FY20 DJ052 - JA Duty First (SDVOSB) Redacted.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Office of Procurement, Acquisition and Logistics (OPAL) Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC)

10300 Spotsylvania Avenue, Suite 400 Fredericksburg, VA 22408

Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition

6.302-5 -- Authorized or required by statute

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

This Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other than Full and Open Competition is executed by the Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC), on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Medical Supply Program Office (MSPO).

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

This activity proposes to negotiate a non-competitive award (sole-source) with Duty First Consulting LLC (hereafter referred to as “DFC”), a Service-Disabled Veteran- Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), for the procurement of program management, human capital, and organizational performance improvement services.

The estimated value of this Firm-Fixed Price contract is and the period of performance would be a base year with four 12-month option years.

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

In June 2018, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued new guidance to federal agencies on incorporating the principles of customer experience as a business discipline into their respective organizations. OMB Circular A-11 Section 280, called “Managing Customer Experience and Service Delivery,” outlines new requirements for High Impact Service Provider (HISP) agencies, and is another step forward for integrating customer experience practices in government. HISP agencies are required to address the OMB Policy and identify a target date for reporting of metrics not to exceed Fiscal Year 2021, Quarter 1.

MSPO requires coordinated and comprehensive program management, human capital and organizational performance improvement services to build an enduring, accountable, and responsive organization that provides appropriate resources, and direction to accomplish the mission. Due to the scope, complexity, and level of effort required, MSPO requires a Contractor with the requisite skills to support the end-to-end planning, implementation and operations of an Office of Organizational Excellence

(OOE).

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC)

The OOE is a new function under MSPO. The work concerns areas where little or no established practices or precedents are available to assist in problems solving, where progress is difficult and where new techniques and approaches need to be devised.

Therefore, guidelines are sometimes broadly stated and nonspecific, e.g., broad policy statements, agency goals and/or objectives and basic legislation that may require interpretation. Work at this level requires extensive analysis and continuing evaluation of MSPO programs to establish comprehensive solutions or develop new concepts, theories or programs which will include the procedures and ideas of others or resolve unyielding problems.

The OOE will be a critical function under MSPO that will oversee ongoing efforts to establish an internal framework of standards and processes intended to engage and motivate employees to deliver products and services that fulfill customer requirements within business expectations. This framework will create a culture of consistent superior performance and results that exceed meeting objectives or expectations.

The estimated value for this acquisition is .

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 41 U.S.C.

§ 3304(A)(5) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.302-5 entitled, “Authorized or required by statute”. The applicable statute is Public Law 109- 461: “Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006” specifically, the “Veterans First Contracting Program” outlined in 38 USC § 8127(c).

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

VAAR 819.7007 states explicitly, “A determination that only one SDVOSB can meet the requirement is not required,” and that using this authority, the following must be verified:

(1) The anticipated award price of the contract (including options) will not exceed $5 million; The estimated value is and does not exceed $5M.

(2) The justification prepared pursuant to FAR 6.302-5(c)(2)(ii) is posted in accordance with FAR subpart 5.301(d);

This J&A will be posted on beta.SAM.gov

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC)

(3) The SDVOSB concern has been determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance; and DFC is a registered and verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). The Government reviewed DFC for Awards Management (SAM) record and found that it has as no Active or Inactive Exclusions. Additionally, the Government referenced DFC Duns and Bradstreet (D&B) Supplier Analysis Report with a score of The D&B Viability Rating uses D&B's proprietary analytics to compare the most predictive business risk indicators and deliver a highly reliable assessment of the probability that a company will no longer be in business within the next 12 months. DFC is experienced working with different Staff Offices within VA on more than a dozen engagements to include areas of strategic planning, human capital planning, training, competency model development, organizational development support, workforce and succession planning, and change management. DFC has the experience and knowledge in providing solutions to various offices within the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), including Corporate Senior Executive Management Office (CSEMO) and Office of Information and Technology’s (OIT) Office of Organization Development and Engagement (ODE) as well as the VA OIT Customer Service Improvement (CSI) Initiative.

