BNUMBER: B-278185
DATE: December 5, 1997
TITLE: Environmental Training and Consulting International, Inc., B-
278185, December 5, 1997
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Matter of:Environmental Training and Consulting International, Inc.
File: B-278185
Date:December 5, 1997
Jeanne C. Crouch for the protester.
Sherry Kinland Kaswell, Esq., and Alton E. Woods, Esq., Department of
the Interior, for the agency.
Henry J. Gorczycki, Esq., and Guy R. Pietrovito, Esq., Office of the
General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision.
DIGEST
Agency reasonably determined that a quotation for training services
which submitted for evaluation the actual materials to be used for the
solicited training represented a better value to the government, all
other factors being essentially equal, than a quotation which only
submitted materials designed for the
training needs of other clients together with a proposal to design the
materials to be used to address the agency's needs.
DECISION
Environmental Training and Consulting International, Inc. (ETCI)
protests the award of a purchase order to Franklin Covey Co. under
request for quotations (RFQ) No. 1435-03-97-RQ-00062, issued by the
Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service (MMS), for
in-house training on the implementation of the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and preparation of NEPA
documents.
We deny the protest.
MMS conducted this procurement pursuant to the small purchase
procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation, Part 13. The RFQ,
issued on August 26, 1997, solicited quotations for instructional
materials, a training course, and a trainer, for which award of a
purchase order would be made on a best value basis. The stated
evaluation factors were price, information submitted, and adherence to
the stated specifications.[1] Quoters were to submit information
establishing the firm's/trainer's record of conducting NEPA training
sessions, references, and commendations and copies of the material to
be used for the training.[2]
MMS received quotes from ETCI and Franklin Covey. ETCI quoted a
totally custom-designed course with an experienced trainer for a price
of $10,000. Franklin Covey quoted its standard, off-the-shelf NEPA
training materials with customized supplements, and two experienced
trainers for a price of $10,166.
MMS determined that both quoters proposed quality trainers and
approaches to training with little difference in price. The
discriminator between the quotes was that ETCI promised custom-made
materials that were not available for evaluation (ETCI provided
samples of training material prepared for other customers) and that
Franklin Covey provided the actual training materials it would use in
the course. Given the similarity in quality, experience and price,
the agency was more comfortable acquiring a course with existing
materials than one for which the materials are yet to be designed. On
this basis, Franklin Covey's quotation was selected as the best value
to the government. On September 23, the agency issued a purchase
order to Franklin Covey. ETCI's protest followed.
ETCI argues that the agency's evaluation was unreasonable because it
is based on giving existing course materials more weight than proposed
materials, even though the RFQ did not require submission of the
actual materials to be used.
When using small purchase procedures, an agency must conduct the
procurement consistent with a concern for fair and equitable
competition, and must evaluate quotations in accordance with the terms
of the solicitation. Nunez & Assocs., B-258666, Feb. 10, 1995, 95-1
CPD para. 62 at 2. In reviewing protests against an
allegedly improper evaluation, we will examine the record to determine
whether the agency met this standard and reasonably exercised its
discretion. Id.; Northwest Management, Inc., B--277503, October 20,
1997, 97-2 CPD para. __ at 4.
Here, the evaluation was consistent with the terms of the RFQ. The
RFQ stated that the firm selected to provide the training course would
have to deliver appropriate training materials under the purchase
order, and that quoters were to submit copies of such information for
evaluation purposes. This request put
quoters on notice that the copies of materials submitted with their
quotes could be evaluated for the extent to which they represented the
actual materials to be delivered.
Moreover, the evaluation was also reasonable. Franklin Covey
submitted the actual manuals it will deliver and identified the
specific pages in those manuals which address the topics to be covered
in the MMS course. Thus, MMS was able to evaluate the quality of the
actual course materials in relation to how the material addressed the
required NEPA topics. On the other hand, although ETCI's quote
promised to address all of the required training topics, it only
contained copies of instructional materials designed for other
clients. MMS considered these materials to be excellent to the extent
that the material addressed other clients' requirements. ETCI's
materials, however, did not address all of MMS's required topics, such
as environmental impact statements, and thus left some doubt as to
whether the materials to be designed and produced by ETCI for MMS
would be of the same quality overall as the materials which Franklin
Covey had submitted. While ETCI disagrees with the agency's
conclusions, we find nothing unreasonable about this determination.
While the protester also complains that experience of the quoters'
proposed trainers was not evaluated, the record does not support the
allegation. Both quotes proposed trainers with extensive experience
in NEPA training. The information provided in each quote concerning
the extent of each proposed trainer's experience, and comments from
their respective trainees, evidence the high quality of their training
skills and provides little, if any, basis to differentiate between the
ETCI's trainer and Franklin Covey's.
In sum, we find reasonable MMS's evaluation and conclude that the
agency's determination that Franklin Covey's high quality
off-the-shelf materials at a price only $166 higher than ETCI's quote
represented a better value than ETCI's proposed, but as of yet
undesigned materials, was reasonable.
The protest is denied.
Comptroller General
of the United States
1. Although the RFQ stated that price was significant, it did not
state the relative importance of each of the factors. In such cases,
we assume that the evaluation factors are of equal importance. See
Ogden Support Servs., Inc., B-270354, Feb. 28, 1996, 96-1 CPD para. 175 at
2 n.2.
2. The RFQ identified the training materials as follows:
5. Deliverables are to include: (1) appropriate books,
instruction manuals, handouts, or other training material.
A copy of this information must accompany the contractor's
quotation for evaluation purposes.