A08 Attachment CA Approved.pdf

Page 1 AOP No. 5, J&A-Other Than Full & Open Competition- Attachment 7 (Feb. 26, 2020)

Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity United States Department of Agriculture

FAR 16.505

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

United States Department of Agriculture, Departmental Administration, Office of Contracting and Procurement, Procurement Operations Division, 301 S. Howes Street, Suite 321, Fort Collins, CO 80521.

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved.

The purpose of this action is obtain approval to proceed with a limited source acquisition of the continued hardware and software support services for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), Client Experience Center (CEC) to support End User Shared Services (EUSS) utilizing CISCO offerings. The procedures under FAR Subpart 16.5, ordering under Indefinite Delivery contracts will be used.

Once approved, the USDA Office of Contracting and Procurement will request a quote and issue a new order against FCN’s NASA SEWP contract. This will be for a one-year period of performance for CISCO Hardware and software maintenance with OEM Technical Support Services.

This will afford the additional time required for a new requirement to be recompeted. Due to an oversite, the recompete was not issued timely. The only solution to ensure the integrity and security of OCIOs network infrastructure and End User Shared Services is to issue a sole-source order directly to FNC based on the interest of economy and efficiency. In accordance with FAR Subpart 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C) this order is considered a logical follow-on to the order already issued under the previous contract, provided that all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original award which has been verified by the Contracting Officer.

A request for quote will be issued to the incumbent contractor, “FCN” a Woman Owned Small Business as a logical follow-on to an order already issued on the contract. An order will then be issued to FCN. This will provide the additional time and resources required to recompete the acquisition and issue a new award in FY2021.

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

The USDA, OCIO/CEC End User Support Services requires the continuation of a single integrator to coordinate the delivery of commercial off-the-shelf CISCO hardware and associated software maintenance with OEM Technical Support services to include helpdesk support, updates and patches in support of mission essential functionalities.

The CISCO platform is the solution that is currently utilized within the USDA/OCIO environment.

It is the backbone of the evolving End User Consolidation effort. FCN, the incumbent contractor, is familiar with OCIOs initiatives and has already stood-up the required support services, security

Page 2 AOP No. 5, J&A-Other Than Full & Open Competition- Attachment 7 (Feb. 26, 2020) clearances, the required product upgrades and mapped out the process to continue providing the support necessary to maintain the integrity of the End User Consolidation project.

The previous award AG-3144-15-D-0124 was issued as a Firm Fixed-Price (FFP) contract and was awarded competitively under NASW SEWP. It expired on 29 February 2020. The follow-on effort will be issued for one year from date of award through 28 February 2021.

Estimated value: $6.3M

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

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C) is the authority, describe why the relationship between the initial order and the follow-on is logical (e.g., in terms of scope, period of performance, or value).

The statutory authority permitting exception to fair opportunity is Section 41 U.S.C. 4106(c) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition regulation (FAR) Subpart 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C), entitled, “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.”

The original contract award AG-3144-D-15-0124 was competed on NASA SEWP GWAC in 2015.

The contract was competed against eligible SEWP Contract holders who had a relationship with CISCO and who were authorized resellers for CISCO on a competitive basis. FCN was the competitive awardee and has performed in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract.

They have demonstrated satisfactory or better past performance as stated in CPARs and the contracting officers has knowledge of the contractor’s performance under contract AG-3144-D-15- 0124.

By not preserving these services immediately, the institutional knowledge associated to this effort, critical infrastructure support services required, and the disruption of services would cause a detrimental setback for the Department. Issuing an order to FCN for the continued CISCO hardware and support services will guarantee that there will not be a gap in the procurement and will proved a signification economic and efficient value to the Government. End users and external customers will not notice a lapse during the transition and issuance of a new order. Authorizing a new order to FCN to continue this support until a new contract can be issued and will save the USDA millions of dollars and provide the infrastructure safety net necessary to ensure the mission of the USDA/OCIO can be fulfilled.

Awarding the proposed action as a logical follow-on provides signification economic and efficient value to the Government. Any source other than FCN would result in a loss of 30 or more days while the Government awards the follow-on competitively under NASA SEWP. This lapse would have a significant impact on OCIOs mission, customer base and the nations farmers. It is logical to issue a follow-on to the incumbent contractor, FCN for the continuation of the CISCO hardware, software and support services they are currently providing under contract AG-3144-D-15-0124.

