2019_REEF_JA_Redacted.pdf

Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other Than Full and Open Competition

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 1 of 5

NOTE: If a Justification and Approval was approved for the preceding acquisition, a copy of the approved J&A for the predecessor action must be included in the staff package for approval of the instant J&A. This applies to J&A staff packages that are submitted for review and approval at a level above the contracting officer. The predecessor J&A will be used as a reference document by the approving official.

Is this a new or amended J&A Document? New Amended ( Prior to Award Only! )

Is this a Bridge Action as defined in the AF Bridge Action Reduction Plan? Yes No

Funding level for this acquisition: < $700K > $700K and < $13.5M > $13.5M and < $93M > $93M

Contracting Activity: Operational Contracting, AFTC/PZIO, 308 West D. Avenue, Bldg 260, Eglin AFB, FL 32542-6864.

Purchase Request / Local ID Number: FA2823-19-R-A023

Program / Project (and PE, if applicable): Research & Engineering Education Facility (REEF)

Program Type (PEO or Other Contracting): Other Contracting

Authority: 6.302-1 – 10 USC 2304(c)(1), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements

Estimated Contract Cost (including options): $1,144,714.57 J&A Type: Class Individual

COORDINATION (AFFARS 5306.304(a) )

Date Project Lead / Program Mgr / Requiring Activity Tomyka Muse

AFLCMC/ENR 850-883-3717

Signature

Date

08 Mar 2019

Contracting Officer

DAVID P. JESMAIN

AFTC/PZIOA, (850) 882-0326

Signature

Date

07 May 2019

Local Legal Reviewer Rachell Reilly

96TW/JAQ (850) 882-8273

Signature

APPROVAL (AFFARS 5306.304(a) )

Date

20 May 2019

Competition Advocate

KATHRENINE B. HODGES

AFLCMC/PK OL Eglin, (850) 882-0150

Signature

MUSE.TOMYKA.C.12703

49150

Digitally signed by

MUSE.TOMYKA.C.1270349150

Date: 2019.03.08 08:03:50 -06'00'

JESMAIN.DAVID.P.1021

333421

Digitally signed by

JESMAIN.DAVID.P.1021333421

Date: 2019.03.08 10:59:26 -06'00'

REILLY.RACHELL.J.1523

719684

Digitally signed by

REILLY.RACHELL.J.1523719684

Date: 2019.05.07 08:59:36 -05'00'

HODGES.KATHERINE.B.

1230368038

Digitally signed by

HODGES.KATHERINE.B.1230368038

Date: 2019.05.20 09:50:06 -05'00'

March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 2 of 5

I. Contracting Activity.

The Contracting Activity office is Operational Contracting, AFTC/PZIO, 308 West D. Avenue, Bldg 260, Eglin AFB, FL 32542-6864. The Procuring Contracting Officer is Mr. David P. Jesmain, DSN 872-0326.

II. Nature and/or description of the action being processed.

The Eglin AFB Contracting Office plans to award a new, follow-on, firm-fixed price contract to the University of Florida (UF), Division of Sponsored Research, 219 Grinter Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611, to operate the Research and Engineering Education Facility (REEF) in Shalimar, FL. It will be awarded on a sole-source basis and serve two purposes in meeting workforce development: fulfill academic requirements and maintain technical excellence.

III. Description of supplies/services required to meet agency needs.

For the past 50 years the University of Florida and the Air Force have maintained a partnership to meet the research and education needs of the workforce. The University of Florida (UF) has been ABET (American Board of Engineering and Technology) accredited by numerous regional scholastic accreditation associations for engineering and technology. Providing only the highest quality standards for the profession and therefore preparing graduates to exceed in meeting Eglin's mission. AFLCMC/EN-EZ (Eglin) requires a local accredited facility, full-time service of a faculty and staff of sufficient size and experience to provide course work, counseling, supervision of these, and administration as necessary for Master and Doctorate degrees in engineering and technology, specifically;

aerodynamics/computational fluid dynamics, computer/software engineering, electromagnetics/optics, electrical, engineering mechanics, guidance and control technology, signal processing, and systems engineering. Additional mathematics and computer science courses shall also be offered as needed. The requirement is to be awarded to decrease competition costs and because there are no feasible actions that could develop future competition. There is no expectation in the near future that another accredited university would be able to provide these services.

The total estimated value is $1,144,714.57 for 1 base year and 4 one-year options with a period of performance of 27 June 2019 - 26 June 2024. The requirement will be funded with 3600 (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation), 3400 (Operations and Maintenance) and 3020 (Missiles) funding.

