Consolidation Determination_Redacted.pdf

Contract HS002119F0026 was solicited under GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract via full and open competition, and was awarded to Adnet Systems, Inc ., other than small business vendor. Contract HS002119F0026 was awarded in support of DCSA’s Center for Development of Security Excellence (CDSE) (a division within ST), and apart from a few minor changes, the scope of this contract aligns with the PWS for this consolidated effort. The requirement was for Collaborative Learning Environment (CLE) Administrative support.

Given the similarities in support services between ST, DITMAC, IS EVD, and CDSE’s requirements, more specifically for collaborative support for training products implementation and deployment, DCSA is seeking a streamlined enterprise solution for all aspects of IDD training products and support services.

Additionally, DCSA Contracting and Procurement Office (CPO) has the established capacity and manpower to support the enhanced requirement. The independent government cost estimate (IGCE) of was developed based on a nine-month base period, one (1) one-year option period, and the potential for a six (6) month extension IAW FAR 52.217-8. The IGCE was developed by evaluating historical pricing information from the previous contracts (other than the contracts listed in this document), the current task orders HS002123F0023, and HS002119F0026 and conducting an industry analysis of current pricing.

B. Market Research - FAR 7.107-2(a)(1)

Historically, this requirement has been met through two separate commercial service task orders, awarded by two different ST divisions, that were both awarded under the GSA contracts (as identified above).

Initially, market research was conducted in August 2023 and November 2023 to re-compete the ST requirement only. After further analysis of the CDSE needs, the acquisition strategy evolved to enhance the existing ST PWS to include the scope of work in contract HS002119F0026, which included CLE. Updated market research was conducted in March of 2024 given the enhanced PWS, which captures the consolidation of requirements. The following outlines the research conducted:

1) DCSA CPO released a Request for Information (RFI) to HCaTS SB Pool 1 vendors on 16 August 2023. The responses to this RFI are summarized below. To expand the pool of capable vendors and to determine if there are non-HCaTS Pool 1 SB vendors interested in the IDD requirement, CPO also posted the RFI on the System for Award Management (SAM) website on 17 August 2023. The responses to this RFI are summarized below.

2) In November 2023, based on the responses received from the August 2023-RFI, CPO revised its market research strategy by updating the RFI and limiting the release (because a majority of the responses received from the August 2023 RFI were from vendors with GSA GWAC) of the updated RFI along with the enhance PWS to only HCaTS Pool 1 SB vendors, GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) vendors through GSA eBuy, and One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) Pool 1 SB vendors through the symphony platform, on 9 November 2023.

3) After CPO released the updated RFI and the enhanced PWS to OASIS SB Pool 1 vendors, the CS requested a GSA Market Research as a Service (MRAS) and a scope review of the enhanced PWS by GSA on 13 November 2023, to decide whether the PWS is in scope of OASIS and GSA MAS. GSA confirmed the requirement was not in-scope of OASIS and recommended use of HCaTS SB Pool 1 and GSA MAS contracts for the requirement.

4) On 30 November 2023, ST was requested to review the capability statements received from the November 2023-RFI to further support an acquisition strategy determination.

5) On 11 March 2024, CPO released a third RFI along with the enhanced PWS to HCaTS SB Pool 1 vendors. With this RFI, the Government requested vendors respond affirming their capability to perform the enhanced PWS.

6) On 19 March 2024, CS used the GSA on-line scope review request form to request the HCaTS KO conduct a scope review of the enhanced PWS to determine if it is still in the HCaTS scope.

7) On 25 March 2024, CS received the HCaTS KO’s completed scope review that determined the enhanced PWS is still within the scope of HCaTS SB Pool 1.

August 2023 RFI Responses: The RFI, which included the ST PWS, was released to thirty (30) HCaTS Small Business (SB) Pool 1 contractors to assess the pool’s capabilities of meeting the requirement. Of the thirty

(30) small business Pool 1 SB contractors, one (1), , stated that they could meet the requirements of the PWS, and another vendor stated they do not intend to compete for this requirement.

Also, the RFI was posted on SAM.gov to expand the pool of vendors who are interested in the requirement and capable of supporting the requirement. Eighteen (18) vendors submitted a response. All 18 vendors identified three (3) GSA contract vehicles (HCaTS, MAS, or OASIS) as a suitable vehicle for procurement of this requirement.

November 2023 RFI Responses:

HCaTS RFI: An updated RFI, which included the enhanced PWS with ST, DITMAC, IS, and CI was released to thirty (30) HCaTS Pool 1 SB contractors to assess the pools capabilities of meeting the requirements of the enhanced PWS. Of the thirty (30) SB Pool 1 contractors, three (3) vendors, one of which is , another is , and the third vendor is , All three vendors stated that they can meet the requirements of the PWS. A fourth vendor, , stated they do not intend on submitting a proposal.

GSA MAS RFI: The updated RFI and enhanced PWS were released to GSA MAS vendors. Sixteen

(16) GSA MAS vendors submitted a response. Of the 16 vendors, fifteen (15) identified as small businesses and one (1) as other than small business. As shown in the table below. All 16 vendors stated they can support the requirements of the PWS.

OASIS RFI: The updated RFI and enhanced PWS were released to OASIS SB Pool 1 vendors. After the release of updated RFI and enhanced PWS to the OASIS Pool 1 vendors, the Government requested a scope review of the enhanced PWS, as detailed above. Although GSA found the enhanced PWS to be out of scope of OASIS, the Government received responses from four (4) OASIS Pool 1 vendors. As shown in the table below. The DCSA Contracting Officer (KO) has ruled-out OASIS as a suitable vehicle for this requirement because the enhanced PWS does not align with the OASIS scope as determined by GSA.

