FAST-J and A.pdf

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL (J&A)

TO: David Arnett, Contracting Officer

CC: Agency Competition Advocate (justificationsanda@usaid.gov and outbreak_EPP@usaid.gov)

FROM: Hassen Masmoudi, Economic Growth Office, USAID Tunisia

DATE: May 26, 2022

RE: USAID Fiscal and Accounting System of Tunisia (FAST) Task Order No:

7200AA18D00008/72066420F00001

SUBJECT: Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition under the Expedited Procedures Package (EPP) for Responding to Outbreaks of Contagious Infectious Diseases

We request approval of this justification for use of other than full and open competition pursuant to the authorities under the EPP for Responding to Outbreaks of Contagious Infectious Diseases (the “Expedited Procedures Package”), approved on March 24, 2020, for five years. Your approval of this J&A constitutes the justification for other than full and open competition as required by Tab 1 (Determination and Findings (D&F) Authorization for the Use of Other than Full-and-Open Competition in the Award or Modification of Contracts) of the EPP.

a. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

To increase the Task order’s performance period from October 21, 2023 to October 20, 2024

b. A description of the supplies or services required to meet USAID’s needs (including the estimated value).

Task Order implementation has been impacted by the pandemic, including delays in effectively engaging Government of Tunisia counterparts (GoT) in the assessment and completion of the functional and technical requirements of IT procurements. COVID 19’ social distancing and in-person meeting restrictions slowed the pace of implementation because not all GoT counterparts were able to work or meet remotely. Furthermore, pandemic-induced limitations made it more difficult to reach agreement and finalize decisions with the GoT for the terms of reference and technical requirements of needed software and IT solutions for the Budget preparation, Budget performance, Medium-term macro-economic and budgetary framework, Debt management, and Budget execution modules of Tunisia’s Public Financial Management and Information System (PFMIS). The COVID-related delays left no time in the current performance period of the Task Order to allow for the full testing and adoption by the Ministry of Finance. For example, with the delayed agreement reached with the Ministry of Finance counterparts mailto:justificationsanda@usaid.gov mailto:outbreak_EPP@usaid.gov

(MoF) to procure a COTS budgeting solution, the implementation of the solution is estimated to take 24 months, including support from the selected vendor for preparation of the 2024 budget, as requested by the MoF. In order to fully support the implementation of the budgeting solution, FAST would need to be extended by 12 months to cover the anticipated period of performance for the resulting contract.

Hence, the proposed increase in the Task Order’s period of performance will provide the needed time for the Task Order for procuring and testing of delivered IT solutions to ensure GoT adoption and use.

c. Identification of statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

AIDAR 706.302-70(b)(3) and 40 U.S.C. §113; See the “Expedited Procedures Package for Responding to Outbreaks of Contagious Infectious Diseases” approved March 24, 2020. The D&F is attached to this file in Tab 1. The EPP can only be used for an Infectious Disease Outbreak, as defined in paragraph 2 of the D&F (Tab 1). The COVID-19 outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) on January 30, 2020, and therefore the class D&F applies to COVID-19 emergency response activities.

d. A discussion of the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition that requires the use of the authority cited.

The Contract is on track to deliver and exceed contractual targets. To date, the Contractor has finalized the public financial management system diagnostic. And, in full collaboration with the Government of Tunisia counterparts, the Contractor finalized the requirements and development options for the selected financial management modules including: Budget preparation, Budget performance, Medium-term macro-economic and budgetary framework, Debt management, and Budget execution. All requirements were finalized and the RFPs to procure all systems were published.

The Contractor, DAI, is uniquely positioned to deliver the services and goods described in section (b).

The contractor has already engaged in the implementation of these activities and the extension will allow the completion of these activities and see the full adoption by the Ministry of Finance. The disruption caused by the COVID-19 crisis slowed down implementation, and therefore the full adoption of critical activities cannot be met by the initial contract end date. The relationships and implementation infrastructure developed by DAI allows them to be best positioned to provide these critical services without delay.

e. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable.

Efforts to solicit offers from many sources are not practical due the unique position of the current contractor to deliver on activities already being engaged.

f. A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

A cost increase is not tied to this extension, but the Contractor’s historical burn rate confirms that sufficient funding exists to carry out the activities required under this extension.

g. A description of the market research conducted (see FAR Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason(s) market research was not conducted.

Market research was not conducted. Given the urgency of this requirement in response to the pandemic-induced economic crisis, it is not feasible to select another contractor who is unfamiliar with the breadth and scope of the work to be undertaken and lacks the implementation infrastructure and reach to timely deliver the required goods and services. Moreover, the 12-month planned implementation for the proposed work would not allow for sufficient time to bring in new partners through a competitive award process.

h. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

Publication of a notice is not required per the determination at AIDAR §705.202(b)(1) and AIDAR 706.302-70(b)(3) under the Expedited Procedures Package (EPP) for Responding to Outbreaks of Contagious Infectious Diseases dated March 16, 2020.

i. A statement of the actions, if any, USAID may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition of the supplies or services required.

In this urgent response to the COVID-19 outbreak, USAID will intensify efforts to build the technical and institutional capacity of local organizations to participate in key activities, as it is anticipated that strengthening their capacity will expand the pool of potential offerors for future procurements and enable wider competition among local organizations.

If this activity is required past the extension period, the Mission anticipates that the follow-on would be awarded under full and open competition.

RECOMMENDATION

That you approve this justification for use of other than full and open competition pursuant to the “Expedited Procedures Package for Responding to Outbreaks of Contagious Infectious Diseases”, approved on March 24, 2020. Your approval of this J&A constitutes the justification for other than full and open competition as required by Tab 1 (D&F for the Authorization of Less than Full and Open Competitive Procedures in the Modification or Award of Contracts) of the EPP.

Ecl. Tab 1- EPP D&F for the Authorization of Less than Full and Open Competitive Procedures in the Modification or Award of Contracts.

CERTIFICATION

The requirement for technical certification at FAR 6.303-1(c) is fulfilled through:

a. The signature of the Technical Officer below certifying the specific supporting data for this J&A;

and

b. The D&F Authorization for the Use of Other than Full-and-Open Competition in the Award or Modification of Contracts under the Expedited Procedures Package for Responding to Outbreaks of Contagious Infectious Diseases” approved on March 24, 2020. (attached in Tab 1).

The Contracting Officer is the Approving Official based on the authority given under the EPP. However, a separate Contracting Officer certification is not required per AIDAR 706.302-70(c)(1).

Technical Officer:

I hereby certify that the supporting data which form a basis for the justification are complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Clears__________________________ __06/02/2022__________ Hassen Masmoudi Date Contracting Officer Representative

APPROVAL:

______________________________ 7 June 2022_______ David Arnett Date:

Contracting Officer

CLEARANCE:

Clears via email_______________ ____06/02/2022________ Warren Leishman1 Date:

RLO

1 While the J&A does not need to be reviewed or cleared by the Agency Competition Advocate, the CO must send a courtesy copy of the J&A to justificationsanda@usaid.gov and to Outbreak_EPP@usaid.gov.

mailto:justificationsanda@usaid.gov mailto:Outbreak_EPP@usaid.gov