J&A_Redacted.pdf

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

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY14 Nov 2017

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! )

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

Contracting Activity:

509 CONS

660 10th St. Ste. 222 Whiteman AFB, MO 65305

Purchase Request / Local ID Number:

Program / Project (and PE, if applicable): Upgrade Mission Planning Support Tools (MPST)

Program Type (PEO or 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): J&A Type: Class Individual

COORDINATION (AFFARS 5306.304(a) )

Date

12 Feb 2018

Contracting Officer Jessica A. Simon

509 CONS/660-687-5466

Signature

APPROVAL (AFFARS 5306.304(a) )

Date

28 Feb 2018

Chief of the Contracting Office (COCO) Leigh A. Baumbaugh, Maj, USAF

509 CONS/660-687-5401

Signature

SIMON.JESSICA.ANN. Digitally signed by

SIMON.JESSICA.ANN.

Date: 2018.02.12 15:26:42 -06'00'

BAUMBAUGH.LEIGH.A. Digitally signed by

BAUMBAUGH.LEIGH.A.

Date: 2018.02.28 15:31:30 -06'00'

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY14 Nov 2017

I. Contracting Activity.

509 CONS

660 10th St. Ste. 222 Whiteman AFB, MO 65305

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

This Justification and Approval (J&A) authorizes the use of other than full and open competition to procure services to upgrade the Mission Planning Support Tools (MPST) software in support of the new requirements for 72nd TES test scenarios. The service will provide support for suppressor functions used by box-set databases and Monte-Carlo Analysis. It will also provide the ability to support multi-ship, multi-platform evaluations. The contractor will also maintain MPST documentation and provide advanced MPST training. The period of performance for this acquisition is one year.

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

This requirement is for procurement of services to upgrade the Mission Planning Support Tools (MPST) software to support the new requirements for 72nd TES for different test scenarios.

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

IAW 10 USC 2304(c)(1) the head of an agency may use procedures other than competitive procedures only when --

The property or services needed by the agency are available from only one responsible source or only from a limited number of responsible sources and no other type of property or services will satisfy the needs of the agency;

IAW FAR 6.303-2(b)(4), the statutory authority permitting other than full is identified below:

6.302-1 -- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

6.302-1(a)(2)(iii) For DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard, services may be deemed to be available only from the original source in the case of follow-on contracts for the continued provision of highly specialized services when it is likely that award to any other source would result in--

(A) Substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition, or

(B) Unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's requirements.

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

MPST is government owned software that has been developed and is maintained by Applied Research Associates (ARA), Inc. Personnel employed by ARA, Inc., will be providing the MPST upgrades, software support, documentation and training. They are uniquely qualified to do so based on their experience with the development of the current MPST software. Sources other than ARA, Inc. would have to be trained on the operation and maintenance of the MPST to perform the effort. The 509 BW believes that award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of cost to the government that is not expected to be recovered through competition.

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

This requirement was reviewed by the Contracting Officer and the user to ensure that all possibilities for

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY14 Nov 2017 competition were considered for this procurement (see para VII and IX for further explanation). Applied Research Associates (ARA) are the original developers of MPST software and all changes to MPST must be done by the original developers due to its proprietary nature. Based on this information a decision was reached to proceed with a sole source contract to ARA.

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

The MPST Upgrade from ARA, Inc. will be determined fair and reasonable based on their direct labor rates in an approved Forward Pricing Rate Agreement.

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

Market Research conducted showed that ARA is the only known provider of services to support MPST. Prior to the MPST, a legacy system called the Route Refinement Tool (later upgraded to MPST), had been awarded to two separate contractors. Both were unable to maintain the RRT because the position was not filled which caused significant delay to the Government. The Government had to eventually subcontract with ARA to bring the system online since they are the only known source with this expertise.

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

The MPST software requires an upgrade to support different test scenarios required to support the B-2 weapons system. ARA designed the proprietary MPST software. Therefore, if the government procured services from sources other than ARA, Inc., it would require new software development which would cause substantial duplication costs and unacceptable delays in B-2 operational requirements. Delays in upgrading the software limits the B-2 flexibility and effectiveness as the upgrade will provide support for suppressor functions used by box-set databases and Monte- Carlo Analysis. It will also limit the ability to support multi-ship, multi-platform evaluations.

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

Market research performed indicates no other sources will be able to fulfill this requirement. It has been determined that ARA, Inc. is the only source of service.

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.

All requirements, including the subject requirement, are thoroughly reviewed to ensure that competition is not unnecessarily restricted. It will be difficult to remove barriers to competition on future acquisitions for this equipment since ARA, Inc. is the original developer of the MPST software. For the foreseeable future ARA, Inc. will be the sole source until the MPST software is replaced or the software is deemed non-proprietary.

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.

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY14 Nov 2017