47QMCB24R0011_Justification_for_Exception_to_Fair_Opportunity_Signed_2024-05-01_Redacted.pdf

Federal Acquisition Service

Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity

FAR 16.505

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

This requirement is for the procurement of Federal Financial Management (FM) process, policy, and technology expertise, to conduct research to define the FM Interface/Integration Strategy needs for E-Gov Travel Services (ETS) Next Generation service (ETSNext) for the Office of Travel, Employee Relocation, and Transportation, within the Office of Travel, Transportation, and Logistics, i.e. Program Management Office (PMO).

Contracting Activity: General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Travel Acquisition Support Branch (QMACB) 1800 F Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20405

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

The purpose of this justification is to support the award of a sole source task order to CGI Federal, Inc., under its Oasis contract number GS00Q14OADU110. CGI Federal was the incumbent contractor performing a services under task order 47QMCB22F000K for ETSNext FM Integration Strategy Services. The FAS Office of Travel, Employee Relocation and Transportation has a need to acquire follow-on technical support to plan for the required Financial Management system integrations with ETSNext. Only one source is currently capable of providing the services at the level of quality required because the follow-on work depends on the experience of CGI Federal Inc. in successfully performing as the previous contractor. In the interest of economy and efficiency, the new work is a logical follow-on to an original task order, placed in accordance with the applicable ordering procedures. The original order, 47QMCB22F000K, was placed under competitive procedures.

The original task order was awarded on August 5, 2022, to CGI Federal, Inc. with a period of performance from August 5, 2022, to December 10, 2023, to provide all personnel, equipment, material, supervision and other items or services necessary to perform research and integration strategy services.

On December 10, 2023, Task Order 47QMCB22F000K ended and at that moment it was found that continued services were not needed due to the PMO shifting their focus to the procurement of the for E-Gov Travel Services (ETS) Next Generation service (ETSNext) system. The ETSNext procurement is currently under way and reaching the award phase within the next few months.

On April 12, 2024, PMO contacted GSA FAS that a follow-on requirement was needed for additional support to add detail to the FM interface specifications needed to support ETSNext.

CGI Federal In. delivered a first version of these specifications under the competitively awarded task order.

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

The services required are the below two tasks:

Task 1 – Financial Management System Integration Planning and Analysis: Review existing ETSNext materials from an FM system integrator perspective, documenting the additional FM system integration details necessary to begin future integration development. The following includes representative examples of the additional specifications an FM system integrator would require to develop an integration with ETSNext:

● End-to-End Interface Flows. Documentation of the end-to-end technical interactions between ETSNext and FM systems, including which systems initiate each call, whether the calls are synchronous and provide immediate responses, and when additional calls are warranted.

● REST Services. Authentication methods for each service need to be defined, along with the ownership of API specifications and descriptors. Detailed error specifications, including HTTP error response codes and response body formats, should be provided.

Requirements also need to be defined regarding anticipated data volume and request frequency.

● Batch Integration. The reference data and transactions to be implemented in batch, along with the format and transmission method of batch files, should be identified. The flow and direction of batch data exchange need to be clarified, and the frequency of batch file generation specified. Error handling, retry scenarios, and any confirmation requirements should also be defined.

● Transaction Processing Services. Additional details are required on how alternate scenarios, such as modifications of one line in a multi-line travel authorization, or a change to non- accounting data, will be represented in the FM APIs.

● Line of Accounting Service. Clarification is required as to whether ETSNext would generate calls for each unique data element in the line of accounting (e.g., program, project, fund, Deliver a list of the specification gaps FM system integrators will need addressed in order to develop FM system integrations.

Performing this work in advance of the ETSNext award will streamline the ETSNext implementation timeline by decreasing the number of specification gaps the ETSNext awardee will need to address following contract award, as well as reduce the likelihood the ETSNext awardee will need to issue multiple integration specification versions, as we will provide a consolidated list of additional details the ETSNext awardee should address in their final interface specifications. While this effort will emphasize identifying and detailing specification gaps to enable GSA IOC readiness, it will serve as a critical input to addressing other agency-specific specifications for financial system integration (other non-GSA, agency-specific specifications are not in scope for this initial effort).

