Element 84 JOFOC_FE_Redacted.pdf

Rev.:5/2024

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER (MSFC)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

FOR SCALABLE SCIENCE DATA EXPLORATION CONTRACT 80MSFC23CA017

1. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303-2(b)(1) – Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition.”

This document is a justification for other than full and open competition prepared by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) / Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The procuring agency is NASA and the contracting activity is MSFC.

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

This justification provides the rationale for contracting by other than full and open competition to award additional scope under contract number 80MSFC23CA017 with Element 84 for new Visualization, Exploration, Analysis, and Processing System for Science Data (VEDA) support. This work is associated with the Earth Science Data Systems program of the Earth Science Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD). This action will not modify the contract period of performance which ends on September 30, 2025.

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

NASA/MSFC seeks to modify Element 84’s existing contract, 80MSFC23CA017, to incorporate additional level of effort support to design a user interface for new deployments of the VEDA dashboard for NASA’s Earth Science Division. This additional scope of work builds upon Element 84’s highly specialized expertise and current contract requirements to develop cloud native tools and services such that dynamic visualization and exploration of science data can be scaled.

The estimated period of performance (PoP) for this modification is approximately 8 months within the current contract PoP. The estimated dollar value is $293,738. The estimated total contract value will increase from $1,552,043 to $1,845,781.

4. FAR 6.303-2(b)(4) – An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C.

3204(a)1, as implemented by FAR 6.302-1. Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. FAR 6.303-2(b)(5) – A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

The rationale supporting the use of 10 U.S.C 3204(a)1, which is only one responsible source, and no other supplies and services will satisfy agency requirements, as described below.

1. Element 84, as the incumbent contractor, is responsible for accomplishing the work necessary to meet the highly specialized expertise required to support all the Scalable Science Data Exploration development requirements. Element 84 has demonstrated unique capabilities and specialized proficiency for the requirements of this effort. Significant investment was made to acquire this unique experience and capability, and present engagement needs to continue without interruption to ensure project continuity. These capabilities are paramount for VEDA’s cutting-edge success. In addition, the selection of another vendor would lead to substantial duplication of cost since NASA would have to fund the schedule loss identified in point 2 below, and this cost is not expected to be recovered through competition.

2. Element 84’s current contract requirements align with the additional scope needed to ensure continuous operation of services. The introduction of a new contractor without foundational knowledge of existing VEDA capabilities and stakeholder needs would introduce serious risks to schedule and delivery of other ongoing contract deliverables.

An estimated eight-month schedule delay is expected should another contractor be chosen.

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

A notice to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) website (Sam.gov) was published on October 18, 2024, and closed on November 4, 2024, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2.

This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source modification to Element 84. The results of this synopsis are summarized in Section 10 below.

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

The Contracting Officer’s signature on this document indicates that the Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. The Contractor shall be required to submit a proposal to be evaluated and negotiated by the Government. Prior to execution of the contractual instrument, a proposal analysis will be performed. The proposal analysis will ensure that the final agreed-to price for the contract action is fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer will assess the Contractor’s proposal utilizing cost and price analysis techniques in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.404-1 to determine a fair and reasonable price. Assistance from the MSFC Pricing Team, the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), and other independent auditors will be utilized as appropriate to analyze, evaluate, and negotiate based on detailed cost or pricing data.

8. FAR 6.303-2(b)(8) – Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted (e.g., urgent, and compelling requirement):

October 18, 2024 through November 4, 2024, a Request for Information (RFI) was publicized on SAM.gov seeking capability statements form interested parties. Twenty-three (23) potential offerors responded to the RFI. A thorough review of the submitted capability statements was performed and as a result, it was determined that none of the respondents demonstrated their ability to meet all Scalable Science Data Exploration requirement areas as identified in Section 3 of this document. Respondents fell into one or more of the following disposition categories:

1) Did not provide a capability statement, which would exclude them from meeting requirements outlined in the solicitation.

2) No demonstrated capabilities and experience deploying new instances of the VEDA dashboard using existing design architecture.

3) Past performance information provided little detail about the offeror’s experience in

UI/UX deployments or focused more on UX design and prototyping.

4) Core competencies described were not contract requirements.

5) The capability statement did not demonstrate the ability to assume all contract requirements from Day 1.

6) Past performance listed was too broadly tied to user research.

7) Past performance and experience within other industries were not requirements for this contract, and did not provide sufficient evidence to meet contract requirements.

Meaningful experience was not identified within the offeror’s proposal.

None of the companies that expressed interest possess the background, required capabilities, and experience to perform the work to the level of quality necessary to ensure milestones are timely achieved. Any contractor other than Element 84 will require a substantial amount of time and effort to develop the highly-specialized visualization capabilities and to become familiar with the IMPACT program which would result in substantial duplication of cost and effort and an unaceptable delay in the performance of the work. It is estimated to take eight months to onboard a new vendor to the Scalable Science Data Exploration contract, and the delay would make it highly unlikely for the vendor to complete all the requirements on schedule before the end of the contract period of performance (September 30, 2025). That risk to schedule is not acceptable in order to deliver new instances of the the VEDA dashboard to HQ stakeholders within this restricted timerame, and would result in additional time and cost to the government.

The Element 84 contract was awarded under full and open competition. This additional scope of work is needed to fulfill additional requirements to “design a user interface for new deployments of VEDA dashboard” as part of Task 5. In addition, the Element 84 contract is currently on-going, and an attempt to award a contract is not practical nor in the best interest of the government given a follow-on competitive acquisition is already ongoing.

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

None.

10. FAR 6.303-2(b)(10) – A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in writing in the acquisition:

A Sources Sought notice was synopsized on the GPE website (Sam.gov) on October 18, 2024, per FAR Subpart 5.2 (See Section 6 above). Responses were due on November 4, 2024. Capability statements were received from 23 interested parties. After review of each capability statement, no respondent other than Element 84 was found to have the capabilities to fulfill all the Scalable Science Data Exploration requirements.

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11. FAR 6.303-2(b)(11) – A statement of actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

The Agency will continue to examine the market in the future for alternative solutions or new sources before executing any subsequent acquisitions for the same requirements.

SCALABLE SCIENCE DATA EXPLORATION

CONTRACT 80MSFC23CA017

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION SIGNATURE PAGE

I certify that the facts presented in this justification are accurate and complete.

David Hood, Concurrence captured in-system (NEAR) David Hood Project Manager/ST14 Interagency Implementation and Advanced Concepts Team (IMPACT)

I hereby certify that the above justification is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

APPROVAL:

Jason Arnold Contracting Officer/PS51 Science and Technology Support Branch

Jason Arnold

Digitally signed by Jason Arnold Date: 2024.11.25 08:01:55 -06'00'