Final - JIMS Bridge JA_Redacted.pdf

Joint Incident Management System Engineering and Sustainment Support

JUSTIFICATION & APPROVAL (J&A) FOR FEDERAL ACQUISITION

REGULATION (FAR) SUBPART 16.5 ACQUISITIONS

EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

Multiple Award Schedule/Multiple Award Contract (MAC)

Orders under MAC/ Fair Opportunity – FAR 16.505, Department of Defense FAR Supplement

(DFARS) 216.505-70, Procedures, Guidance and Information (PGI) 216.505-70

Purchase Request Number: HC1085123664

Contract Number: GS06F0627Z

Task/Delivery Order Number: HC1028-16-F-0022

Procurement Title: Joint Incident Management System (JIMS) Engineering and Sustainment

Support

Estimated Value:

Statutory and Regulatory Authority: 10 U.S.C. 2304c(b) and FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C)

EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

Number: Not Applicable (N/A)

Upon the basis of the following justification, I, as the Contracting Officer, hereby approve this exception to fair opportunity pursuant to the Statutory Authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304c(b) and

Regulatory Authority of FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C).

1. REQUIRING AGENCY AND CONTRACTING OFFICE:

Requesting Agency:

Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)

Development and Business Center (DBC) Cyber Directorate, Cyber Situational

Awareness Division (ID6)

6910 Cooper Avenue

Fort Meade, MD 20755-7090

Contracting Activity:

DISA/Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO) PL8313

2300 East Drive, Building 3600

Scott AFB, IL 62225-5406

2. NATURE/DESCRIPTION OF ACTION(S): The nature of this action is to procure a two-month period, which will extend the JIMS Engineering, and Sustainment Support provided on task order, HC1028-16-F-0022. This period will allow for transition to the follow-on effort, HC1028-18-D-0023/ HC1028-21-F-6440, which was awarded on March 8, 2021. The period of performance (POP) for HC1028-16-F-0022 ends April 30, 2021. This extension will extend the

POP by two months, and would result in a POP of May 1, 2021 – June 30, 2021. This extension is necessary to ensure continued support during the transition phase of the Unified Cyber

Situational Awareness (UCSA) task order, HC1028-18-D-0023/ HC1028-21-F-6440. The awarded UCSA task order has a transition-in period of 90 days, which began on April 1, 2021, with an ultimate start day of July 1, 2021. The estimated lifecycle value of the cost plus fixed

Page 2 of 6 Pages fee (CPFF) two-month extension period is and Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Operations and

Maintenance funding will be used.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES: The JIMS is a Department of Defense (DoD) network defense incident handling application designed to capture all information assurance related to cyber incidents in the DoD. JIMS ensures timely flow of crucial network intelligence across the DoD, United States of America (U.S.) Government, and ally boundaries to reflect the collective reporting of adversary actions, intentions, and capabilities to assist in shaping tactical, strategic, and military response strategies. It performs trending analysis, correlation, and fusion of incident data. JIMS is intended to implement an approach to managing Computer Network

Defense incidents that occur in the DoD by creating a seamless process where incident responders collaborate and share information to coordinate responses, proactively address threats, and sharpen defensive measures across the DoD Global Information Network. Under this task order, the JIMS Engineering and Sustainment Support provides Tier III help desk support Monday through Friday during core business hours and 24/7 support in the event of an emergency. Tier III responsibilities include solving complex user and application problems as they are escalated by the Tier I/II help desk. The functional activities of this effort provide support and capabilities deployed and sustained by the ID6, including new capabilities supporting requirements identified during the POP. In addition, this effort supports the security posture of the development, test, implementation, and production systems to maintain compliance with DoD’s regulations and Risk Management Framework. This also includes support to the JIMS baseline and configuration management functions in-line with baseline control processes established by the Government. A break in service could affect the DoD’s ability to track and record all cyber incidents into the system of record mandated by the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Manual 6510.01B Cyber Incident Handing Program. This bridge will ensure continuity of JIMS Engineering and Sustainment Support services.

