A04 JA (FAR 8) ManTech 09-09-2026 Signed (Final) _Redacted.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF WAR

WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES

1155 DEFENSE PENTAGON

WASHINGTON, DC 20301-1155

ACQUISITION DIRECTORATE

September 9, 2026

WHS-2026-2258 – JA

JUSTIFICATION FOR LIMITED SOURCE JUSTIFICATION (LSJ)

UNDER FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION SUBPART 8.4; GSAR SUBPART

538.7104-3(b)(iii)

1. AGENCY AND CONTRACTING ACTIVITY: The Department of War (DoW), Washington Headquarters Services, Acquisition Directorate (WHS/AD), Enterprise Research & Engineer Directorate (ERED), Technical Analysis and Services Branch (TASB) on behalf of the Undersecretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW(R&E)) Director of Manufacturing Technologies (DoD ManTech).

2. DESCRIPTION OF ACTION: OUSW(R&E) ManTech has a continuing need for

Professional and Technical Support, provided under GSA contract GS-03F-041GA Task Order 47QFMA21F0017, which was awarded as a competitive action to D.K Jones Consulting, whose name has been changed to PM2 Strategies. The current GSA task order was extended for 6-months from April 6, 2026 – October 5, 2026. The Government intends to award a sole source contract to PM2 Strategies, to maintain continuity of services while the Government works to award a competitive, long-term follow-on contract. This short-term bridge contract will be awarded as a hybrid Firm-Fixed Price (FFP)/Time & Material (T&M) (for travel and ODCs) for the support services for a price of , using Fiscal Year 2026/2027 Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) Funds. The total performance period will be extended from October 6, 2026, to April 5, 2027, for a base period of two (2) months with four (4) 1-month option periods (if required).

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES: To accomplish the OUSW(R&E)’s objectives, the ManTech Program requires non-personal support services with customer focused technical, professional, administrative, management, policy, and operational support capabilities such as project management and planning that enable the day-to-day operations of the OUSW(R&E)’s mission. The core tasks will include project management and planning. The Contractor shall perform to the standards in this contract as required by the PWS.

The PWS requirements are to provide support to the ManTech organization as well as the Manufacturing Innovation Institute (MII). The support will include project management, planning, consulting services, and strategic guidance. The Contractor shall provide integrated consulting services, including assistance in support of the Customers’ mission functions such as management or strategy consulting, research, evaluations, studies, analyses, scenarios/simulations, reports, business policy and regulation development assistance, strategy formulation, facilitation and related decision support services, survey services, reporting, and stakeholder briefings.

Performance Period Period of Performance 2-month Bridge October 6, 2026 to December 5, 2026 1-Month Option December 6, 2026 to January 5, 2027 1-Month Option January 6, 2027 to February 5, 2027 1-Month Option February 6, 2027 to March 5, 2027 1-Month Option March 6, 2027 to April 5, 2027

Base + All Options

4. ORDERING UNDER THE FEDERAL SUPPLY SCHEDULE (FSS): Streamlined Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) ordering procedures can be found within the new procedures and are now located in the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) class deviation, specifically within GSAR Subpart 538.71 (https://www.acquisition.gov/fss-ordering-procedures).

5. BEST VALUE DETERMINATION: The Contracting Officer (CO) determines that the anticipated prices will be fair and reasonable and represent the best value to the government by using the techniques identified at FAR 15.404-1 “Proposal Analysis Techniques,” specifically FAR 15.404-1(b)(2)(v) to ensure award will be at fair and reasonable prices. The Government will compare proposed prices set forth by PM2 Strategies, to historical prices paid by the Government under the current task order contract GS-03F-041GA Task Order 47QFMA21F0017, as well as compare estimated prices within the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) prepared for the bridge contract.

The past performance of PM2 Strategies on contract GS-03F-041GA, Task Order 47QFMA21F0017, has been exceptional because the contractor provided exemplary support and leadership across a wide range of initiatives, consistently delivering high-quality work on schedule and within budget.

If this requirement was competed, it would not be more advantageous given that PM2 Strategies’ performance is exceptional, and it proposed price anticipated to be fair and reasonable.

6. MARKET RESEARCH: Due to time constraints, Market Research has been limited to the Notice of Intent (NOI) to sole source this action, which was posted on SAM.gov on (see section 8a below for details). WHS/AD will solicit this effort as a

2-month base period and a four (4) 1-month option period, sole source bridge contract to PM2 Strategies, to maintain continuity of support being provided to (OUSW(R&E)).

7. OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS: This action is under the procedures of

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.4; GSAR Subpart 538.7104-3(b)(iii) “the order should be issued on a sole source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an FSS order already issued on a competitive basis.”

The bridge contract is the most effective and logical course of action for the Government.

This strategy is essential to guarantee uninterrupted support for the DoD ManTech program, preventing unacceptable delays and a potential lapse in the performance of its critical services. It is the most efficient and logical strategy for a few reasons:

• It ensures the continuity of critical services.

• It avoids unacceptable delays, as awarding a new contract can be lengthy.

• It mitigates risk by preventing a gap in services.

