Abt Associates, Inc. (RFQ1588574)

B-421517,B-421517.2 Jun 13, 2023 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Abt Associates Inc., of Rockville, Maryland, protests the cancellation of request for quotations (RFQ) No. 1588574, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for economics research and analysis. The protester argues that the agency lacked a reasonable basis to cancel the RFQ and that the cancellation was a pretext to avoid establishing a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) with Abt. We deny the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: Abt Associates, Inc. File: B‑421517; B‑421517.2 Date: June 13, 2023 Daniel R. Forman, Esq., William B. O’Reilly, Esq., and Rina M. Gashaw, Esq., Crowell & Moring LLP, for the protester. Sara E. McGraw, Esq., and Elizabeth L. Biffl, Esq., Environmental Protection Agency, for the agency. David A. Edelstein, Esq., and Alexander O. Levine, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest that agency improperly canceled a solicitation is denied where the record demonstrates that the agency reasonably canceled the solicitation based on concerns that the solicitation’s performance work statement and evaluation criteria did not accurately reflect the agency’s needs. DECISION Abt Associates Inc., of Rockville, Maryland, protests the cancellation of request for quotations (RFQ) No. 1588574, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for economics research and analysis. The protester argues that the agency lacked a reasonable basis to cancel the RFQ and that the cancellation was a pretext to avoid establishing a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) with Abt. We deny the protest. Background On September 13, 2022, the agency issued the RFQ, seeking technical support for environmental economics research and analysis for the EPA’s National Center for Environmental Economics (NCEE). Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) at 1; Agency Report (AR), Exh. B11, RFQ e‑Buy Description at 1‑2. The RFQ was issued to holders of General Services Administration Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts under special item number 541620, environmental consulting services. AR, Exh. B11, RFQ e‑Buy Description at 2. The RFQ sought to establish BPAs pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation subpart 8.4. The RFQ anticipated establishment of one “overall” BPA on an unrestricted basis, as well as a separate BPA for peer review and expert elicitation support, which was set aside for small businesses. AR, Exh. B11, RFQ e‑Buy Description at 1. This protest relates only to the unrestricted overall BPA. The RFQ included a performance work statement (PWS) providing that the contractor under the overall BPA would “perform economic analyses, focusing on the causes and consequences of changes in the use and quality of domestic and some international natural resources.” AR, Exh. B1, PWS at 4. The PWS identified and described multiple types of analyses that the contractor would be expected to perform, including baseline analyses, evaluation of changes to the baseline as a result of the implementation of agency programs, changes in emissions released to the environment, development of environmental indicators, benefit‑cost analyses, economic impacts, environmental justice, and program evaluation. Id. at 4‑16. The RFQ provided that award would be made on a best‑value tradeoff basis, considering price and four non‑price factors (listed in descending order of importance): technical approach, corporate management plan, staffing approach, and past performance. AR, Exh. B12, RFQ at 32. The non‑price factors, when combined, were significantly more important than price. Id. The RFQ provided that the agency would evaluate the technical approach factor, in part, by assessing: [t]he [vendor’s] demonstrated approach to perform tasks associated with research, evaluation and analysis of data, models and analytic methods in connection with issues relating to environmental economics; benefit‑cost analysis; economic impact analyses, including estimation of the distribution of benefits and costs and economy wide impacts; human and ecological risk assessment and risk communication used to support benefits estimation; behavioral economics applied to environmental issues; and the treatment of uncertainty in risk assessment and economic analysis. Id. Under the staffing plan factor, the agency’s evaluation would include the vendor’s “demonstrated ability to provide qualified staffing resources across all task and subtask areas outlined in the [PWS].” Id. The RFQ instructions for preparation of quotations repeated these evaluation criteria and directed vendors to address them. Id.