scope:

PURPOSE. This Instruction establishes the Coast Guard Ombudsman Program for Agency Protests (OPAP). It is intended to encourage interested parties to seek resolution of their concerns informally within the Coast Guard as an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) forum, rather than filing a protest with the General Accounting Office (GAO) or other external forum. It is designed to resolve contractor protests in a faster, less expensive manner than could be accomplished at an external forum. Concerns of interested parties can be resolved through independent, government binding adjudication taking place outside the procuring activity's chain of command.