itec_tacoma_foe_fbo.pdf

FAIR OPPORTUNITY EXCEPTION (FOE) JUSTIFICATION

I. Contracting Activity

Air Force Research Laboratory/RIKD, 26 Electronic Parkway, Rome NY 13441-4514.

II. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Approved

The action being approved is a new, non-competitive task order for non-commercial information technology (IT) test and evaluation services to be negotiated under the terms and conditions of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Encore II contract with Booz Allen Hamilton.

The resultant order number will be HC1028-08-D-2015-RX02. The proposed contract type is Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF).

III. Description of the Supplies/Services Required To Meet the Agency’s Needs

The contractor will provide all labor and materials necessary to fulfill the requirements of the Performance Work Statement, to include IT performance-based services related to information assurance, risk management framework, evaluated/approved products list certification testing and technical assessments for the Air Force Research Laboratory and mission partners.

The order will be established with a performance period of one base month plus two one-month options. The anticipated start date is 01 Feb 2015. The basic DISA Encore II contract is available for ordering until 31 May 2015, with three additional one-year options to extend the ordering period still available to the Government.

This order is for work related to that currently being performed under task order HC1028-08-D- 2015-RX01. While the current task order was considered commercial based on an assessment of the predominant type of work to be performed, the work to be performed under this task order is considered non-commercial. The services to be provided are specialized for the Government and are not available or useful for the general public. The contractor will test and evaluate military and space software and hardware in the context of Federal, DoD, Air Force, and Intelligence Community architecture and security regulations and policies which are not applicable to the commercial information technology industry. The contemplated task order will ensure service continues to be provided after the conclusion of the current task order until the award of the follow-on solicitation (FA8750-15-R-0269). The Government’s requirements are within scope of the basic DISA Encore II contract. The order also will allow for a transition period if a contractor other than the incumbent is awarded the follow-on task order.

This effort will be funded with multiple appropriations in the following approximate proportions:

70% Operations & Maintenance, 20% Procurement, and 10% Research Development Test & Evaluation. The estimated cost per month includes all labor, data, travel, and external agency ordering fee necessary to fulfill the Government’s requirements. The total estimated cost if all options are exercised is within the total DISA Encore II multiple award contract ceiling. There is adequate ceiling remaining for this order to be awarded.

IV. Authority Permitting a Fair Opportunity Exception

FAR 16.505(b)(1)(i) requires the Contracting Officer to provide each awardee under a multiple award contract a fair opportunity to be considered for each order exceeding $3,000 unless a statutory exception applies. The specific exception that precludes the fair opportunity process for this acquisition is FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C). The 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 contract. Awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order.

V. Demonstration of the Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or Nature of the Acquisition Requires the Use of the Authority Cited Above to Provide the Required Supply/Service (Applicability of Authority)

The order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency as a logical follow-on to HC1028-08-D-2015-RX01, an order already issued under the DISA Encore II contract with Booz Allen Hamilton. During the solicitation leading to award of HC1028-08- D-2015-RX01, all 26 awardees under the DISA Encore II contract were given a fair opportunity to be considered. The competitive solicitation was issued to all contract holders. One proposal was received and, subsequent to the Government’s evaluation, a task order was awarded to Booz Allen Hamilton on a best value basis in consideration of technical, past performance, and price factors.

Booz Allen Hamilton already is performing work that is similar and related to that to be performed during the contemplated one to three month order and has been rated as exceptional under the current task order’s quality assurance metrics. The 26 DISA Encore II awardees currently are being afforded fair opportunity under the follow-on solicitation FA8750-15-R-0269 to compete for an anticipated 2 year task order. The Government will save all costs associated with planning and conducting an interim competitive procurement by issuing a non-competitive interim order to the incumbent.

It would be significantly less economical and efficient for the Government, and would lead to duplication of costs that would not be recoverable through competition, if a competitive procurement for this one to three month task order was conducted and a new contractor were to be awarded this order.

The incumbent contractor currently has personnel at required locations across the CONUS with the requisite knowledge, skills, abilities, and security clearances to successfully provide the services required by the Government. A different contractor would have to provide new personnel, or enter into employment agreements with the personnel currently working for the incumbent, and successfully enable those personnel to work in environments of different security classifications and operating conditions.

