C01-JA-ABD Apps Follow-on-Fully Executed_Redacted.pdf

AUTOMATED BENEFITS DELIVERY APPS CONTROL NUMBER VA-24-00010227

Agile Six was awarded a competitive task order in July 2023 to perform this work and has performed successfully to date.

The existing task order expires on July 4, 2024, however, the need for continued support and iteration on the claims experience is an ongoing need beyond this task order. Under the proposed action, the contractor will continue to improve the stability of and optimize the claims submission process, update and improve online claims forms, and improve automation of claim classification. If there were a gap in service, improvements to the online Veteran claim submission process will stop, resulting in delays of benefits due to amore protracted claims process for Veterans, and a more time-intensive application review process for VA employees.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted in May 2024, as discussed in Section 8. Upon the determination that a sole source award to Agile Six was in the best interest of the Government, the Contracting Officer confirmed that Agile Six meets all of the requirements detailed in VAAR 819.7008. Consistent with the guidelines of the Veterans First Contracting Program, the proposed action described herein will be synopsized and this J&A will be posted on the Contracting Opportunities Page in accordance with FAR Part 5.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: The current task order was competed and awarded on the Customer Experience, DevOps, Agile Releases (CEDAR) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The contract ceiling of CEDAR is accounted for, and therefore continued support cannot be obtained via the CEDAR IDIQ contract. A new IDIQ, the Secure, Performant, Reliable, and User-Centered Experiences (SPRUCE) contract is planned to replace CEDAR and is currently in the evaluation phase. Continued support and improvements to the online Veteran claim submission process is ongoing and needed to bridge the gap between the CEDAR and SPRUCE contracts. It is expected that future needs for this work will be competed on the SPRUCE contract in fiscal year 2025. CEDAR (and SPRUCE, when it is awarded), are the preferred vehicles to acquire the type of software development services under this action as they are 100% set aside for SDVOSBs and the awardees have proven software development capability.

8. Market Research: Market research was conducted in May 2024 and the Contracting Officer considered other contractors in the marketplace. However, given that the CEDAR contract is nearing its ceiling and is no longer a viable vehicle for this work, and the follow-on IDIQ contract, SPRUCE, is not yet awarded, it is not in the Government’s best interest to compete for a short-term bridge effort as it may result in a transition to a different contractor, and then a transition to a third contractor once SPRUCE is awarded. The potential for three different contractors to have to transition this work in roughly 12 months would likely result in disruptions to the services being performed. As described in Section 3, improving the claims benefits process is critical, as VA’s claims backlog has grown substantially recently due to the PACT Act. In order to minimize disruptions in service and continue reducing VA’s claims backlog, it is in VA’s best interest to award the instant action to the contractor currently performing the work, Agile Six, with the planned follow-on action to be competed under SPRUCE.

The Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) database was accessed on May 21, 2024. This search concluded that Agile Six is registered and certified and qualifies as an SDVOSB in accordance with the federal small business size standard for the applicable North American Industry Classification System Code 541519. It was verified on May 21, 2024 that Agile Six is registered in the SAM.gov database and is eligible to receive a Government contract.

Additionally, the Contracting Officer reviewed all 28 of Agile Six’s performance ratings in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS).

Agile Six had no rating lower than “satisfactory” for all rating categories, with 18 of 28 being rated “exceptional” under the Quality category, demonstrating it is a responsible contractor with respect to performance.

9. Other Facts: The Procuring Contracting Officer has determined that this proposed action meets all the requirements of 38 U.S.C. 8127(c) and VAAR 819.7008. This acquisition is below the $5,000,000 threshold, Agile Six is a responsible SDVOSB for performance of the services described herein, the proposed contract can be awarded at a fair and reasonable price, and award to Agile Six is in the best interest of the Government.

10. Technical/Requirements Certification I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in this justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Date

Engineer Office of the Chief Technology Officer 811 G Street, Washington, D.C. 20024

11. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination I hereby determine that the anticipated price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable based on an analysis of historical prices paid by the Government for the same services. The contracting officer will use existing CEDAR labor rates, which have previously been determined to be fair and reasonable, to verify Agile Six’s proposed price is fair and reasonable per FAR 15.404-1(b)(2)(ii).

Contracting Officer Office of Procurement, Acquisition and Logistics Technology Acquisition Center Department of Veterans Affairs

12. Contracting Officer Certification/Approval

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

Contracting Officer Office of Procurement, Acquisition and Logistics Technology Acquisition Center

6/21/24

Approval In my role as procuring activity Advocate for Competition, based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the acquisition of Automated Benefits Delivery Applications support services on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority cited in Section 4 above, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the property and services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

Advocate for Competition Technology Acquisition Center Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics

6/24/24