The supplies/services to be acquired and estimated unit/total price is as follows:

CLIN 0001: Graduate Engineering Services, QTY:1 LOT, Unit/Total Price: $215,612.22

CLIN 1001: Graduate Engineering Services, QTY:1 LOT, Unit/Total Price: $222,080.59

CLIN 2001: Graduate Engineering Services, QTY:1 LOT, Unit/Total Price: $228,743.01

CLIN 3001: Graduate Engineering Services, QTY:1 LOT, Unit/Total Price: $235,605.30

CLIN 4001: Graduate Engineering Services, QTY:1 LOT, Unit/Total Price: $242,673.45

IV. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

This action is processed under the procedures in FAR subpart 13.5 in accordance with 10 U.S.C 2304(c)(1). Only one responsible source is available and no other supplies or services will satisfy the agency's requirement.

V. Demonstration that the contractor's unique qualifications or nature of the acquisition requires the use of the authority cited above (applicability of authority).

As a joint venture with Eglin AFB, UF has provided an engineering teaching and research presence at Eglin since 1969.

Since that time, the cooperative efforts of UF have proven very beneficial in meeting Eglin's workforce development

March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 3 of 5 requirements as well as carrying out basic research to support its mission. In the early 1990's, Eglin's senior leadership and high-level state representatives agreed to a partnership between Eglin and the State of Florida for advancing scientific and engineering professionalism locally, establishing a permanent academic and research facility (known at the time as UF Graduate Engineering & Research Center, UFGERC). The follow on contract will continue to support the existing administrative efforts which supplement the Education Agreement and the AFRL & UF Education Contract valued at approximately $10M, that encompasses a range of sectors centered on the continuous expansion of research and engineering in mechanics, aerodynamics, autonomy, RF, optics, optimization, education and lethality, a sector that will be further developed at the REEF.

Previous contracts awarded by Eglin's contracting offices include:

· AFTC/PZI, FA2823-16-C-8004

· AFTC/PZI, FA2823-15-P-8021

· 96 CONS, FA2823-10-M-S040

· 96 CONS, FA2823-05-M-S020

· PKO, F08651-00-P-0169, F08651-95-D-0021 and F08651-90-C-0003 to operate the UF/REEF (or GERC)

· PKZ, F08635-92-C-0032 and F08635-98-D-0016 for task order contracts (TOC).

In establishing this partnership, Eglin secured a process to upgrade the education and the training of its organic workforce as well as those of its associates and support contractors. The outcome established a in residence/on-site graduate engineering level program at both the Master and Doctorate levels. In concert with research, Eglin leaders considered advanced degree programs essential to developing its workforce with high-caliber expertise and for attracting qualified recruits. UF is the only qualified organization that offers the spectrum of engineering disciplines needed by Eglin and has the current facilities locally available with access to on-site highly specialized laboratories dedicated to numerous research topics specific to Eglin's Mission. This acquisition will continue the performance of a highly specialized service. Due to the highly specialized service and on going partnership enhancing Eglin's mission, the proximity of the facility and detailed knowledge of the staff is imperative to the service.

To underscore the importance of this alliance, the State of Florida constructed a 45,000 square foot education and research facility (now known as the Research and Engineering Education Facility, REEF) at a cost of $5.5M (1995) in Shalimar, Florida, making it the only university capable of providing ABET degrees mentioned in Section V in a 25-mile radius to meet the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) for the workforce. In addition, the University of Florida staffed the center with full-time professors and administrative personnel and then obtained research equipment as recommended by a committee of Eglin leaders. Eglin has leased 19 acres of land to the state for a 40 year span, 1992 - 2032. The REEF resides on this leased land meeting Eglin's core mission of testing and evaluating non-nuclear munitions. A change in university would pose issues to the continuation of services, a lapse in the program of study for participants and a halt to the mission. The facility is only part of the REEF as a whole; to change universities would require the laboratory to have to be rebuilt and all new equipment procured and installed by the successor university. At the present moment, there are no existing issues. Future decisions to make changes to the current arrangement and to invite or even consider a change to another similarly qualified university must be made at an AF level due to the importance of this partnership and ongoing effort. To date, there have been no discussions at the appropriate levels to make a change to the arrangement.