(4) In the estimation of the contracting officer, contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the Government.

(5) The contracting officer has determined that the use of this authority is in the best interest of the government based upon the fact that DFC is a SDVOSB which has a satisfactory performance history with the Department of Veterans Affairs in providing quality products and services at a fair and reasonable price.

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

The contracting officer has determined that a SDVOSB sole source award to DFC is in the best interest of the government. In accordance with VAAR § 819.7007(b) and (c), the determination whether to make a sole source award is a business decision wholly within the discretion of the contracting officer and a determination that only one SDVOSB concern is available to meet the requirement is not required.

A notice will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2.

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

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC)

No award shall be made until the Contracting Officer determines the cost to the Government to be fair and reasonable. This determination will be based on a comparison of current contract pricing, past proposal submissions (if available), other information made available, and an Independent Government Cost Estimate.

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

Market research was conducted, and DFC has been determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance. They are registered and certified in VetBiz.gov as a SDVOSB with the NAICS code for this requirement which in accordance with Public Law 109-461 Section 502(c) meets the requirements of this statute to sole source to a SDVOSB. In addition, a review of their Representations and Certifications was conducted in the System for Award Management (SAM) and DFC represented that they are a SDVOSB.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

In accordance with Public Law 109-461, codified at 38 USC § 8127, in order to increase contracting opportunities for small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans and small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans with service-connected disabilities, contracting officers of the VA are given specific statutory authority to award a contract to a small business concern owned and controlled by veterans using procedures other than competitive procedures (i.e. a “sole source” contract). The contracting officer may do so in accordance with VAAR 819.7007.

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

A Request for Information (RFI) (RFI1445629) was released under General Services Administration’s (GSA) Human Capital and Training Solutions (HCaTS) Program. This is the result of a partnership between the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and GSA. HCaTS is comprised of two indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) governmentwide contract vehicles: HCaTS Unrestricted (HCaTS U) and HCaTS Small Business (HCaTS SB). The RFI was posted under HCaTS Small Business Pool, Group #2. There are 36 total Vendors in this group, of these seven (7) are SDVOSBs and (2) are VOSBs. To assess the interest and capability of VOSB/SDVOSB vendors, the RFI was issued on July 23, 2020, and was available for response through August 6, 2020.

The RFI targeted capable and interested small businesses and other interested parties in the HCaTS Small Business Pool, Group #2. A copy of the draft Performance Work Statement was provided, as well as several questions intended to help ascertain the respondents’ capability to successfully perform the required work. The purpose of the

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC)

RFI was to determine the acquisition strategy, availability of contract vehicles, methods to acquire the services, and viable sources. The responses were used to determine whether Small Businesses were interested and capable of performing the work. Based on the capabilities and experiences offered in the responses, it is feasible to set aside or sole source this requirement for SDVOSB concerns. The following companies provided information in response to the RFI:

1. Duty First Consulting, LLC 2650 Park Tower Dr, Suite 100 Vienna, VA 22180

MSPO reviewed the RFI responses from all vendors and it was concluded that DFC contains the depth and breadth of capabilities and resources needed to complete the contract. Based on the timeline address the OMB Policy and by the authority in accordance with VAAR 819.7007, it was determined to make a sole source award to DFC, a verified SDVOSB.

11. A statement of the 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.

All future requirements will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Toward the expiration of this contract, consideration will be given as to whether the future acquisition should be competitive.

12. Certifications / Signatures.

Technical Representative Certification:

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

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC)

Date

Deputy Program Manager

VHA

Office of Procurement and Logistics (10NA2) Medical Supplies Program Office (MSPO)

Contracting Officer Certification:

Pursuant to (FAR 6.303-2(a)(12)), I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Date

Contracting Officer Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC)

Competition Advocate Approval:

Upon the basis of the above justification, I hereby approve, as advocate for competition for the procuring activity, the solicitation of the proposed procurements described herein using other than full and open competition, pursuant to the authority of 38 U.S. Code § 8127(c).

Date

Competition Advocate Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) Tracking Number