JOFOC 80MSFC22CA004 6-Month Extension_Signed.pdf

Rev.:5/2025

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER (MSFC)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

FOR NOVEL TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT SCIENCE DATA CONTRACT

80MSFC22CA004

1. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303-2(b)(1) – Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition.”

This document is a justification for other than full and open competition prepared by the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) / George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The procuring agency is NASA, and the contracting activity is MSFC.

2. FAR 6.303-2(b)(2) – The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This justification provides the rationale for contracting by other than full and open competition to extend the period of performance for the Novel Technologies to Support Science Data contract number 80MSFC22CA004 with New Rights Group, Inc. dba Development Seed (herein referred to as Development Seed) for Tasks 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11. The existing scope supports requirements needed by NASA stakeholders within the Earth Science Division of the Science Mission Directorate and require completion no later than September 30, 2025.

The scope of the work performed by Development Seed supports the Interagency Implementation and Advanced Concepts Team (IMPACT). IMPACT requires integration of NASA’s specialized Earth science data, services, and tools into a custom research application and applications workflows. These tools or applications will infuse trends across the informatics, data science, and information technology fields enabling the development of new and effective solutions for science data management and dissemination and rapid prototyping, development, and testing of advanced concepts in scientific data and information systems tackling search as well as address access and use challenges. The tools will be utilized to develop systematic approaches to data management and data stewardship supporting distributed archive centers; provide system architecture analysis for IMPACT;

provide data curation for collaborations within NASA, and with other national and international government organizations, industry, and academic partners. Development Seed provides those specialized development expertise and skilled labor resources to execute the project’s mission and deliverables by delivering software development, system integration, and services to IMPACT to meet their directed milestones and requirements.

The requirements of this contract were originally awarded as a sole-source contract to Development Seed, who worked as the incumbent on the predecessor contract starting in 2018. Development Seed had the expertise and capability to deliver on the requirement. Over time, the requirements evolved so that two follow-on contracts are now anticipated. The bulk of the requirements (Tasks 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11) are expected to move to a competitive award action, and the remaining requirement (Task 2) is expected to move to a sole-source award action. This JOFOC details the need to extend the contract for 6 months while waiting for the follow-on contracts to be awarded.

This action will extend the contract period of performance for 6 months with an end date of March 31, 2026. The present contract includes an additional 12-month Option Period 4 (October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026); however, this current contract option is not being exercised due to the anticipation of the award of the follow-on Next Generation Scalable Data Engineering, Operations, and Informatics Support for Open Science (Next Gen) competitive acquisition, with an anticipated phase-in date of February 14, 2026. In addition, Option Period 3 contains tasks that are not included in the original scope for Option Period 4. Due to this distinction, it was determined to extend the Option Period 3 current scope of work and not exercise Option Period 4. Other issues regarding that follow-on contract may push that award date back a bit. Task 2 of the current contract will be descoped for the extension.

3. FAR 6.303-2(b)(3) – A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the

Agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

NASA/MSFC seeks to modify Development Seed’s existing contract, 80MSFC22CA004, to extend the period of performance for short-term continuity of service. The estimated period of performance associated with this action is from time of award through March 31, 2026, for the 6-month extension. The overall contract period of performance will be modified to January 1, 2022, through March 31, 2026. The total estimated dollar value increase is $2,821,000.00 for the 6-month extension. The current contract value would increase from $28,282,213.00 to $31,103,213.00 for the 6-month extension.

4. FAR 6.303-2(b)(4) – An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C.

3204(a)1, as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. FAR 6.303-2(b)(5) – A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

The rationale supporting the use of 10 U.S.C 3204(a)1, which is only one responsible source, and no other supplies and services will satisfy agency requirements, as described below.

