A16_JOFOC_-_SSJ_FAR_13_501_-_4-10-2024_Redacted_1.pdf

United States Department of the Interior

INTERIOR BUSINESS CENTER

Washington, DC 20240

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS

AUTHORITY: Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.501(a), 41 United States Code (U.S.C.) 1901

SOLICITATION # 140D0424Q0231

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Sole Source Justification.”

This document is a sole source justification for the Department of the Interior, Interior Business Center, Acquisition Services Directorate, Division 5, Branch 2, Department of Defense (DoD), Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), Secretary of Defense Executive Fellows Program

(SDEF).

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

This non-severable service requirement is on behalf of the DoD, OSD, SDEF program. This is a follow-on contract. The proposed action is to award a sole source Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) contract to EDUCOMM, Inc. for Customized Graduate Business School Executive Education training and follow-up support for the SDEF program.

3. A description of supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value).

Analytical Inputs: The contractor shall successfully conduct a survey of former and current SDEF Fellows to identify key skills and concepts that would be relevant and helpful to new Fellows, to better prepare them for their corporate assignments and to assist them in becoming fully engaged at entry and comfortable in a full variety of business settings needed to execute the requirements specified herein. The contractor shall present findings to SDEF Director and shall seek to ensure customer satisfaction and professional and ethical behavior of all contractor personnel.

Curriculum Design: The contractor shall design a customized Executive Education curriculum that addresses the specific learning needs of the new SDEF Fellows. The curriculum should feature intensive learning modules, case studies and simulations, and technical notes to supplement and enhance the key concepts. Many of the cases and technical notes should be written specifically for the recipient Fellows. Learning modules must include, but not be limited to, the core areas of marketing, finance, strategy, organizational effectiveness, and internal/external communication. These should offer the tools and perspectives needed by the new SDEF Fellows to understand the key forces that are of concern to various functional areas of business, increase their agility in moving comfortably and effectively into their new situations and create additional value for their companies. In addition, each SDEF Fellow will receive instruction on, and conduct, a thorough industry analysis of his or her corporate assignment, including an analysis of industry competitors.

SOLICITATION # 140D0424Q0231

Classroom Training: The contractor shall conduct the designed Customized Graduate Business School Executive Education curriculum over seven business days during the last two weeks of July.

Executive Coaching. During the remainder of the period of performance, the contractor will provide assistance to the SDEF Fellows during their transition and throughout their SDEF assignments which is essential for them to become fully engaged at entry, and comfortable in the business setting. The educational effectiveness of the program must not be limited to the classroom days that the participants share with the instructors. Instructors must be available to the SDEF Fellows throughout the following academic year should they have questions or require additional information and materials.

Total estimated cost for the one base year plus two (2) one-year option periods is .

Period of Performance: Base Period: 06/28/2024 - 06/27/2025 Option Period 1: 06/28/2025 - 06/27/2026 Option Period 2: 06/28/2026 - 06/27/2027

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting sole source acquisition.

This is an acquisition conducted under the authority of the Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items. The statutory authority permitting sole source acquisition is 41 U.S.C 1901 as implemented by FAR 13.501(a)(1)(ii).

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

This training is required by the Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) 1322.23, “Secretary of Defense Executive Fellows”. This work would be a continuation of services provided under contract 140D0421P0141, which was competitively awarded in July 2019. This contract expires on 27 June 2024. The scope of work for the expiring contract is identical to that described in paragraph 3 and detailed in the attached Performance Work Statement.

Each year, senior officers from each Service with high Flag/General Officer potential are selected to spend a year in Corporate America at leading edge businesses observe, participate in, and learn corporate best practices in such areas as, business processes and organizations, utilization of information technology, long-range planning, innovation, and change management that could be implemented to transform DoD. SDEF Fellows form a cadre of future senior leaders, with 32 Flag/general officer alumni, up through the 4-star rank, in 20 years of in-zone eligibility. Graduate Business School Executive Education provided is required each year for the incoming group of new SDEF officers in preparation for their assignments at corporate sponsors. Because the SDEF is a unique program, where select senior military officers with no prior experience in the civilian corporate environment are assigned to train in corporate assignments, a customized curriculum is required. EDUCOMM, Inc. has developed a unique curriculum to meet the unique requirement. There is no existing Executive Education curriculum from other sources that could be used “off the shelf.” While providing training in prior years, EDUCOMM has utilized a pool of highly qualified and experienced Graduate Business School professors who are currently knowledgeable about the unique educational requirements of the military officers receiving training and can tailor their individual seminar sessions accordingly.

EDUCOMM, Inc. provides a unique opportunity to obtain Graduate Business School Executive Education directly from current Graduate Business School professors at a substantial savings to the government. By collectively contracting directly with the professors themselves through EDUCOMM, Inc., and not through a Graduate Business School, the overhead mark-up costs of the business school are avoided.

All training materials from prior years are exclusively owned by EDUCOMM and would not be transferrable to another source. While some Graduate Business Schools do have classes attended by military officers, these classes have set curriculums, not based on student backgrounds.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by FAR Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under FAR 5.202 applies.