The incumbent’s personnel already meet the DoD 8570 minimum requirements for technical staff to perform the work and possess the following certifications required by the Government:

Comp TIA Security + Certification, Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist, Certified Ethical

Hacker, and Certified Information Systems Security Professional. In addition, the incumbent’s personnel already meet the Government’s minimum education requirements, which include a mix of advanced degrees (Bachelor’s and Master’s) in Information Assurance, Computer Science, Information Technology, and Information Systems.

The incumbent’s personnel possess the user and system administrator access to the information technology systems used to perform the Government’s requirement across UNCLASSIFIED, SECRET, and TOP SECRET/SCI networks at the Government locations. A different contractor and the Government would have to expend substantial time and resources to familiarize new contractor employees with those systems, to obtain appropriate access rights, and to perform work the incumbent contractor already is performing.

The current task order HC1028-08-D-2015-RX01 requires that Booz Allen Hamilton provide reasonable support to the Government and a new contractor to ensure an orderly transition and minimize negative impact on the Government’s mission. As a result, the incumbent contractor would be required to prepare a transition plan and provide sufficient number of personnel to ensure inventories and accounts are accurate, complete, and transferred correctly. The incumbent contractor would be required to provide familiarization training and allow the new contractor to observe monthly operations, facilities, work, equipment locations, and reporting procedures. Additionally, the Government would have to expend a significant amount of time and effort to ensure the new contractor learned to operate effectively under the close level of daily collaboration necessary for successful performance of the ITEC service. Awarding a non-competitive, one to three month task order as a logical follow-on order therefore is more economical and efficient for the Government and eliminates the possibility of duplicating the costs described herein.

VI. Description of Efforts Made To Ensure Competition Between All Awardees

In accordance with FAR 16.505(a)(1) and 5.202(a)(6), orders under indefinite-delivery contracts do not have to be synopsized. Paragraph V, above, justifies why competition among all awardee is not possible for this acquisition. While this interim task order is not planned to be solicited from more than one source, the Government is conducting a competitive solicitation (FA8750- 15-R-0269) for the follow-on acquisition which affords fair opportunity to all 26 DISA Encore II contract awardees. The competitive solicitation’s response date is 02 Feb 2015. This interim task order is intended to ensure services continue to be provided after the conclusion of the current task order until the award of the follow-on solicitation and any transition period determined necessary. As such, no additional actions are reasonably possible to obtain competition for this interim order.

VII. Determination by the Contracting Officer That The Anticipated Cost to the Government Will Be Fair and Reasonable

The Contracting Officer (CO) determines that the anticipated cost will be fair and reasonable and provide the best value for the government. Techniques at FAR 15.404, such as comparison to historical prices paid and comparison to an independent Government estimate, will be used to ensure the price is fair, reasonable, and realistic.

VIII. Description of Market Research Conducted Among All Awardees and the Results Or A Statement of the Reason Market Research Was Not Conducted

The current status of the DISA Encore II multiple award contract vehicle was reviewed to ensure this contemplated contract action could be executed. The incumbent’s performance under the current task order was reviewed to determine whether it was in the Government’s best interest to contemplate a new task order. The contractor’s recent performance has been exceptional and is anticipated to continue to be since no new conditions have been noted by the Government that would affect the contractor’s ability to perform. Since no alternative sourcing strategy is feasible at this time, the Government has not conducted more extensive market research.

IX. Other Facts Supporting the Justification

The contemplated task order, which must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency as a logical follow-on to an order already issued under a ENCORE II contract, would ensure service continuity until such time it is possible to award a competitive task order under solicitation FA8750-15-R-0269. Since the order will be placed under a contract issued by a DoD organization (DISA), the limitations at DFARS 217.78 do not apply to this action.

X. List of Any Awardee That Expressed Interest in the Acquisition

No awardees have expressed an interest in this contemplated task order.

XI. Actions the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome Any Barriers To Increasing Fair Opportunity Before Any Subsequent Acquisition For the Supplies or Services

The Government is conducting a competitive solicitation providing fair opportunity to all contract awardees under DISA Encore II multiple award contracts and will award a task order as soon as possible. If the competitive task order is awarded prior to either of the two one-month option periods in this contemplated task order, the option(s) will not be exercised. It is not anticipated that future task orders without fair opportunity will be required for this effort.

XII. Contracting Officer’s Certification

The contracting officer’s signature on the determination and approval page evidences that he/she has determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of his/her knowledge and belief.

XIII. Technical/Requirements Personnel’s Certification

The technical/requirements personnel’s signature on the determination and approval page evidences the technical/requirements personnel’s certification that any supporting data contained herein, which is his/her responsibility, is both accurate and complete.