JA_Summit_Redacted.pdf

UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION SUMMIT

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Summit

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition

Authority: FAR 6.302-3 Engineering, Developmental, or Research Capability

1. (U) CONTRACTING ACTIVITY.

(U) National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), Office of Contract Services (OCS), 7500 GEOINT Drive, Springfield VA 22150.

2. (U) DESCRIPTION OF ACTION.

(U) The nature and description of this action (justification) being approved is for a follow-on effort which will award task orders under a newly established direct sole source contract with the Geophysical Detection of Nuclear Proliferation (GDNP) University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) at the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). This Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract will provide NGA a means to reliably and consistently optimize and maintain Foundation 2D/3D/4D layers, as well as to provide data and value-added information to its DoD/IC/DHS user communities. Over a 5-year period, the contractor will fulfill Summit requirements that will require the contractor to optimize and perform end-to-end data production workflows for gridded elevation data, imagery derived 3D point clouds, 3D meshes, 3D models, and 3D vectors supporting 3D product generation. The contractor must possess a thorough knowledge of existing NGA products and formats, including imagery, elevation, and geography/cartography. This modern production program will require automated source harvesting from classified and unclassified imagery service endpoints, automated 2D and 3D data extraction, integration with existing capabilities, expertise in advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications, logistics for data production on a global scale, integrated tipping and queuing strategies, Performance Computing (HPC) environment with additional HPC resources required to fulfill the production requirement.

(U) GDNP :UAF is a not-for-profit organization that has been designated by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering (ASD RE) as a UARC. As a Department of Defense (DoD) UARC, GDNP :UAF is required to conduct its operations pertaining to its work for DoD in accordance with the DoD UARC Management Plan. College and University laboratories that receive sole source funds on average, exceeding $6 million annually under authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(3)(B), to establish or maintain an essential engineering, research, or development capability to be provided by an educational or other nonprofit institution or a federally funded research and development center, and are designated UARCs by the Director, Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E), are subject to this plan.

defines a UARC as having the characteristic of receiv[ing] sole source (non-competitive) contract funding from DoD under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(3)(B) [now renumbered as U.S.C. 3204(a)(3)(B)] (this section allows DoD to use non-competitive procedures in order to establish or maintain an essential engineering, research, and/or development capability) . DoD UARC Management Plan at Section C.1.

The DoD UARC Management Plan further provides that:

advance DoD operations via application of leading-edge research, development or engineering in specific domains, and to maintain core competencies in those domains for

Section D.1.

GDNP :UAF will benefit DoD by maintaining its capabilities and core competencies in the areas of GEOINT, automation, artificial intelligence and the management and operation of a High-Performance Computing Environment to facilitate the NGA 3D Modernization Program.

The DoD by this Management Plan is awarded under authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(3)(B) [now 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(3)(B)], to provide or maintain essential engineering, research, and/or development c Management Plan at Section D.2.

Accordingly, the planned acquisition falls under FAR 6.302-3 and 10 U.S.C. 3204 (a)(3), Industrial mobilization; engineering, developmental, or research capability; or expert services.

(U) requirement is currently being accomplished using multiple annual Military Interdepartmental Purchase Requests (MIPR) to establish numerous task orders under the UAF UARC IDIQ contract. The current task orders will expire in September, 2024, with new task orders planned to bridge the gap until award of this new stand-alone contract.

(U) NGA has determined that utilizing the current UAF UARC IDIQ contract and the attendant MIPR process has added substantial and unnecessary obstacles to cost-efficient contract administration (e.g., lack of detailed costing insight, and invoice delays), adherence to schedules, and performance surveillance.

(U) As a consequence, NGA is seeking to award a direct, stand-alone contract to the Geophysical Institute of the UAF to allow for contract control, lessen invoice timelines, and gain flexibility with direct insight into contracting current and future requirements.

As with the current contract, the planned acquisition falls under FAR 6.302-3 and 10 U.S.C. 2304 (c)(3) Industrial mobilization; engineering, developmental, or research capability; or expert services. In sum, NGA simply intends to contract directly with the UARC rather than indirectly through the UAF UARC IDIQ contract as it has in the past.

3. (U) DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES OR SERVICES.

(U) The contract shall provide a high-performance computing environment as a service with OpenRosetta and OpenRosetta 3D.

The contractor shall apply a Modular Open Systems oss

Government, industry, and academia.

(U) The contractor shall deliver Summit product-as-a-service requirements to the NGA layers. From the gridded elevation data and 3D product creation, the contractor shall provide Global Accuracy as a Service, Precise 3D as a Service, Global Change detection as a Service, and Global Terrain as a Service. The services will incorporate mature, proven, commercial technologies and will leverage a wide range of sensors and mapping capabilities and fuse the data into a dynamic, exploitable picture of the Earth, with updates occurring routinely. The contractor shall provide a government open source capability to ensure consistent and accurate products are created. The services will combine existing 2D and 3D datasets provided by NGA, the contractor, and other partners. Imagery datasets provided to the contractor will include commercial satellite imagery and National Technical Means (NTM). The contractor shall also use the full range of other data at its disposal (examples of which include Electro-Optical (EO) and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery), at resolutions ranging from 40-meters and greater for broad area acquisition to submeter, in cases where detailed detection and analysis is required. All the datasets shall be processed using automated workflows to deliver efficiency and scalability.

