NAEP Logistics Limited Source Justification.pdf

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Finance and Operations Contracts and Acquisitions Management

DATE: November 25, 2019

FROM: Thomas Smith Contracting Officer

TO: File

SUBJECT: Limited-Sources Justification for Extension of the National Assessment of

Educational Progress (NAEP) Logistics contract ED-IES-14-O-5001

This Limited-Sources Justification is formatted in accordance with the requirements set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.405-6(c)(2):

(i) Identification of the agency and the contracting activity: This Limited-Sources Justification is made by the U.S. Department of Education (Department), Contracts and Acquisitions Management (CAM) under the authority of the Multiple-Award Schedule Program.

(ii) Nature and/or description of the action being approved: This modification will extend the period of performance of ED-IES-14-O-5001 to permit the continuation of select services for an additional four months, extending the contract expiration date from October 31, 2019, to February 28, 2020.

(iii) A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs

(including the estimated value): A summary of the services required by the contractor during the extension period are outlined below. The services have an estimated value of $500,000.

National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) meeting– Task 2.1.2 ~

November 2019 NAEP Standing Committee WebEx– Task 2.7 ~ November 2019 NAEP Standing Committee meeting (in person) – Task 2.4 ~ December 2019 NVS Panel Meeting– Task 2.5 ~ January 2020 NAEP Standing Committee WebEx– Task 2.7 ~ January 2020

Principals’ Panel Meeting– Task 2.6 ~ February 2020 NAEP Standing Committee meeting (in person) – Task 2.4 ~ February 2020

(iv) The authority and supporting rationale (see 8.405-6(a)(1)(i) and (b)(1)) and, if applicable, a demonstration of the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications to provide the required supply or service: In accordance with FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(A), it is hereby determined that, for the reasons set forth below, “An urgent and compelling need exists, and following the procedures would result in unacceptable delays.”

This contract directly supports the NAEP Alliance contracts. When the award of the newly-recompeted NAEP Alliance was delayed, the award of the NAEP Logistics requirement became delayed by default. As a result, it is not possible to solicit and award the recompete contract before the expiration of the subject contract, as had been originally planned.

The services of the subject contract are integral to the success of the important ongoing efforts of the National Assessment, a Congressionally mandated program. Any abrupt cessation of the subject contract’s services would have serious consequences for the Department, both in terms of mission timeliness and costs.

Given the delayed nature of this modification and impending expiration of the subject contract, no other vendor, besides the current contractor, CRP Inc., can provide these services while meeting the Department’s timeliness and quality requirements. High quality performance by this contractor has been documented in Contract Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) reports for this contract.

(v) A determination by the ordering activity contracting officer that the order represents the best value consistent with 8.404(d): Based on the unique positioning of the incumbent contractor to continue performance of the required services without delay, the Contracting Officer hereby determines that this order represents the best value (as defined in FAR 2.101) and results in the lowest overall cost alternative (considering price, special features, administrative costs, etc.) to meet the Government’s needs.

(vi) A description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted: While market research is being conducted for the recompete procurement, no market research was conducted for this modification. Due to time constraints and the contractor’s current satisfactory-or-better performance, it was determined that no suitable alternative exists to extending the current contract.

(vii) Any other facts supporting the justification: None.

(viii) A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made: The circumstances surrounding the necessity for the extension were unique. The intent of the bridge extension is to be for as short a period as possible while still allowing for sufficient time to re-compete the requirement. A new competitive FAR Part 8 award is anticipated by March 1, 2020.

(ix) The Contracting Officer hereby certifies that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the Contracting Officer’s knowledge and belief.

(x) Evidence that any supporting data that is the responsibility of technical or requirements personnel (e.g., verifying the Government’s minimum needs or requirements or other rationale for limited sources) and which form a basis for the justification have been certified as complete and accurate by the technical or requirements personnel: Due to the urgent and compelling nature of the requirement, further evidence beyond an Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE), and a review of the current contractor’s performance by the Department’s Program Office (requiring activity) was not required.

(xi) For justifications under 8.405-6(a)(1), a written determination by the approving official identifying the circumstance that applies: See signature by the required approving official below. In accordance with FAR 8.405-6(d)(1), this certification is made by the Contracting Officer.

APPROVED:

Thomas A. Smith Contracting Officer