The DCSA KO determined that a consolidated contract for IDD support services, specifically solicited under HCaTS Pool 1 Small Business, is the best fit for the Government given that HCaTS is an existing best in class vehicle awarded to support the scope of this effort. Furthermore, the previous contracts were awarded under HCaTS with proven satisfactory support to the Government.

E. Small Business Inclusion in Procurement - FAR 7.107-2(a)(5)

This consolidated requirement will be solicited to GSA HCaTS Small Business Pool 1 vendors. Throughout the acquisition planning process, potential small business industry partners have been sought out through multiple requests for information, which specifically requested feedback on contracting vehicle(s) and CLIN pricing structure, as well as requesting a scope review of the enhanced PWS by the HCaTS KO. A set-aside is possible as DCSA’s market research reveals that two or more small business concerns are capable of fulfilling this consolidated requirement. In addition, at least four (4) GSA HCaTS small business vendors responded to the Government's RFI and expressed their intent to compete for this consolidated requirement. As stated above, of the four (4) small business vendors that responded to the Government's RFI, one (1) .

F. Benefits of Consolidation - FAR 7.107-2(b) and (c)

To determine that consolidation is necessary and justified, it must be demonstrated that the benefits of the acquisition would substantially exceed the benefits that would be derived from the alternative contracting approach identified in Section C above.

Quality improvements that will save time or improve or enhance performance or efficiency - FAR 7.107- 2(c)(1)

As stated above, two different ST divisions awarded the previous contracts, more specifically ST and CDSE. The CDSE award was made prior to the surge in demand for IDD training products and courses, and with the manpower growth within both ST and CPO, the requirements can be adequately and efficiently managed as a consolidated requirement. By consolidating this requirement into a single small business set-aside contract, efficiency and performance are enhanced as the contract will be strategically aligned to capture multiple mission-essential IDD training products and support services into a common contract for use by DCSA. The Government will benefit from a decrease to the burdensome requirement of performing post-award contract administration under two separate contracts and will be better able to align contract performance efficiencies. Moreover, a single contract will boost efficiency of managing delivery of services and will also simplify delivery of deliverables versus multiple KO and contracting officer's representatives (COR) attempting to manage timely delivery of deliverables across separate contracts with different vendors.

Reduction in Acquisition Cycle Times - FAR 7.107-2(c)(2)

The acquisition cycle time from package receipt to award will be lessened as the sum of document creation and review will be cut in half, more specifically from two (2) contract actions to one (1).

Within the single award solution, the Government intends to award a single vehicle with a nine-month base period, one (1), one-year option period, and the potential for a six (6) month extension, thereby reducing the number of known contract actions required from two (2) contract vehicles to one (1). Also, the GSA HCaTS Small Business Pool 1 contracting vehicle features a decentralized, flexible, and responsive ordering solution with acquisition streamlining advantages that has been identified as a best-in-class vehicle.

Better terms and conditions - FAR 7.107-2(c)(3)

By consolidating this requirement and soliciting it under the GSA HCaTS Small Business Pool, the terms and conditions are strategically aligned as the HCaTS multiple award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract was developed with the participation and collaboration of 30 small business stakeholders. A single new award eliminates the potential for inconsistencies or conflicts in the terms, conditions, and requirements descriptions, which may occur across multiple efforts.

In addition, a combined management approach will ensure consistency in the support required to meet the defined requirements. Additionally, a single contract will assist the Government in ensuring compliance with a single set of terms and conditions rather than with two separate contract awards. This single contract will better align the ST, IS EVD, DITMAC, and CI missions at DCSA to ensure there are no gaps or inconsistencies in training the DoD security professionals.

Other benefit(s) - FAR 7.107-2(c)(4):

In addition to the benefits listed above, a single award solution will provide for a single team including the KO, Contract Specialist (KS) and COR. The Government expects this will significantly lessen any required learning curve associated with new or different persons operating individual contracts. With a single KO, KS and COR, the Government expects streamlined and consistent contract performance reporting as well as a single contract file to review during the performance of the contract. Additionally, by contracting to a single vendor the Government expects to mitigate the likelihood of differing intelligence reports by different vendors. Furthermore, through this consolidation DCSA will eliminate the risk of paying for duplicative services and will optimize its approach to IDD training products through achieving an enterprise methodology to IDD across the various DCSA directorates which require these services.

G. Basis for Consolidation Determination:

This determination that consolidation is necessary and justified is based on:

Benefits of consolidation that are not quantifiable in dollar amounts (Refer to Section F) – FAR 7.107- 2(d)(2)

H. Benefits that are not quantifiable in dollar amounts - FAR 7.107-2(d)

The specific benefits for this consolidation have been fully outlined in Section F above.

FAR 7.107-2(d)(2) states the following:

(2) Benefits that are not quantifiable in dollar amounts shall be specifically identified and otherwise quantified to the extent feasible.

I. Mission criticality - FAR 7.107-2(e)

The financial advantages of consolidation do not meet the criteria outlined in Section H of this memorandum. Nevertheless, consolidation plays a crucial role in advancing the agency's mission

Concurrence:

Office of Small Business Programs

Head of the Contracting Activity

Approval:

Senior Procurement Executive