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.