IG._Redacted_JA_BioWatch_SETA_Bridge_Contract_Redacted.pdf

J&A No.: FY19-0009

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OPOAM 3006.301-90(a)(1) Justification &Approval (J&A)

Justification For Other Than Full And Open Competition 41 U.S.C. 3304

Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.3 and in accordance with the requirements of FAR 6.303-1, the justification for the use of the statutory authority under FAR Subpart 6.3 is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 6.303-2 as follows:

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Procurement Operations (OPO), Domestic Nuclear Detection Office and Office of Health Affairs Acquisition Division (DNDOHAAD) proposes to enter into a contract on a basis other than full and open competition.

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

(a) Type of action: Hybrid Contract (Time-and-Material, Firm-Fixed Price, and Cost

Reimbursable)

(b) Amount:

(c) Type of funding: Operations and Maintenance funds

(d) Year of funding: FY19

(e) DHS intends to procure on a sole source basis Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) services to maintain support for early detection and response to a biological terrorism event for the Office of Health Affairs (OHA)/Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Office’s biodetection capabilities, to include the BioWatch Program. The proposed contractor is Hassett Willis Associates, LLC. (HWC), 1100 New York Ave, Suite, Washington, DC 20005. The incumbent is the only source capable of providing the required SETA support services for biodetections.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

The requirement is to provide SETA support services for biodetection at a total cost of

OHA’s current biodetection capabilities under the BioWatch Program involves the operation of a nationwide environmental surveillance network, which focuses on major urban centers. Support services currently received by OHA include the collection of routine air samples on a daily basis, or more frequently if necessary. The specific site locations and other system details are sensitive but unclassified information and are closely held to avoid compromising the system. The SETA Contractor will provide support in coordinating and operating the BioWatch

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Program. This includes support for Field Operations, Laboratory Operations, Jurisdictional Coordination, Operational Quality Assurance, Logistics, Information Technology, Program Administration and Incident Response, Environmental Assessment, Exercise Coordination, Communications, and Planning. Moreover, the SETA Contractor will eventually assist in preparing CWMD to transition OHA’s biodetection capabilities to the newly formed CWMD Office.

The contract period of performance will consist of a six (6) month base period and two (2) three

(3) month option periods.

Period Duration Total Base Period 6 months Option Period 1 3 months Option Period 2 3 months Total 12 months

4. Identification of statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1) pursuant to FAR 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. Demonstration that the nature of the acquisition require use of the authority cited.

OHA’s current biodetection capabilities under the BioWatch Program involves fielding, sustainment and disposal of operational bio-aerosol detection equipment. The BioWatch program also assists with special events.

Key activities include:

• Operating in more than 30 of the nation’s urban centers

• Detecting and characterizing biological attacks against the Nation's cities, other high value assets, and mass gatherings

• Maintaining robust protocols at the federal and jurisdictional levels for ensuring situational awareness during BioWatch detections.

OHA previously received these SETA support services for its biodetection capabilities under Contract No. HSHQDC-13-C-00016. The proposed contract provides continuity of these SETA services to meet the immediate operational needs of OHA’s biodetection capabilities, especially in light of. OHA’s recent merger with the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) and the formation of the CWMD Office. The reorganization directed by the Secretary of DHS resulted in the realigning of requirements to meet the new organizational structure. As this realignment is proceeding, the current contract with HWC is scheduled to expire on November 16, 2018.

HWC is the only source capable of providing the required SETA support services during this period of transition within the CWMD Office. It is critical to the success of the CWMD biodetection mission that the Contractor be capable of providing personnel with sufficient prior expertise and educational background to effectively support the broad range of program

- 3 -requirements. The services required under the proposed contract support the maintenance of current operations testing, evaluation, and deployment, as well as operations and maintenance of biodetection technology unique to the BioWatch Program. In support of this requirement SETA contractors assist in operating a 24/7 program in over 30 jurisdictions, and require subject matter expertise in many technical areas including micro-biology, macro-biology, laboratory analysis techniques inclusive of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and multiplexing, environmental science, and environmental sampling methods. HWC maintains specialized BioWatch-specific knowledge and experience necessary to support this program including: operation of the BioWatch Portable Sampling Units (PSU), laboratory analysis processes and techniques (sample processing, molecular biological techniques, interpreting data, quality assurance and sample integrity), knowledge of time sensitive BioWatch Incident Response processes and procedures, and knowledge of state and local BioWatch response protocols. These technologies and processes are unique to the BioWatch Program and require extensive program knowledge to ensure timely and accurate execution of critical biodetection functions.

The execution of a J&A is required in order to ensure that OHA/CWMD has continued contractor support to provide the capability to detect and respond to biological terrorism events.

