Ervin and Associates, Inc., B-279083; B-279219, April 30,

Ervin and Associates, Inc., B-279083; B-279219, April 30, BNUMBER: B-279083; B-279219 DATE: April 30, 1998 TITLE: Ervin and Associates, Inc., B-279083; B-279219, April 30, 1998 ********************************************************************** Matter of:Ervin and Associates, Inc. File: B-279083; B-279219 Date:April 30, 1998 John J. Ervin for the protester. Michael J. Farley, Esq., Department of Housing and Urban Development, for the agency. Tania L. Calhoun, Esq., and Christine S. Melody, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protests that task orders improperly exceed the scope of the contracts originally awarded are denied; since relevant language in the solicitation's statement of work sets forth the anticipated services in broad, general, and flexible terms, potential offerors would reasonably have anticipated being asked to perform nearly any type of management support services, including those set forth in these task orders. 2. General Accounting Office declines to invoke the significant issue exception to its timeliness rules where there has recently been a change to the legal framework applicable to the issue presented--the alleged overbreadth of the statement of work in a solicitation for an indefinite-quantity task order contract; as a result, resolution of the issue would have limited application to future procurements and thus is not of widespread interest to the procurement community. DECISION Ervin and Associates, Inc. protests the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) decision to compete two task orders among its seven management studies contractors, all of whose contracts were awarded under request for proposals (RFP) No. DU100C000018431. Ervin argues that both task orders--one requesting operations analysis of HUD's Office of Housing and one requesting management studies and budget formulation for HUD's portfolio reengineering program--are beyond the scope of the management studies contracts. We deny the protests. BACKGROUND Management Studies Contracts The solicitation, issued July 12, 1995, anticipated the award of multiple indefinite-quantity contracts for management studies and analytical services. Each contractor was to receive orders worth a minimum of $100,000 and a maximum of $25 million over the 48-month life of the contract. RFP at B-1, F-1. Specific services were to be requested and defined through the issuance of task orders; the government reserved the right to compete each task order among the awardee(s). Id. at B-2. The objectives section of the statement of work (SOW) advised offerors that HUD sought to identify contractors to "conceptualize, organize, conduct sophisticated research studies and analyses, and to provide professional assistance in the areas under review." RFP sec. C.II. Contractors were to perform tasks while providing analytical support to the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and "all other organizational components of HUD," which will result in "information, advice, or recommendations relating to efficient and effective management and delivery of HUD programs and services." Id. The SOW set forth several objectives for which it required the contractors' assistance, such as "initiate study efforts shortly after they are defined"; "quickly and effectively respond to requests for studies, special analyses and reviews covering a wide variety of topics"; "carry out necessary evaluations and analyses of the Department's internal controls, financial management systems and analysis, computer security and other quality assurance activities"; "accommodate a broad range of service requests utilizing an established pool of contractor resources"; and "develop measures which can be used to assess the performance of a given function or to compare the performance of a given function by one organization to the performance of that function by another organization." Contractors also were to help HUD to provide "training, technical assistance or other support services to assist managers in solving the root cause of problems which impede effective and efficient program operations and in implementing plans for increasing the effectiveness of their organizations." Id. The scope of work section of the SOW advised offerors that the services under the management studies contracts might cover "any of the functions for which the Department is responsible . . . ." RFP sec. C.III.A.