Task 2 – Iterative Strategic Roadmap Planning Collaborate with GSA to create an integrated, FM-focused strategic roadmap, aligning key activities and milestones (e.g., Momentum upgrade schedule, GSA Pegasys upgrade schedule) with the anticipated ETSNext IOC implementation to enable GSA readiness as both a servicer and a buyer of ETSNext. Using an iterative approach, work with GSA to define and update the integrated roadmap, including dependencies, risks and mitigations, and potential accelerators.

● Plan and conduct a half-day session with GSA stakeholders (e.g., GSA ETSNext PMO, Pegasys Financial Services), and draft a timeline representing key activities and milestones, as well as identifying anticipated dependencies, risks and mitigations, and accelerators that may impact the timeline.

● Conduct a follow-up session with GSA stakeholders to confirm the details of the integrated roadmap and deliver a final version.

● Meet with GSA to reassess and reprioritize activities and milestones as needed, based on the outcome of Task 1 and evolving priorities.

Estimated Value: $

4. Identification of the exception to fair opportunity and the supporting rationale.

The applicable statutory FAC citation and basis for using an exception to the fair opportunity process is:

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C) - The order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract, provided that all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order.

Rationale:

This acquisition is suited to a logical follow-on as the additional work is for the continued support of a major GSA system and the original order was awarded competitively and placed in accordance with applicable FAS ordering procedures. The primary reason for pursuing this strategy is to reduce risk for the government. Award to another source at this time is likely to result in significant disruption of GSA business unit work and customer agencies’ support.

Substantial duplication of costs to the Government is not expected to be recovered through competition and will result in unacceptable delays in the transition of these services. The FAS team has chosen to minimize this risk through a logical follow-on task order.

The contractor’s team is uniquely able to provide the required services without any ramp up time, as this team is very familiar with the FM QSMO Business Information Exchange (BIE), the ETSNext API requirements, which CGI Federal contributed to under the previous effort, and has first-hand knowledge of agency concerns, limitations, and questions, having conducted an analysis of agency feedback.

Therefore, in accordance with FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C)), the order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency, as any delays referenced above will likely result in unacceptable and sequential delays in support of the ETSNext program.

5. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer anticipates the proposed price will remain consistent with the GSA Oasis Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) held by CGI Federal used in the originally competed task order. As this historical pricing information is available for the services provided, this information formed the basis for the Independent Government Cost Estimate.

Prior to award, the Contracting Officer will evaluate the pricing for reasonableness and can determine that issuing the proposed task order via the GSA OASIS GWAC represents the best value to the government and that the proposed price is fair and reasonable for award.

6. Any other facts supporting the justification.

CGI Federal, Inc. is not the only company capable of providing services under OAIS Unrestricted Pool 1, Category 541611, Administrative Management and General Management Consulting. However, GSA’s market research confirms that they are the only source capable of providing continued provision of the entire scope of highly specialized services within the condensed time frames to ensure mission-critical quality levels are achieved. The previous competitive solicitation for task order 47QMCB22R0016 resulted in only two (2) offerors submitting quotes with CGI Federal the only offeror demonstrating a thorough understanding of the requirement. Market Research was conducted prior to issuance of solicitation 47QMCB22R0016, and market research performed prior to this document determined that CGI Federal is the only source that can perform this requirement.

The cost of losing the incumbent contractor to provide the services at this time would be detrimental to the FM Interface/Integration for ETSNext.

7. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the exception to fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

It is not anticipated that any subsequent acquisition for these supplies and services is required by GSA. It is possible that other support for the ETSNext program will be required, and competitive procedures will be used for those efforts. For this specific action, CGI Federal is the only company that can perform the services required in the timeframe needed. This task order is only intended to continue the previous effort in support of the ETSNext FM interface activities.

8. Certifications

Technical/Requirements Personnel Certification

Pursuant to FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(B)(9), I certify that this requirement meets the Government’s minimum need and that the supporting data, which form the basis for this justification, are accurate and complete.

Contracting Officer:

Pursuant to FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(B)(8), I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.