A18 JOFOC Call Center_Signed.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

CALL CENTER AUGMENTATION SUPPORT FOR THE

COVID-19 NATIONAL EMERGENCY

Identification Number: Contract 73351020P0010

1. Identification of the agency and contracting activity (FAR 6.303-2(b)(1)).

Agency: The Small Business Administration (SBA), Office of Disaster Assistance (ODA) Contracting Activity: The Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Acquisitions Directorate.

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved (FAR 6.303-2(b)(2)).

This justification and approval includes the change to the period of performance, modifications to the statement of work and raising the ceiling of the total estimated contract value of the order awarded to LiveOps Agent Services, LLC (LiveOps).

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value) (FAR 6.303-2(b)(3)).

The services provided under this contract are call center services, which are required to handle the extreme number of COVID-related EIDL calls received by SBA. The contractor must be capable of receiving up to 60,000 calls or more per day. This Justification includes the estimated not-to-exceed contract total of $150,000,000.00, and the period of performance end date of March 23, 2021.

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is as follows:

41 United States Code (U.S.C.) 253(c)(1) as set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-2, unusual and compelling urgency.

5. A statement demonstrating the unique qualifications of the proposed contractor or the nature of the action requiring the use of the authority (FAR 6.303-2(b)(5)).

On March 13, 2020, the President issued a proclamation declaring a National Emergency concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) outbreak. The mission of ODA is to help people recover from disasters and emergencies by helping them rebuild their lives by providing affordable, timely and accessible financial assistance to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and nonprofit organizations. Responding to the needs of the disaster survivors in an efficient manner is a primary goal. ODA strives to meet this efficiency goal, regardless of the emergency or disaster impact. The COVID-19 pandemic is by far the largest Presidential National Emergency Declaration for SBA and has created an unusual and compelling urgency for disaster relief that demands immediate attention and continued action from the ODA.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was introduced to the Senate on March 19, 2020 and was signed into law on March 27, 2020. Section 1110 of the CARES Act injects $10 billion into the SBA’s existing Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and expanded eligibility for EIDL loans. Eligible businesses who apply for an EIDL program loan may receive up to $10,000 as an advance against the loan. SBA has an in-house call center to handle questions about all ODA financial assistance, however, with the passage of the CARES Act, the call volume related to the COVID-related EIDL program increased exponentially, and it was necessary to acquire additional call center support.

The solicitation clearly stated that there is no consistency in the number of calls at any given time, and that this is an unprecedented emergency with no comparable information for a disaster of this type. The solicitation stated that vendors must be capable of adjusting to the current environment.

Award number 73351020P0010 was awarded competitively on March 24, 2020, as the incoming calls to ODA’s call center were exceeding the number of calls that it could handle. Due to the inability to accurately estimate the extent or duration of the work or to anticipate the call volume with any degree of confidence, a time-and-materials type contract was awarded. The award included fixed hourly rates for all labor categories and the rates were determined to be fair and reasonable.

In April, 49,642 COVID-related calls were supported under this requirement, with a daily average of 36,701 COVID-related calls in May, 66,858 COVID-related calls in June, 96,898 COVID-related calls in July and 21,971 COVID-related calls in August. The call volume has been difficult to estimate and depends, in part, on whether additional funding is added to the EIDL program. In this unprecedented emergency and with the passage of the CARES Act, the increased call volumes necessitated modifications to the original award to meet the high call COVID-related call volumes and to increase the period of performance so that services could continue as the emergency has continued. Currently, the average COVID-related call volume in August averages 8,934 calls per day which indicates a significant decline from the original requirement; however, if additional funding is added to the EIDL program or a natural disaster occurs which diverts the attention of the in-house call center, ODA may need to increase the volume of calls handled and agents needed on this contract.

In order to be prepared in case additional funding is added to the EIDL program or a natural disaster diverts the in-house call center capacity, the total not-to-exceed contract value of this time-and-materials order may be increased to $150,000,000.00 and the period of performance may be extended to March 23, 2021, as needed.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by FAR 5.2 and, if not, which exception under FAR 5.202 applies (FAR 6.303-2(b)(6)).

A synopsis was not required as stated in exemption FAR 5.202(a)(2). Nine quotes were received.

7. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable (FAR 6.303-2(b)(7)).

The pricing is equal to or less than the awarded rates which were already found fair and reasonable. The estimated hours have been verified as reasonable for the required effort. Based on this, the Contracting Officer has determined that the cost is fair and reasonable.

8. A description of the market research conducted and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted (FAR 6.303-2(b)(8)).

A sources sought was published and responses received, in addition to other market research that was performed prior to the award of this contract in May 2020; however, due to the urgency of this requirement, no additional market research was conducted prior to the modifications. LiveOps is registered under the Disaster Recovery Registry.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition (FAR 6.303-2(b)(9)).

The award was made to the offeror who could immediately begin supporting the SBA and offered fair and reasonable pricing. Since inception of the contract, Live Ops has decreased the labor category pricing by working with the Government to provide the best pricing. LiveOps has the resources, to include personnel and systems, in place to continue to successfully perform this requirement. They have consistently and successfully handled the fluctuation in calls per day.

Delay in the performance of this requirement would jeopardize SBA’s small business assistance mission in a way that would result in unacceptable risks to capability and functionality of small businesses across the nation as well as invoke unprecedented damage to the U.S. economy. Delays in award of the additional capacity and performance time would also result in serious injury, financial or other, to the Government due to the unacceptable jeopardy that would be posed to small businesses that make up the U.S. economic infrastructure. Without additional agents to help small businesses navigate to and through the EIDL systems, time and resources will be wasted, and SBA cannot effectively fulfill its mission.

10. A listing of any sources that expressed a written interest in the acquisition (FAR 6.303-2(b)(10)).

Nine vendors responded with quotes in response to the solicitation.

11. A statement of any actions the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition, if subsequent acquisitions are anticipated (FAR 6.303-2(b)(11)).

It is unknown how long the help desk services will be required and is dependent, in part, on how long the emergency exists and whether additional funds are added to the EIDL program. If a long-term requirement is identified, the SBA will perform market research to assess the market and proceed accordingly. SBA is committed, to the maximum extent practical, to use competitive procedures for the future acquisition of these services.

CERTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

12. CERTIFICATION: The JOFOC has been prepared and certified by:

Technical / Requirements Personnel: I certify the requirement meets the Government’s minimum need and that the facts, representations, and data included in this justification are complete and accurate.

David Hildebrandt Supervisory IT Specialist

Contracting Officer: 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.

Roger Henriquez Contracting Officer

13. APPROVAL:

Kip Sheppard Senior Procurement Executive