firm.14 In an effort to protect the integrity of the procurement system, the FAR and federal law provide mechanisms for contractors to object to contract awards. [...] By 2001, Congress had removed bid protest jurisdiction from the General Services Board of Contract Appeals and the U. S. District Court, leaving GAO the sole government-wide forum for hearing administrative protests and the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) the only judicial forum for hearing such protests.17 Companies can also file a protest with the agency awarding the contract, and under certain c [...] R2 is a descriptive measure between 0 and 1. The closer the R2 value is to one, the better the fit of the trend line to the data.