FAR_Part_13_Single_Source_Determindation.pdf

FAR Part 13.5 Determination for Single Source Solicitation

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE EDUCATION ACTIVITY

DETERMINATION

FOR

SINGLE SOURCE SOLICITATION – FAR 13 (<SAT)

DoDEA Learning Management System

1. Agency/Contracting Activity: Department of Defense Education Activity, 4800 Mark Center Drive, Alexandria, VA 22350-1400

2. Description of Action: A firm fixed price contract is planned with a total estimated value of $238,431.00.

The period of performance/estimated delivery date is for a 10-month base period and five 1-month option periods. FY19 Operating and Maintenance (O&M) funds are available for the base period amount of $168,210.00.

3. Description of Supplies and Services: DoDEA requires the continuation of the current learning management system with Schoology, Inc., HE1254-14-C-0002 during system migration and transition plan requirements to procure a new learning management system (LMS), if a company other than Schoology wins the re-competition for DoDEA’s LMS.

4. Authority: FAR Part 13.106.1 (b)(1).

5. Demonstration of Contractor’s Unique Qualifications

Only one source is capable of providing the services required at the level of quality required because the resources and servicing are unique and highly specialized.

Background DoDEA’s learning management system (LMS) is used for (1) instructional content development and delivery, (2) alignment to our College and Career Ready Standard, facilitation of social interactions within the PK-12 classroom, virtual school environment, and (3) professional learning opportunities for educators. DoDEA has amassed a large volume of PK-12 courses and resource-related sites, which is currently hosted on its LMS platform, Schoology. DoDEA expects to award a new LMS contract in October 2019 and initiate system migration immediately thereafter.

Rationale DoDEA requires continuous access to its LMS, The current contract with Schoology, Inc., HE1254- 14-C-0002, expires on September 7, 2019. Therefore, DoDEA requires continued access until the new LMS contract is awarded in October 2019, as stated below. Furthermore, if a vendor—other than the incumbent—wins the contract, a lengthy transition period is required in order to (1) migrate the data currently on Schoology and (2) train users—primarily system administrators, educational technologists, instructional designers, school administrators, and teachers—on the new LMS. The required amount of time is shown below:

Est. # of Months

Estimated Dates Effort

1.5 07 Sep 19 – 18 Oct 19 Period before contract award, award, and post-award conferences

8.5 19 Oct 19 – 01 Jul 20 System migration and user acceptance testing to going live

2.0 02 Jul 20 – 06 Sep 20 Both LMS run in tandem, final testing and user training occur 10 Base Year Total

FAR Part 13.5 Determination for Single Source Solicitation

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE EDUCATION ACTIVITY

5 One month options Exercised if required to complete the transition to the new LMS

The migration of over 100 Virtual High School courses and the work that thousands of DoDEA educators have placed on the LMS over the years is expected to take 8.5 months to accomplish. The transition to a new LMS is not only a technical process that requires minor customization and extensive user acceptance testing but also a process that depends on the work of thousands of teachers to prepare files for the data migration. To complicate matters, the transition/ migration can only occur in certain windows of time. As shown in the table above, over the final two months, both LMS will run in tandem.

If unforeseen problems arise, the total period may need to be extended. Consequently, five one-month option periods have been added to the 12-month base period.

It cannot be overemphasized that the LMS is vital to the day-to-day operation of DoDEA, especially of the Virtual High School. If a new LMS is procured, it must go through a lengthy period of preparation and testing before it can go live. Therefore, DoDEA must run two systems in tandem during this transition period so that teachers will have access to their materials and the Virtual High School can still offer courses. Only Schoology, Inc. can provide the required LMS during this transition period.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: DoDEA has done extensive market research. DoDEA will publicize a notice as required by FAR Subpart 5.2.

7. Fair and Reasonable Determination: The contracting officer has determined the anticipated costs will be fair and reasonable based on the fact that the estimated cost is almost identical to the Fiscal Year 2018 cost.

8. DoDEA is in the process of developing a fully competitive requirement for the follow-on Learning Management System incorporating a transition plan.

9. Other Supporting Facts: No

10. Interested Sources: Schoology, Inc.

11. Effort to remove barriers to/increase competition

DoDEA subject-matter experts continually monitor developments in learning management systems.

DoDEA will perform market research prior to each option exercise to determine whether new sources may result in competition. If a new LMS that meets DoDEA’s requirements comes on the market, DoDEA will ensure that full and open competition occurs.