Additionally, the UF/REEF was recently awarded an AFRL task order contract (FA8651-19-D-0037), with a 60-month ordering period and a ceiling of $9,950,000. The three initial tasks are : Network Dynamics and Optimization, AFRL PM Eduardo Pasiliao (Task 19-1010); Engineering Scale Modeling for Concrete Under High-Strain Rates and Pressures, AFRL PM Brad Martin (Task 19-1011); and Research in Visual Neuroethology, AFRL PM Ric Wehling (Task 19-1012). The Education and Engineering Services contact is a complementary contract to the AFRL task order contract in that students will expand the lines of inquiry of the task order contract as required in section 6 (Armament Research) of the

PWS.

March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 4 of 5

The current contract, FA2823-16-C-8004, expires on 25 June 2019. A new contract will continue to enhance the capabilities of UF/REEF and provide the most visible indicator of collaborating to deliver quality education to the Eglin workforce. Current and potential students from organizations at Eglin, Hurlburt and Duke Field will benefit from having access to the UF graduate level curriculum and REEF.

Facility personnel at the 96 CEG provided a rough estimate of a new facility cost of $23.7M at the onset of the current contract. Through market research and the sources sought, it was confirmed there are no other universities who could provide a facility with the same capabilities or who have shown interested in building a facility to meet the requirements need. In seeking federal property for a similar leased arrangement, another source must request use of designated Air Force land through Eglin's Real Estate Office. The process involves securing pre-approval by the Installation Development Committee and then approval from the 96 TW Facilities Board, obtaining a survey, conducting either an environmental assessment or impact study, and determining Fair Market Value, if appropriate.

Overall timeline varies between 6 and 24 months, depending on complexity. As Eglin is an active duty base, mission-essential duties take precedence, resulting in additional delays. AFLCMC/EN-EZ (Eglin) believes that awarding to any other source would result in substantial degradation of services, disrupt students currently pursuing graduate degrees, and halt existing research.

VI. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable.

Internet, government databases, sources sought, and recent contract research was conducted to identify potential vendors who could provide ABET accredited research and engineering education services and degrees within 25 miles of Eglin AFB, but no other institution other than the University of Florida was identified. A sources sought, solicitation FA2823-19-R-A023, was posted on 16 April 2019 to FBO IAW DFARS PGI 206.302-1 and the results of the inquiry are below.

Only one respondent replied to the sources sought. The vendor was a research analyst and not a university or a entity able to support the requirement. See section VIII for additional information which supports the rationale that this is the only source capable of providing the required services.

VII. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

Research and Engineering Education services are determined to be commercial, therefore certified cost or pricing data is not required. The Contracting Officer undertook price analysis based on comparing the proposed price with historical prices covering the same or similar services, as well as undertaking a thorough market analysis of contracts awarded for Research and Engineering Education Facility or Services. This information substantiates that price fair and reasonable can be based on current and previous sole source contracts for like services.

VIII. Description of the market research conducted and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted.

Market Research was conducted by AFTC/PZIOAD. No other entity was found who can offer access to an accredited institution with sufficient land, a building with classrooms and laboratories, provide the infrastructure, and deliver an approved curriculum in degree areas mention above in Section III. Previous awards mentioned above, in Section V, were found for the same requirement and all of them were the result of a Sole Source purchase to University of Florida.

Findings indicate that Research and Engineering Education Services have been solicited and awarded to University of Florida on previous awards. All of the awards found resulted in a Sole Source purchase through University of Florida, an education institution.

IX. Any other facts supporting the use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

While surveying the local area (60 mile radius) for education institutions and/or extensions of education institutions, it

March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 5 of 5 was determined that the University of West Florida (UWF), Troy University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Northwest Florida State College, and Saint Leo University are not ABET accredited or do not offer all graduate and doctoral degrees listed in section V. While UWF offers two accredited undergraduate programs: Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering and two graduate programs: Computer Science and Environmental Science, these two graduate degrees do not have an accreditation by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). The inability of other potential local education institutions to provide all of the required accredited graduate programs further substantiates the use of other than full and open competition.

X. List of any sources that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

A sources sought was conducted and only one interested party responded who was not deemed capable of supporting this effort. See section VI.

XI. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required.

Prior to any additional purchases being conducted, market research will be conducted to determine whether additional sources are available to meet the Government's requirement.

XII. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

As evidenced by my signature above, I have determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

XIII. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel.

As evidenced by my (our) signature(s) above, I (we) certify that any supporting data contained herein, which is my (our) responsibility, is both accurate and complete.