A03_-_Redacted_Exception_to_Fair_Opportunity_Justification.pdf

Control No: [REDACTED] Contractor: Catapult Health Technology Group, LLC

Supply/Service: Information Technology (IT) Services

JUSTIFICATION REVIEW DOCUMENT

FAR PART 16 EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY JUSTIFICATION

For Actions Exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT)

Programs/Equipment: Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Information Technology (IT) Services – Six (6) Month Extension to Task Order W911QX-15-F-0014

Authority: 10 U.S.C. 2304c(b)(1) as implemented by FAR Part 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A) – The agency need for the supplies or services is so urgent that providing a fair opportunity would result in unacceptable delays.

Amount: $5,797,223.07

Prepared by: [REDACTED]

Contracting Officer: Daniel Balizan DSN: [REDACTED] Contracting Officer Date: 06/19/2019 Email: daniel.j.balizan.civ@mail.mil

Technical: [REDACTED]

Requirements: [REDACTED]

Reviews: I have reviewed this justification and find it adequate to support an exception to fair opportunity.

Program Manager:

[REDACTED]

Legal Counsel:

Supply/Service: Information Technology (IT) Services

FAR Part 16 Exception to Fair Opportunity Justification

Under Multiple Award Indefinite Delivery Contracts For Actions Exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT)

1. Contracting Activity: U.S. Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG), Adelphi Contracting Division, (CCAP-SCA), 2800 Powder Mill Road, Adelphi, MD 20783.

2. Description of Action: Approval is requested to modify the existing Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Task Order W911QX-15-F-0014, (Base Contract: HHSN316201200010W), for a six (6) month bridge extension which will include one (1) two (2)-months base extension and two (2) two-months optional periods for the ARL. The Task Order was awarded to Catapult Health Technology Group, LLC. (CHTG), at 11 Canal Center Plaza, Floor 2, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, on the National Institutes of Health’s, Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center, Chief Information Officer Solutions and Partners 3 Innovations (NITAAC CIO-SP3) Government Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC),The current order has a Period of Performance (PoP) that is expected to end on 30 June 2019; however, ARL still has a need for continuation of services [REDACTED]. The requested modification would increase the task order ceiling dollars by $5,797,223.07 from $50,292,990.55 to $56,090,213.62 and extend performance from 01 July 2019 thru 31 December 2019. [REDACTED]

_X_ The required acquisition plan in accordance with FAR 16.301-3(a)(2) and/or DFARS 207.103(d)(i) is currently awaiting Senior Contracting Official (SCO) approval.

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The purpose of this extension is to provide continuous Information Technology (IT) services and support for the ARL and the Adelphi Laboratory Center (ALC) Network Enterprise Center (NEC) in the following areas:

• Program Management

• Help Desk Tier I

• Help Desk Tier II

• Server and SANS

• System Administration

• Networking and Telecommunications

• Conference Rooms and Video Teleconferencing

The existing scope of services and support areas under the order will not change. The purpose of this modification is to retain IT support for ARL for six (6) months throughout the period from 1 July 2019 to 31 December 2019 from the existing contractor CHTG.

This extension will increase the total task order value by $5,797,223.07. Currently this effort supports Army users at over 6,000 workstations located at ALC in Adelphi, Maryland which operates, maintains, and defends the Global Network Enterprise to enable information superiority and freedom of access to the network in all phases of Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental and Multinational operations. Additionally, basic

Supply/Service: Information Technology (IT) Services services are provided for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Information Management (C4IM) for the ARL, US Army Garrison Army Laboratory Center (GALC), and ALC customers at all locations on both classified and unclassified networks.