4. SUPPORTING RATIONALE, INCLUDING A DEMONSTRATION THAT THE

PROPOSED CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS OR THE NATURE OF THE

ACQUISITION REQUIRES USE OF AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY:

(16.505(b)(2)(ii)(B)(4).

(a) Exception to Fair Opportunity.

In accordance with FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C), the follow-on task order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the General Services Administration (GSA) Alliant

Small Business (SB) multiple award Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. All GSA small businesses under the Alliant SB contract vehicle were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order.

(b) Description of the Justification.

This justification is for services that were previously awarded on a competitive basis to

Federal Acquisition Services Alliant (FASA). The current task order was competitively awarded as a small business set-aside under the Alliant SB contract and expires on April

30, 2021. The JIMS Engineering and Support effort was included with other DISA programs under the UCSA requirement which was competed as a small business set-aside

Page 3 of 6 Pages acquisition using the ENCORE III SB Suite in March 2020. The Government originally anticipated awarding the task order in January 2021; however, the timeline for migration onto the UCSA contract was impacted due to unforeseen award delays. These delays were caused by multiple issues, such as the time required to defined requirements, the receipt of a pre-award protest, delays in funding, and lengthy evaluations. On March 8, 2021, the UCSA task order, HC1028-18-D-0023 / HC1028-21-F-6440, was awarded to

ASRC Communications, LTD. The UCSA task order has a 90-day transition period which began on April 1, 2021, with full performance starting on July 1, 2021. The two-month extension of the current task order, HC1028-16-F-0022, will allow for continued support of this vital program during the transition to the UCSA task order while retaining the ability to provide a consistent level of effort for DISA and its stakeholders. FASA understands the requirements and currently possesses the requisite expertise and relevant experience required to continue performance without a break in service during the transition period to the UCSA task order.

(c) Justification.

(1) Minimum Government requirements.

DISA and its non-DISA mission partners require JIMS Engineering and Sustainment support which provides and sustains Service Assurance capabilities supporting the

Operations, Administration, Maintenance and Provisioning of the DISA managed infrastructure including the Defense Information Systems Network, the Joint

Information Environment, the Joint Regional Security Stacks, and other DISA and

DoD Telecommunications infrastructure and services operated by DISA using the

Network Operations (NetOps) capabilities deployed and sustained. This effort will provide support services associated with the NetOps Solutions Division’s deployed and sustained capabilities and other related support services for DoD and U.S.

Government Agencies on a global basis. To be compliant in support of the DoD mission the JIMS Program is in the process of submitting an Authority to Operate

(ATO) package by the end of April. Any unanticipated challenges may delay the approval of the ATO, and without the expertise provided by FASA under task order, HC1028-16-F-0022, the JIMS program would be unable to continue operations until fully functional on the UCSA task order. Any break in current operations would jeopardize the program’s ability for future operations in the Non-Secure Internet

Protocol Router (NIPR) milCloud. Any delay would result in work stoppage and discontinuation to support over forty (40) DoD components that utilize the JIMS application. The program must continue to provide sufficient Tier III support while conducting current operations to prevent any break in support of the warfighter.

(2) Proposed sole source contractor.

FASA is the only source that can continue to fulfill this requirement within the necessary timeframe and without risk of a substantial break in service or support to

DISA and its mission partners.

(3) Discussion regarding cause of the sole source situation.

This effort was included in the UCSA requirement, which was solicited under the

ENCORE III SB suite and awarded on March 8, 2021. The UCSA task order

Page 4 of 6 Pages included a 90-day transition period from April 1, 2021 through June 30, 2021. As the current task order supporting JIMS, HC1028-16-F-0022, is in its last month of the

FAR 52.217-8 six-month extension and will expire on April 30, 2021, there will be a two-month gap in service while the UCSA task order transitions to full performance.

