International Management and Communications Corporation

B-272456 Oct 23, 1996 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Protest that the contracting agency improperly selected the awardee despite an alleged organizational conflict of interest (based upon a debt owed to an affiliate) is denied where the record does not support this allegation. Will & Emery. The protester contends that CUNA is ineligible for award due to an improper organizational conflict of interest stemming from a debt owed by a recipient of services under the contract to an affiliate of the contractor. Will provide technical assistance services to help credit unions and national credit union associations develop and market attractive financial services. The RFP provides that the contractor will evaluate potential recipients of the available assistance and make its recommendations to USAID for approval. View Decision Matter of: International Management and Communications Corporation File: B-272456 Date: October 23, 1996 Protest that the contracting agency improperly selected the awardee despite an alleged organizational conflict of interest (based upon a debt owed to an affiliate) is denied where the record does not support this allegation. Attorneys DECISION International Management and Communications Corporation (IMCC) protests the award of a contract to Credit Union National Association (CUNA) under request for proposals (RFP) No. 96-02, issued by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for technical assistance services to help revitalize Nicaragua's rural credit union system. The protester contends that CUNA is ineligible for award due to an improper organizational conflict of interest stemming from a debt owed by a recipient of services under the contract to an affiliate of the contractor. We deny the protest. USAID's Rural Credit Unions Program (RCUP) in Nicaragua aims to increase access to financial services for small savers and producers in and around market towns. The contractor, under the terms of the RFP, will provide technical assistance services to help credit unions and national credit union associations develop and market attractive financial services; the RFP's RCUP program provides for a 5-year period of restructuring and modernizing two national credit union associations and approximately 28 rural credit unions. The RFP provides that the contractor will evaluate potential recipients of the available assistance and make its recommendations to USAID for approval. Two proposals, IMCC's and CUNA's, were received in response to the RFP and were evaluated. After holding discussions with both offerors and evaluating their best and final offers, USAID awarded the contract to CUNA on June 19, 1996. This protest followed. IMCC contends that CUNA, acting as the contracting agent for the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), should be found ineligible for award due to an improper organizational conflict of interest. [1] IMCC states that the Latin American Confederation of Credit Unions (COLAC), which is a member of WOCCU, is owed a debt (of approximately $200,000) from the Federacion de Cooperativas de Ahorroy Credito (FECACNIC), one of the national credit union associations in Nicaragua that will receive advice and assistance under the contract. The protester contends that WOCCU's interest in promoting repayment of the debt owed to WOCCU's member, COLAC, will improperly influence the performance of the contract. [2] Citing the FECACNIC debt to COLAC, and maintaining that the debt is materially related to the awardee's performance of the contract due to WOCCU's membership relationship with COLAC and WOCCU's provision of assistance to FECACNIC under the contract, IMCC contends that WOCCU should be precluded from receiving the award and that the agency acted unreasonably in failing to exclude WOCCU from the competition. [3] An organizational conflict of interest occurs where, because of other activities or relationships with other persons, a person is unable or potentially unable to render impartial assistance or advice to the government, or the person's objectivity in performing the contract work is or might be otherwise impaired, or a person has an unfair competitive advantage. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Sec. 9.501. Contracting officials are to avoid, neutralize, or mitigate potential significant conflicts of interest so as to prevent unfair competitive advantage or the existence of conflicting roles that might impair a contractor's objectivity. FAR Sec. 9.504(a); CH2M Hill, Ltd., B-259511 et al., Apr. 6, 1995, 95-1 CPD Para. 203. The responsibility for determining whether an actual or apparent conflict of interest will arise, and to what extent the firm should be excluded from the competition, rests with the contracting agency. We will not overturn the agency's determination in this regard except where it is shown to be unreasonable. SRS Technologies, B-258170.3, Feb. 21, 1995, 95-1 CPD Para.