An Executive Summary addressing the circumstances and necessity for a bridge extension was submitted on 21 June 2019 via email to the Senior Contracting Office (SCO). The summary requested the SCO’s concurrence to the strategy to pursue the six

(6) month bridge modification to allow ACC-APG Adelphi to solicit the current Contractor CHTG for the extension period proposal while the Exception to Fair Opportunity Justification subject to FAR 16.505 and Acquisition Plan (AP) are staffed and approved and the modification is issued. SCO concurrence was received on 24 June 2019. Upon receiving the SCO’s concurrence, ACC-APG Adelphi solicited CHTG for a proposal and received a proposal on 27 June 2019 in which the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) provided a technical evaluation. On 28 June 2019, Contracting Officer, Daniel Balizan, issued a Notice to Proceed (NTP) to CHTG in the amount of $1,920,231.59. The funding limitation of this authorization is limited to [REDACTED] which is the amount that will be applied to the order at time of modification issuance. To date, CHTG is currently proving services under this NTP. The six (6) month extension is structured as follows:

Period of Performance Dollar Value Base Period 01 July 2019 – 31 August 2019 $1,932,407.69 Option Period 1 01 September 2019 – 31 October

$1,932,407.69

Option Period 2 01 November 2019 – 31 December

$1,932,407.69

The Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs) structure of the order is broken out by task included in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). Based on this, there are forty-eight

(48) active CLINs on the order. To alleviate the administrative burden of incorporating, funding, and tracking 48 CLINS for the base period and each of the option periods, the current CLINS (CLINs 0037 – 0085) will be extended to 31 August 2019. If an option period is required as detailed in Section 5, the Government will issue the modification bilaterally and extend the current CLINS to the appropriate PoP in accordance with the table above.

4. Authority Cited: 10 U.S.C. 2304c(b)(1) as implemented by FAR Part 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A) – The agency need for the supplies or services is so urgent that providing a fair opportunity would result in unacceptable delays.

5. Reason for Authority Cited: The ARL – Chief Information Office requires the aforementioned task order extension in order to allow time to [REDACTED]. CHTG is only contractor that can perform this effort at the level of quality and in the time period required that would not result in non-compliance with Department of Defense (DoD) and Army mandated requirements or unacceptable delays. Without an extension of the current effort, all IT Support services would cease on 1 July 2019. The extension will provide continuous IT services and support for Army Command, Control, Supply/Service: Information Technology (IT) Services

Communications, Computers, and Information Management Services through 31 December 2019 if all options are exercised. This extension includes two (2) option periods with a PoP of two (2) months each. [REDACTED]. The following paragraphs will explain how this change came about and the rationale for the extension.

In August 2018, a ten (10) month extension was approved based on a significant change in the strategy for the re-compete requirement which [REDACTED]

It was the intent of the Government to utilize the General Services Administration (GSA) [REDACTED] Government wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) for the re-compete order.

On 05 July 2018, an Request For Information (RFI) was posted to GSA eBuy for all [REDACTED] schedule holders and closed on 18 July 2018 with 18 small business vendors showing interest in the re-compete requirement. [REDACTED]is a re-compete of [REDACTED]. After an extensive review of the respondents, the CIO determined that all 18 respondents would likely be able to provide services that meet the needs for this IT Modernization effort. However, after closing of the RFI, it was determined that the [REDACTED] contract vehicles were not available due to an ongoing protest of [REDACTED] which prohibits orders from being issued. Furthermore, the ordering period of [REDACTED] ended before it was feasible for this effort to be awarded. Based on this, the Government was forced to identify a new GWAC to utilize for the follow on requirement. On 01 December 2018, the Government determined the [REDACTED].

[REDACTED]

Extending the current contract with CHTG as the incumbent is the only course of action to provide continuity of critical and highly specialized IT services within the time period required. If an extension to CHTG is not granted ARL will experience a failure of all IT Support Services for a period of six (6) months. [REDACTED]

CHTG is only contractor that can perform this effort in the time period required for continuity of service. An example of a task which CHTG is currently performing that would be interrupted is the DoD mandated Personal Computer (PC) Refresh requirement. This PC Refresh allows ARL to be compliant with the latest hardware requirements to ensure ARL is not susceptible to any security threats to the DoD network. CHTG possesses the specialized knowledge of internal ARL operations and qualified personnel to complete the mandatory PC Refresh. In a scenario where IT Support Services would cease, ARL would fail to meet the Army and DOD mandates which would leave end users and systems vulnerable to known security threats with no means of preventing malicious hacking or intrusion from our adversaries. Any information that is currently stored in our information networks, such as Intellectual Property, new research, scientific advancements, or blueprints would all be susceptible to loss. ARL’s failure of IT services would extend to the Department of the Army civilians and warfighters who ultimately depend on these systems. This would also cause significant data loss due to extended outages across the entire ARL network which supports the ARL Cyber Security Service Provider as one of the largest cyber defense organizations in the DoD. Customer issues and requirements would go unfulfilled, Information Assurance Vulnerability Management (IAVM) compliance would be impacted causing an increased risk to the ARL Enterprise Network. PCs that are required to be

Supply/Service: Information Technology (IT) Services rebuilt (compromised and non-compromised) would remain off-line resulting in mission failure.