Within the current BioWatch Program, there are multiple program elements that must work in concert to provide this national biodetection capability. OHA currently requires support in administering the BioWatch program and coordinating the technical activities of these elements into one cohesive biodetection system. SETA support is critical to the continued successful execution of OHA’s biodetectionmission. HWC currently possesses the personnel with specialized knowledge as to how each of the 30 jurisdictions operate under the BioWatch Program, in addition to the specialized knowledge of scientific subject matter expertise necessary to continue operations of OHA’s biodetection capabilities, and ultimately assist in the transition of these capabilities to the CWMD Office. HWC’s familiarity and experience with OHA’s biodetection capabilities, to include the BioWatch Program, will alleviate the substantial risk of contractor non-performance that would be present were a new contractor to be brought on board without sufficient transition time. Familiarity with OHA’s biodetection technology and the BioWatch Program is imperative for successful performance. BioWatch is a national security program that requires continuous support in 30+ jurisdictions using processes, procedures, and technical applications that are unique to the BioWatch Program. The complexities of integrating field collections, laboratory analysis processes, and response operations requires extensive knowledge of the overall biodetection system. The differences in execution of the BioWatch mission in each jurisdiction does not allow for a “one size fits all” process for functions such as incident response, environmental assessment, exercise coordination, communications and planning. Detailed knowledge of the specific processes and agencies in each jurisdiction is necessary to execute this mission in a timely and accurate manner. If a contractor is not familiar with the BioWatch unique processes, procedures, technolgoies, and state and local response protocols, this may result in a lapse in service which would disrupt operations and significantly impact the protection of the Nation. It will require a signficant period of training and transition time for another contractor to acquire the knowledge necessary to perform the myriad of functions required for operations.

Should OHA experience a gap in its SETA support services for biodetection, it would result in mission failure given the insufficient amount of resources available to OHA for the continuation

- 4 -of critical biodetection day-to-day operations. Operation of OHA’s current biodetection capabilities include the following:

• Collector placement, management and repair;

• Sample retrieval and transport;

• Sample analysis and result reporting;

• Signal interpretation and risk assessment; and

• Initial response.

Support in these areas provides OHA with the capability to detect and respond to biological terrorism events, which is critical to the OHA biodetection mission and the Nation. Awarding the proposed contract for up to 12 months on a sole source basis will maintain operational performance, reduce programmatic risk, and assist OHA in transitioining its biodetection capabilities to the CWMD Office.

6. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable.

DHS intends to make this justification publically available pursuant to FAR 6.305 on FedBizOpps on or around October 30, 2018.

7. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated price(s) will be fair and reasonable based on prior acquisition history. DHS estimates the pricing will be comparable to the current contract plus a labor rate escalation of ~2%. Issuing the proposed contract is anticipated to represent the best value and result in the lowest overall cost, considering price and administrative costs, to meet the Government’s needs. In accordance with FAR 15.403-1, certified cost and pricing data is not required when commercial items are being acquired. Prior to award, the contractor’s proposed labor mix and level-of-effort will be compared to the historically based Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) and price analysis will be completed using one or more of the proposal analysis techniques under FAR 15.404-1, to ensure the the final agreed-to price is fair and reasonable.

8. Description of market research.

Market research, specifically for this interim period, was not conducted due to ongoing market research for the pending competitive procurement for the CWMD Office. A RFI was posted on FBO on September 21, 2018 requesting that parties express their interest in writing for the CWMD Advisory and Assistance Services procurement, which includes the services covered under this J&A. DHS has received approximately responses to this RFI. The responses are currently being reviewed. DHS also intends to hold an Industry Day to further discuss these requirements with interested contractors.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

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This proposed contract is needed while a new comprehensive acquisition strategy and Statement of Work (SOW) for the procurement of SETA services for the CWMD Office is being developed and competed. The current contract with HWC was competitively awarded and it is now necessary to have HWC continue to provide services for up to an additional 12 month period, including options, in order to allow for the continuity of critical biodetection services, to include the BioWatch Program, and other biodetection support services required by the CWMD Office.

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

N/A

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 supplies or services required.

DHS intends to pursue a new contract for the acquisition of SETA type support services for the CWMD office with an estimated completion in the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2019. Future acquisitions for these same SETA type services will be competitive, thus eliminating the barriers to competition.

12. Contracting Officer’s Certification. I certify that the data supporting the recommended use of other than full and open competition is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Digitally signed by JENNIFER A D'ADDIO Date: 2018.11.13 13:48:31 -05'00'

Jennifer D’Addio Contracting Officer

Date

13. Technical/Requirements Personnel Certification. I certify this requirement meets the Government’s minimum need and that the supporting data, which forms a basis for this justification, is complete and accurate.

Digitally signed by CHARLES H SPENCE III Date: 2018.11.13 14:20:36 -05'00'

Charles Spence Technical Representative/COR

14. Approval.

gitally signed by CATHERINE M BASKIN

JENNIFER A D'ADDIO

CHARLES H SPENCE III

CATHERINE M BASKIN Da te: 2018.11.15 16:00:37 -05'00' Catherine Baskin Procuring Activity Advocate for Competition