The -8 (six-month extension) is not a viable option for this requirement, because the current contract will reach the end of its lifecycle. As stated above, a 6-month extension has already been completed, so the task order cannot be extended any further. Therefore, a bridge contract is the only appropriate option to ensure continued services until a new, competitively awarded contract is fully executed.

The support and services lost by failing to bridge these services would result in delays that would derail or halt progress in DoD ManTech, including the management of the MIIs, Joint Additive Manufacturing Working Group (JAMWG), Joint Defense Manufacturing Council (JDMC) and technical services supporting the Biomanufacturing Critical Technology Area (CTA) within OUSW(R&E).

In addition, alternatives to issuing a bridge contract to PM2 Strategies’ current task order are not realistic as they would result in substantial duplication of costs to the Government. The substantial duplication of cost is approximately and is not expected to be recovered though competition.

The estimated cost of this bridge includes approximately 6,390 additional labor hours for approximately five (5) contractor personnel that a different vendor would need to provide a support contract to OUSW(R&E) for the time the bridge is needed. The Government would incur significant onboarding, training, and knowledge transfer costs in order to reach the current incumbent’s level of expertise. We estimate the following breakdown of duplication of effort:

Onboarding and Training: The cost is $5,896 based on a week of onboarding costs which consists of in-doc with security, updating credentials on Common Access Card (CAC), Pentagon/Mark Center Access, and network accounts being processed.

Knowledge Transfer: The cost is $82,544 based on estimated 80 hours required for current staff to document work and transfer knowledge

Opportunity Cost of Delays: The cost is assuming a 30-day lapse in service to compete for the award, based on financial risk due to delayed ability to address Department and Congressional issues arising from time-sensitive taskers from executive and legislative branch bodies. The ability to provide research and advice to develop and advance strategy that addresses the evolving domestic manufacturing requirements for DoW production.

Awarding services to a contractor other than PM2 Strategies would involve multiple transition between potential vendors (incumbent vendor, temporary vendor, and new long-term vendor) which involves the Government paying multiple vendors for the transition of different contracts for an estimated for continuous support.

These multiple transitions involve additional resources and unnecessary costs for the Government, and can cause unacceptable risks, delays, and in services.

Additionally, if a new contractor were to come into the environment, it would cause a 45-day minimum gap in support due to the amount of time that it would take to bring on new personnel, conduct the appropriate security indoctrination procedures, issue new accounts, and grant access to respective applications. This process can take approximately 30 days and would not account for any ramp up or training time that would be needed, that would add another 45 to 60 days, resulting in a total 90-day transition. This sort of gap or work stoppage in support is unacceptable. In order to maintain continuity of services, an extension of services is the most logical and cost-effective solution to the Government as a break in support would be detrimental to the mission of OUSW(R&E). Continued specialized support of contract personnel is necessary to continued DoD ManTech’s ability to meet requirements across the DoD.

The potential for losing this expert contract support for any protracted period while awaiting the award of the DoD ManTech Order poses a serious and significant risk to DoD ManTech affecting its mission. In order to accomplish the work within the allotted schedule, the follow-on effort must seamlessly follow the initial effort to maintain continuity of services.

8. ACTIONS TO REMOVE OR OVERCOME ANY BARRIERS THAT LEAD TO

THE RESTRICTED CONSIDERATION BEFORE ANY SUBSEQUENT

ACQUISITION FOR THE SUPPLIES OR SERVICES IS MADE:

(a) Efforts to obtain competition: To assess potential sources and promote transparency, the Contracting Officer posted a Notice of Intent (NOI) to award a sole source bridge contract on SAM.gov in accordance with FAR 5.203(a) on August 27, 2026, with a closing date of September 9, 2026. The NOI described the requirement, anticipated period of performance and the rationale for a sole source award. Interested parties were invited to submit capability statements demonstrating their ability to fulfill the requirement without disruption to mission-essential services. The Government received one unsolicited proposal from Project Cues on August 29, 2026. The Contracting Officer responded to Project Cues on September 8, 2026, to let them know the NOI was to inform industry of the intent to award a short-term bring to the incumbent contractor, not a request for proposals. However, they were encouraged to compete for future competitive actions. Given the highly specialized nature of the requirement, the incumbent is uniquely positioned to ensure uninterrupted support during the bridge period. The Government will continue to pursue full and open competition for the follow-on requirement and is actively engaged in acquisition planning to avoid future bridge actions.

(b) Actions to increase competition: WHS/AD is actively working with OUSW(R&E) in the new effort undergoing a competitive source selection process. This procurement is for a long-term follow-on contract and with the intent to award the follow-on contract by the second quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 26.

9. If this acquisition is for new work as a logical follow-on to on original Federal Supply Schedule (FSS), was the original order placed under the FSS ordering procedures?

Yes, the original acquisition was issued on a competitive basis.

No, a copy of the previous justification is attached. The actions to remove any barriers to competition cited on the previous justification were were not completed.

Not Applicable. This is a new requirement.

CERTIFICATION

I, hereby, certify that the supporting data under my cognizance included in this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer’s Representative/Program Office Date

APPROVAL

Contracting Officer, Chrissandra Smith Date