1. Development Seed’s demonstrated capabilities allow them to maintain and provide support to the existing data system infrastructure as part of its current contract deliverables within the shortened bridge timeline until the competitive Next Gen follow-on contract can be awarded. Their expertise and knowledge of the existing data system is critical to meet the requirements outlined in the proposed scope expansion. Engagement with another contractor to get up to speed to support the currently performed work without prior knowledge of the complex cyberinfrastructure within the shortened timeline before Next Gen award would create unnecessary disruption to IMPACT’s current deliverables and system operation. Given the complexity of the existing effort, an estimated 8-month learning period would be required for any new vendor to fully understand the project requirements and implement the necessary modifications. Since this proposed action only requires 6 additional months of work until the follow-on effort is awarded, no other vendor than Development Seed could complete all the requirements within the specified timeframe. This JOFOC is only necessary to extend the current effort until the follow-on competition is finished and awarded.

2. Furthermore, Development Seed possesses the collaborative capabilities, specialized skills, and expertise needed to modify the current system and incorporate system upgrades and new applications to support commercial vendor tasking. Seamless integration of existing systems with newly developed applications is paramount for continued success. In order for continuous operation of systems, the introduction of a new contractor without this unique capability would introduce serious risks to schedule and delivery of an operational system to NASA stakeholders. An estimated 8-month schedule delay is expected should another contractor be chosen.

3. The requirements of the current contract for this extension are presently being competed under full and open competition in the ongoing Next Gen acquisition. Due to the anticipated phase-in of the follow-on Next Gen award beginning February 14, 2026, an attempt to award another new, standalone contract at this time is neither practical nor in the best interest of the government.

6. FAR 6.303-2(b)(6) – A description of the 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 Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies:

A notice to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) website (Sam.gov) was published on July 17, 2025, and closed on August 1, 2025, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2. This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source modification to Development Seed. The results of this synopsis are summarized in Section 10 below.

7. FAR 6.303-2(b)(7) – A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The Contracting Officer’s signature on this document indicates that the Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. The Contractor shall be required to submit a proposal to be evaluated and negotiated by the Government. Prior to execution of the contractual instrument, a proposal analysis will be performed. The proposal analysis will ensure that the final agreed-to price for the contract action is fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer will assess the Contractor’s proposal utilizing cost and price analysis techniques in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.404-1 to determine a fair and reasonable price. Assistance from the MSFC Pricing Team, the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), and other independent auditors will be utilized as appropriate to analyze, evaluate, and negotiate based on detailed cost or pricing data.

8. FAR 6.303-2(b)(8) – Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted (e.g., urgent, and compelling requirement):

A SAM.gov market survey was not conducted for the proposed acquisition. The requirements of the current contract are being competed in the currently underway Next Gen acquisition.

Due to the anticipated phase-in of the follow-on Next Gen competitive acquisition award beginning February 14, 2026, an attempt to award another new, standalone contract to bridge the gap at this time is neither practical nor in the best interest of the government.

However, in accordance with FAR 8.002(a)(2), market research was performed by the mandatory source AbilityOne.gov Procurement List with no availability. A review of the Office of Procurement Strategic Sourcing Website was performed yielding no solutions.

Other sources were reviewed such as geospatial data science contracts via GSA eLibrary, and other Government contracts. Additional review of existing NASA contracts, per NFS 1808.004, that provide the required services has been conducted and none were suitable for this requirement.

9. FAR 6.303-2(b)(9) – Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

None.

10. FAR 6.303-2(b)(10) – A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in writing in the acquisition:

A notice of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source action was synopsized on the GPE website (Sam.gov) from July 17, 2025, through August 1, 2025, per FAR Subpart 5.2 (See Section 6 above). There were no responses received.

11. FAR 6.303-2(b)(11) – A statement of 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:

The Agency will continue to examine the market in the future for alternative solutions or new sources before executing any subsequent acquisitions for the same requirements. We are actively removing barriers to competition by having a full and open competition for the Next Gen follow- on contract, and this requirement will continue to be competed into the future.

NOVEL TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT SCIENCE DATA

CONTRACT 80MSFC22CA004

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

SIGNATURE PAGE

Technical Representative: I certify that the facts presented in this justification are accurate and complete.

Elizabeth Fancher Deputy Project Manager/ST14 Interagency Implementation and Advanced Concepts Team (IMPACT)

Contracting Officer: I hereby certify that the above justification is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Jason Arnold Contracting Officer/PS51 Science and Technology Support Branch

APPROVED:

Adrian D. Clayton Competition Advocate, Acting Marshall Space Flight Center