Nonetheless, if an award to another vendor was pursued, it would result in a significant interruption and cessation of critical IT support service to all government customers while a new vendor learned the established processes and procedures. Furthermore, it is expected that a new vendor would experience unprecedented attrition for such a short term bridge as individuals would not be willing to accept positions where the underlying contract were only for six (6) months. This attrition would result in a sharpened learning curve of a new vendor and would lead to failure of completing the mission. The timeframe of a new short term contract would cause major disruptions and the support would be insufficient to ensure network connectivity for operations of the ARL due to inability to obtain the required credentials. It is not feasible to transition from CHTG to another vendor and then once again to a new contract vehicle as it would impose significant burden to the personnel under contract, ARL IT staff, services offered, and the customer/end user.

In summary, the re-compete order requires more time to complete, therefore creating a need for an extension of the current task order with CHTG, as they are the only source that would be able to provide the IT Services needed in the timeframe available. If ARL were to compete this extension the end users would experience very limited customer support, an unacceptable increase in risk and loss of network access across all ARL sites, and a failure to meet DOD mandated security upgrade requirements.

[REDACTED]

6. Actions to Increase Competition: The Government is currently pursuing

7. Market Research: No market research was completed for the subject extension as CHTG is the sole vendor capable of meeting this Government’s requirement in the current timeline needed to issue the re-compete order. As stated in Section 5, CHTG, the incumbent vendor, is providing services and possesses the specialized knowledge of internal ARL operations and qualified personnel to complete the ongoing DoD mandated requirements. It was determined through ARL’s extensive experience with CHTG that they can and are fulfilling the requirements of the Government without any performance issues to date.

Supply/Service: Information Technology (IT) Services

8. Other Facts:

a. Procurement History:

Contract: W911QX-15-F-0014 Contractor: Catapult Health Technologies Group Award Date: 1 September 2015 Period of Performance: 1 September 2015 - 31 August 2018 Dollar Value: $40,484,739.56 Competitive Status: Fair Opportunity Provided through NIH CIO-SP3 MATOC Authority: N/A

Contract: W911QX-14-F-0021 Contractor: Catapult Health Technologies Group Award Date: 9 May 2014 Period of Performance: 09 May 2014 - 31 August 2015 Dollar Value: $12,812,686.95 Competitive Status: Sole Source bridge due to protest Authority: 10 U.S.C. 2304c(b)(2) as implemented by FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B) – Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized.

Contract: W911QX-14-F-0019 Contractor: STG Award Date: 9 May 2014 Period of Performance: 09 May 2014 – 31 August 2015 Dollar Value: $17,036,815.71 Competitive Status: Sole Source bridge due to protest Authority: 10 U.S.C. 2304c(b)(2) as implemented by FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B) – Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized.

Contract: W911QX-13-F-0030 Contractor: Catapult Health Technologies Group Award Date: 14 August 2013 Period of Performance: 14 August 2013 – 15 August 2015 (stop work order was issued 09 May 2014) Revised Period of Performance: 14 August 2013 – 09 May 2014 Dollar Value: $41,811,990.68 (for full two year Period of Performance) $1,365,639.71 (total funding dispersed)

b. Other Facts: None

Supply/Service: Information Technology (IT) Services

9. Technical Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

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

11. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable.

The Contractor has agreed to utilize all prices contained in the original order

Contracting Officer: Daniel Balizan

X

Contracting Officer (KO)

12. Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer: Daniel Balizan

Contracting Officer (KO)

Supply/Service: Information Technology (IT) Services

Approval

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of ARL IT Services – Six (6) month extension to Task Order W911QX-15-F-0014, for an estimate of $5,797,223.07 and PoP for 01 July 2019 thru 31 December 2019, using an exception to fair opportunity pursuant to the authority of FAR Part 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A) subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services or supplies herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

Command Advocate for Competition