Inactive

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics Strategic Acquisition Center Frederick 5202 Presidents Court, Suite 103 Frederick, MD 21703 Justification and Approval ... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics Strategic Acquisition Center Frederick 5202 Presidents Court, Suite 103 Frederick, MD 21703 Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-5 Authorized or required by statute Identification of the agency and the contracting activity. This Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other Than Full and Open Competition is executed by the Strategic Acquisition Center - Frederick (SAC-F), on behalf of the U. S Government Accountability Office, (GAO) High Risk List (HRL) Professional Support Liaison (GOAL), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) located at 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20420. Nature and/or description of the action being approved. This activity proposes to negotiate a non-competitive award (sole-source) with Blue Water Thinking LLC (BWT), a verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), for professional support services to assist the GOAL Office with the continued assessment of its GAO HRL strategic direction and plans. The Contractor requirements include supporting GAO HRL efforts for VA Health Care to meet criteria for removal from the GAO High Risk List. The anticipated period of performance for the contemplated contract will be as follows: Base Period: March 30, 2021 March 29, 2022 (12 Months) Option Period One: March 30, 2022 September 29, 2022 (6 Months) A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency s needs (including the estimated value). The proposed action is to provide a continuation of professional support services targeted towards the ultimate removal of Veterans Health Care from all areas of the GAO HRL. The HRL initiative requires dedicated resources to perform the various tasks that will accomplish key milestones in support of removal of Areas of Concern from the HRL. If the appropriate number and types of resources are not applied directly to these efforts, the HRL removal efforts will fall behind schedule and potentially fail. The performance work statement for this requirement includes the resources necessary for the GOAL Office to meet its strategic goals and objectives in FY 2021 and beyond. VA requires professional support services to assist HRL GOAL Office with the implementation and continued assessment of its GAO HRL strategic direction and concept of operations plan. The contractor will provide strategic support services including the development of strategies, recommendations, and methodologies to address GAO HRL identified deficiencies for VHA s integrated health care system. Services also include development of timelines, adjustment as needed, and proposals for reallocation of resources to meet required outcomes. The support for GAO HRL efforts includes services in Strategic Development, Portfolio / Program / Project Management and Reporting, Risk Management, Change Management with Prosci, Technical Writing and Administrative Support with Meeting Planning / Facilitation Support, and Analytics / Reporting. The total estimated value of the proposed action is $4,444,964.00 consistent with the previous prices paid by the Government for similar professional support services to this program office. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition. The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition for this procurement is 41 U.S.C. § 3304(a)(5) as implemented by the FAR Subpart 6.302-5 entitled, Authorized or required by statute . The applicable statute is Public Law 109-461: Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006 specifically, the Veterans First Contracting Program, outlined in 38 USC §8127(c). A demonstration that the proposed contractor s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited. VA s GOAL Program Management Office (PMO) currently has a contract with BWT for Professional Support Services. BWT offers an exceptional combination of innovative, out-of-the box planning, as well as corporate and highly skilled personnel capabilities needed to support the requirements. Its personnel have provided operational support and tactical advice to stand up and operationalize a PMO, a Working Group dedicated to integrating the activities of all high-risk areas, and five other Working Groups assigned to address each of the specific GAO high-risk areas. These five specific high-risk areas span VA enterprise operations, policy, oversight, IT, training, budgeting, and resourcing. BWT s personnel facilitated analysis and then distilled that analysis into targeted management studies that identified the FboNotice causes of the high-risk areas that GAO identified. This relevant experience will prove valuable to the contemplated contract effort moving forward. BWT is a registered and Veterans Information Page (VIP)-verified SDVOSB that is small under the size standard for the applicable NAICS code - 541611 Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services. BWT has the required expertise and experience supporting various VA high-level programs. BWT also conducts work in all related NAICS and has historically provided services and on-time delivery of specified Professional Services to GAO under its various contracts. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies. In accordance with (IAW) VAAR § 819.7007(b) - Sole source awards to service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns, The contracting officer s determination whether to make a sole source award is a business decision wholly within the discretion of the contracting officer. A determination that only one SDVOSB concern is available to meet the requirement is not required. A notice for this contract action will not be publicized. IAW FAR 5.202(a)(4), the Contracting Officer (CO) determined that a notice of intent to sole-source this contract action is not required because, "The proposed contract action is expressly authorized or required by a statue to be made through another Government agency, including acquisition from the Small Business Administration (SBA) using the authority of section 8(a) of the Small Business Act (but see 5.205(f)), or from a specific source such as a workshop for the blind under the rules of the Committee for the Purchase from the Blind and Other Severely Disabled." A J&A for Other than Full and Open Competition has been approved and will be made publicly available at beta.SAM.gov within 14 days after contract award as required by FAR 6.305(a). A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. No award shall be made until the CO determines the costs to the Government to be fair and reasonable. The CO will make this determination by comparing proposed pricing to the historical pricing data from one or more VA contracts for the same or similar services, and by assessing the level of effort and labor mix proposed as the basis for BWT s proposed firm-fixed price. A description of the market research conducted (see Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted. Market research was conducted, and BWT has been determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance. It is registered and certified in VetBiz.gov as an SDVOSB and is small under the NAICS code for this requirement. IAW Public Law 109-461 Section 502(c), BWT meets the requirements of this statute for a non-competitive award to an SDVOSB. Further, a review of its Representations and Certifications was conducted in the System for Award Management (SAM) and BWT has no exclusions. In addition, the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) was reviewed and shows no reports for BWT that would indicate defective pricing, instances of contractor fault or recipient not-qualified, terminations for cause, default or material failure to comply, or non-responsibility of the contractor. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition. In accordance with Public Law 109-461, codified at 38 USC § 8127, to increase contracting opportunities for small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans and small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans with service-connected disabilities, VA CO are given specific statutory authority to award a contract to a small business concern owned and controlled by veterans using procedures other than competitive procedures (i.e. a sole-source contract). The CO may do so if: such concern is determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance of such contract opportunity; the anticipated award price of the contract (including options) will exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (as defined in section 134 of title 41) but will not exceed $5,000,000; and in the estimation of the CO, the contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States. This procurement meets all these conditions. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition. None. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required. All future requirements will be handled on a case-by-case basis. At the expiration of this contract, the Government will consider whether a follow-on acquisition, if needed, should be competitive.