Market research was conducted by the Program Officer and the Contracting Officer (CO). A request for information (RFI) was posted on SAM on 01/06/2024 and closed on 01/23/2024. See sections 8 and 10 for more information. No additional capable contractors were identified as the work required is specialized and has high visibility. This company was the only company identified via market research and it is not expected that any other vendors will have the experience, personnel, or contacts necessary to be able to do the work. Per FAR 5.203(a)(2), a combined synopsis/solicitation will be publicly available concurrent to directly sending to the proposed sole source vendor (see FAR 12.603).

7. A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The CO determines that the anticipated price(s) will be fair and reasonable based on comparing the proposed pricing to the Independent Government Estimate (IGE) which was developed by the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) utilizing historical labor rates from the previous contract.

8. A description of the market research conducted (see FAR Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

Market research was conducted by the COR and CO. It was determined that the services required are not available through mandatory use vehicles nor from mandatory sources such as AbilityOne, or Federal Prison Industries.

A RFI was posted on SAM on 01/06/2024 and closed on 01/23/2024. Due because of the uniqueness of this requirement, no other contractors with specific backgrounds, contacts, and knowledge have been identified. Only one vendor, EDUCOMM, was found to meet all the requirements.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition, such as:

Education-wise, Executive Education courses at Graduate Business Schools that military officers have attended in the past are the only equivalents known to exist. The estimated IGE costs are the average of costs obtained from Graduate Business Schools in the Northern

Capital Region (NCR) and nearby regions with Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs, Georgetown University, George Mason University, University of Maryland, and the University of Virginia.

This requirement is highly visible and specialized for the DoD. The Contractor must have the skills and background necessary to complete this requirement. Since the incumbent has been successfully performing for over five years, it would not be in the government to issue this solicitation competitively. Because of the high visibility, failure to award a contract to EDUCOMM, who can meet all requirements and perform successfully could negatively impact the customer, SDEF, and AQD. The class of officers making up the Fellows are from each Service, so not having a class would impact the availability of our nation's future more senior service leaders within DoD and the Federal Government.

Market research performed for the previous contract and this proposed contract has not shown that any other vendors have the background, experience, and knowledge for this very niche requirement. As a follow-on to an existing contract, there is an administrative and financial impact of competing this requirement rather than making it a sole source to the incumbent.

Market research has established that another vendor is highly unlikely to be capable. As such, competing would result in unnecessary time and expense.

Feedback from officers receiving this training from EDUCOMM in prior years has been consistent in its praise for its exceptional quality and the utility of applying the relevant knowledge gained throughout their corporate assignments. Additionally, the executive coaching, briefing and report preparation reviews, and other support received during academic years following the initial seminars has also been highly praised. And, these endorsements extend to alumni who have retired from military service. Two examples are relevant. The current President and CEO of Team Rubicon, a world-wide provider of volunteer disaster relief services, has stated that preparation for his current position began with the ExecEd training he received in the SDEF. When running for the current USAA Board of Directors, a retired Air Force 4-star General included the SDEF in his educational background resume.

At the time of the previous award EDUCOMM was the only company that submitted a quotation.

Given the previous procurement history in addition to the current Market Research results, EDUCOMM is the only viable source for this acquisition. As a follow-on to an existing contract, there is an administrative and financial impact of competing this requirement rather than making it a sole source to the incumbent. Market research has established that another vendor is highly unlikely to be capable. As such, competing would result in unnecessary time and expense.

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

, , , and .

The vendors provided written interest in the acquisition, but the parties did not provide information that supported the necessary experience, resources, or capabilities.

Upon reviewing the responses, the results show the lack of capabilities in the parties as following.

– provided that they offer core competencies in Training, Curriculum Development, and Workshop Facilitation. However, experience with Military training or corporate crosswalk for military personnel was not provided or demonstrated within the RFI response.

– stated that they are part of the and has the capacity to teach any business, management and leadership related topic and skill set. However, experience with Military training or corporate crosswalk for military personnel was not provided or demonstrated within the RFI response.

– stated that they are able to provide fundamental and advanced knowledge in business and management areas, however, experience with Military training or corporate crosswalk for military personnel was not provided or demonstrated within the RFI response.

– provided that they offer a revolutionary approach to adult education utilizing their allowing learners find tremendous growth within themselves regarding leadership capabilities that transform their business organization. However, experience with Military training or corporate crosswalk for military personnel was not provided or demonstrated within the RFI response.

11. 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.

It is unknown at this time whether another contract will be required at the end of this contract's ultimate period of performance. However, throughout the life of the contract, the Program Office, as well as the CO, will make every effort to identify other sources for this service. If additional services are needed, the agency will research the industry to remove or overcome barriers to competition.

12. Contracting officer certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the Contracting Officer’s knowledge and belief.

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Megan Trostle, Contracting Officer

13. Requirements personnel certification.

I certify that the technical data which forms a basis for this justification is complete and accurate and meets the Government’s minimum needs.

William Nolte, Program Office/COR Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)