This delay is causing the need for HC1028-16-F-0022 to be bridged for two-months because a gap in service during transition is unacceptable, as it will negatively impact mission-critical functionality and services to military operations. To transition the bridge task order to another contractor is not in the interest of economy and efficiency and would result in a break in service. This would jeopardize performance of Tier III support which is a highly specialized service. Therefore, a task order sole source bridge is being requested, which will allow transition to UCSA.

(4) Demonstration of unique source.

FASA is uniquely postured to support DISA without loss of time and work stoppage.

FASA understands the requirements and possesses the requisite expertise and relevant experience as it is the incumbent on the existing task order and currently provides required experts with in-depth knowledge of the JIMS Engineering and Support services. FASA is executing the critical efforts of Tier III support, as well as, renewing the ATO and the standing up of the NIPR milCloud Test and Development

Environment. The highly specialized skillsets required in support of these efforts are not readily available in the marketplace in the timeframe necessary.

(5) Procurement discussion.

The follow-on task order, HC1028-18-D-0023 / HC1028-21-F-6440, which incorporates this work was competitively awarded under the ENCORE III SB suite on

March 8, 2021 with a full functionality start date of July 1, 2021.

(6) Impact.

Failure to maintain the contractor support continuity that will be provided by FASA during the transition period will result in a loss of continuity of services and cause detrimental effects that will negatively impact mission critical functionality and services to military operations. The current contractor, FASA, provides highly specialized and critical support to DISA and DISA’s mission partners, and a gap in service would cause a decline in the quality of services provided to DISA and its mission partners.

5. COST/PRICE FAIR AND REASONABLE DETERMINATION:

Determination of fair and reasonable price for this bridge action will be based on the independent government cost estimate, and comparison to the competitively awarded task order labor rates currently on task order HC1028-16-F-0022. The contracting officer will determine if the proposed cost is fair and reasonable by comparing past rates and labor categories on this task order for current work and requirements of the performance work statement being performed.

The final cost will be determined fair and reasonable upon completion of negotiations.

6. MARKET RESEARCH:

Page 5 of 6 Pages

FASA is the only contractor at this time with the requisite knowledge and technical personnel capabilities to support the requirement in the timeframe necessary for continuous support.

Market research was conducted prior to soliciting the UCSA requirement and indicated that the

ENCORE III SB suite had contractors who could support this type of service. As such, the follow-on requirement was awarded to ASRC Communications, LTD with a 90-day transition in phase. This bridge action will ensure continued support until the transition to UCSA is complete. Based on the result of market research, the Government has determined that the current level of support can only be provided by the incumbent without causing a gap in service.

Therefore, FASA is the only source that can continue providing the necessary level of support without risk of a substantial break in support.

7. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS: N/A

8. ACTIONS THE AGENCY MAY TAKE TO REMOVE OR OVERCOME BARRIERS

THAT LED TO THE EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY:

(a) Procurement History.

Contract/TO Number: GS06F0627Z/HC102816F0022

Brief Description: Transition, Sustainment and Maintenance (TS&M)

Support

Contractor: Federal Acquisition Services Alliant (FASA)

Business Type: Awarded as a small business set-aside

Life Cycle Contract Value: $91,107,769

Lifecycle Value of only JIMS Support: $5,374,824

Period of Performance (including all options):

October 30, 2015 to April 30, 2021

Contract Type: CPFF

Basis of Award: Competitively awarded small business set-aside via the GSA Alliant multiple award IDIQ

The follow–on task order, HC1028-18-D-0023 / HC1028-21-F-6440, was awarded based on full and open competition among small businesses on the ENCORE III SB Suite. As such, fair opportunity was provided on the follow-on requirement. The purpose of this bridge action is to allow for an effective transition from current task order supporting JIMS, HC1028-16-F-0022 to the UCSA contract starting July 1, 2021.