Page 3 AOP No. 5, J&A-Other Than Full & Open Competition- Attachment 7 (Feb. 26, 2020)

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

The anticipated cost associated to this follow-on will be fair and reasonable. The order will be issued against FCN’s NASA SEWP contract and will contain the language set by the master contract along with the contract terms and conditions and pricing factors. In turn, the contracting officer will request discounted pricing if available. FCN has indicated that they have an outstanding relationship with CISCO and that they are deeply vetted, therefore increasing the opportunity for additional discounts.

6. Any other facts to support the justification.

An urgency exists specific to this acquisition. These products directly support the network infrastructure throughout all CEC’s offerings [Core Network Infrastructure, all 2800 fields sites including PAC basin offices, all wireless services throughout the enterprise, all enterprise mobility services, VOIP (Voice Over Internet protocol) (phones), virtualization infrastructure supporting agency/mission area application hosting, and current CEC end user customer desktop connectivity].

The items are also supporting current USDA Secretary initiatives such as OCIO End User Consolidation and One Neighborhood Initiative network flattening engineering, installation, personnel moves, and network asset inventory and assessment services (NAIAS). The lack of maintenance coverage if not addressed immediately, puts all these key infrastructure areas at risk and would negatively impact the end users throughout USDA.

7. A statement of actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition if subsequent acquisitions are anticipated.

There are no barriers to future competition. Competition for this maintenance support is limited to Cisco and authorized resellers. Multiple resellers exist on NASA SEWP and USDA anticipates receiving adequate price competition once the USDA/OCIO end user consolidation is completed.

Page 4 AOP No. 5, J&A-Other Than Full & Open Competition- Attachment 7 (Feb. 26, 2020)

Future procurements will continue to research possibility to increase competition.

Certifications & Approval

Supporting data that form the basis for and included in this justification is certified accurate and complete.

Phil Rendina Director of Infrastructure Operations

The information contained in this justification is certified accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Victoria Baca Contracting Officer

Additional Reviews & Approvals

Signatures are required at each threshold up to the total estimated dollar value of the acquisition

Contracting Branch Chief (if not the Contracting Officer) (if over $700,000). I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

John Selenske Contracting Branch Chief

POD Competition Advocate (if over $700,000). I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Danielle Knipper Competition Advocate, Procurement Operations Division

POD Procurement Analyst (if over $1 million). I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Danielle Knipper Procurement Analyst, Procurement Operations Division

PHILLIP RENDINA

Digitally signed by PHILLIP

RENDINA

Date: 2020.03.10 10:30:45 -05'00'

Page 5 AOP No. 5, J&A-Other Than Full & Open Competition- Attachment 7 (Feb. 26, 2020)

POD Deputy Chief (if over $1 million). I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Kelly Moore Deputy Chief, Procurement Operations Division

Procuring Activity Competition Advocate (if over $1 million, but not exceeding $13.5 million).

I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Therefore, unless additional approvals are required as prescribed below, as advocate for competition for the procuring activity, I hereby approve this justification.

Procuring Activity Competition Advocate Chief, Procurement Operations Division Procuring Activity Advocate for Competition

Head of the Procuring Activity (if over $13.5 million, but not exceeding $68 million). I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Therefore, unless additional approvals are required as prescribed below, as Head of the Procuring Activity, I hereby approve this justification.

Insert Name of the Head of the Procuring Activity Head of the Procuring Activity United States Department of Agriculture

Senior Procurement Executive of the Agency (if over $68 million). I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Therefore, as the Senior Procurement Executive, I hereby approve this justification.

Insert Name of the Senior Procurement Executive Senior Procurement Executive United States Department of Agriculture

Page 6 AOP No. 5, J&A-Other Than Full & Open Competition- Attachment 7 (Feb. 26, 2020)

Posting. In accordance with FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(D), within 14 days after placing an order exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold that does not provide for fair opportunity, the Contracting Officer shall publish a notice in accordance with FAR 5.301 and make publicly available the justification (except for brand name justifications). The justification shall be posted at the GPE (www.fedbizops.gov) and must remain posted for a minimum of 30 days. In the case of unusual and compelling urgency, the justification shall be posted within 30 days of the order. For brand-name requirements in excess of $30,000, the Contracting Officer shall post the justification and supporting documentation on the agency website used (if any) to solicit offers for orders under the contract; or provide the justification and supporting documentation along with the solicitation to all contract awardees.