JA for An Exception to Fair Opportunity -Redacted.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

Upon the basis of the following justification, I, as the Advocate for Competition, hereby approve this exception to the fair opportunity process required by FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii) as implemented by the agency need for the services is so urgent that providing a fair opportunity would result in unacceptable delays per FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A).

1. Agency and contracting activity identification: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Contracts Management Office (CMO), Arlington, VA.

2. Description of action being approved: This is a modification to the existing Adaptive Capabilities Office (ACO) Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee task order for Scientific, Engineering, and Technical Assistance (SETA) Support Services. This action will add 38,400 labor hours to task order HR001121F0007 awarded to Strategic Analysis, Inc. (SA) under the DARPA’s Technical and Analytical Support Services (TASS) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract through the end of the option year three (OY3). Currently, with the issuance of modification P0016, this task order maintains 32 full-time equivalents (FTE) additional resources through 30 April 2024. However, in order to prevent a disruption of services for these resources an additional 7.5 months of OY3 (through 18 December 2024) is required. This will allow DARPA/ACO to continue working with the United States Navy (USN) Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic to compete these services under a new award, which is further discussed under Section 7.

3. Description of services required to meet the agency’s needs, including the estimated value.

DARPA’s ACO requires additional support services to assist in the execution of classified program work. ACO is a unique, purpose-built program office that operates at the highest security levels and partners with the military services to assist in the identification, development, acceleration, and transition of technologies into Department of Defense (DoD) capabilities. This office, and the subordinate programs within the organization, require SCI/SAP-eligible, administrative, technical, and analytical services in support of ACO’s mission. The additional labor hours (FTEs) are for services under labor categories that are currently in the task order.

a. Hours: OY3 was calculated from 30 April 2024 to 18 December 2024, with approximately 1,200 labor hours available per SETA for 32 FTEs. This modification proposes to add a total of 38,400 labor hours, which includes the following labor categories:

Table 1. HR001121F0007 Extension of Additional Work Increase Labor Category FTEs Total Hours Cyber Security Subject Matter Expert (SME) 7 8,400 Integration of Technologies and Experimentation SME 2 2,400 Principal Analyst 12 14,400 Senior Administrative Assistant 1 1,200 Senior Defense Technologists 1 1,200 Senior Intel Analyst 6 7,200

SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION – SEE FAR 2.101 and 3.104

6. Additional Supporting Facts: Refer to the classified addendum for additional information.

7. Actions to Remove or Overcome Barriers to Competition: The proposed modification will satisfy ACO’s continue need for the additional FTEs before transitioning the classified program work to the Services. ACO previously identified the USN NIWC Atlantic as the most appropriate contracting office to promote competition for the transition. However, USN NIWC has revised the earliest possible award date from March/April 2024 to December 2024 to allow enough time for this follow-on competition. Despite this delay, ACO still determines it is in the best interest of the Government for NIWC to award the pending contract.

CERTIFICATIONS & APPROVAL: See the next page.