(U) The co-registered 2D, 2.5D, and 3D automated products will be used to build a precise digital representation of the Earth that will be maintained and routinely updated.

Digital Elevation Models (DEM), 3D Scenes, and 3D Models shall be derived and exportable in variable spatial resolutions, projections, and data formats. The contractor shall deliver uncertainty metadata in the OGC Generic Point-Cloud Model (GPM) format.

(U) The contractor shall provide equipment, supplies, facilities, personnel, and network access, per agreement with NGA, needed to accomplish the required tasks.

(U) The contractor shall produce Emerging Products as directed by NGA, including new DEM formats, 3D formats, geospatial and error prediction metadata, 3D generation algorithms, and integration of new imaging sensors.

(U) NGA has outlined these existing and future needs within a detailed statement of work (SOW). NGA is proposing a five (5) year contract comprised of a base period of three (3) years and two one (1) year optional ordering periods. Including the two one-year option periods this would total five (5) years, ending in January 2028.

(U) Anticipated Period of Performance: 9 Jan 2024 8 Jan 2029

(U//FOUO) Estimated Value: $139,000,000.00

4. (U) AUTHORITY CITED.

(U) The authority permitting the sole sourcing of services is FAR 6.302-3 pursuant to the statutory authority of 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(3)(B) - Industrial mobilization; engineering, developmental, or research capability; or expert services.

5. (U) REASON FOR AUTHORITY CITED.

(U) As stated in FAR 6.302-3(a)(2)(ii)1, full and open competition need not be provided for when it is necessary to award the contract to a particular source or sources in order to establish or maintain an essential engineering, research, or development capability to be provided by an educational or other nonprofit institution or a federally funded research and development center. Furthermore, as set forth in FAR 6.302-3(b)(2)(iii), the use of this authority may be appropriate when it is necessary to contract for

1 https://www.acquisition.gov/sites/default/files/current/far/html/Subpart%206 3.html supplies or services as are necessary incident to paragraph (b)(2)(i) or (ii) of this section.

(U) The DoD UARC Management Plan further provides in Section B.2., Applicability

College and University laboratories that receive sole source funds on average, exceeding $6 million annually under authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(3)(B), to establish or maintain an essential engineering, research, or development capability to be provided by an educational or other nonprofit institution or a federally funded research and development center, and are designated UARCs by the Director, Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E), are subject to this plan. See also id. at C.1.c. (defining a UARC as having the characteristic of receiv[ing] sole source (non-competitive) contract funding from DoD under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(3)(B) [now renumbered as U.S.C. 3204(a)(3)(B)] (this section allows DoD to use non-competitive procedures in order to establish or maintain an essential engineering, research, and/or development capability) .

(U) The GDNP UARC was created to recognize the accomplishments and growing stature of nuclear treaty monitoring support programs at the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska Satellite Facilities (ASF). Establishment of the UARC provides the necessary structure, visibility and support to better serve customers in nuclear treaty verification across the spectrum, from basic research to operations and maintenance. The UARC status also enables any US Government agency to quickly issue a sole-source contract that falls under its core mission of the geophysical detection of nuclear proliferation. The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska

Fairbanks/ASF has a long history of supporting the national technical means.2

(U) s expertise includes highly qualified and technically diverse teams with hands-on operational knowledge of the military and security environments, as well as world class facilities. The work envisioned for NGA will fall within the core competencies that fall within the expertise available through the institution. ASF meets the NGA needs as described in the NGA elevation strategy.

(U) Production Management

(U) The contractor shall perform end-to-end production workflows ranging from harvesting of source imagery, through 3D extraction, normalization, validation and then delivery of fully formatted final products across a hybrid cloud and HPC architecture.

The contractor shall implement a workflow management system, to manage and automate production workflows.

(U) The contractor shall utilize and maintain a front-end system to configure, launch, and monitor end-to-end production tasks. The system will provide the user interfaces necessary to execute, manage and monitor global production of elevation data, as well as configure and manage templates that define the Summit production workflows.

(U) The Production Management System shall be capable to manage and automate Global Fulfillment Tile (GFT) tracking, Data Transfer and Staging, and Data Storage.

(U) Foundational Source Data

(U) To form the foundational dataset for the Summit program, NGA will provide access to Electro-Optical Commercial Layer (EOCL) licensed commercial imagery and National sensor imagery (NTM). Other imagery and elevation datasets may be provided as required to fulfill mission requirements.

(U) In the future, source, support data, and the associated products themselves will be hosted and accessed in NGA domain libraries which will migrate to a dynamic Cloud structure with multi-level classification agility. Suppliers and users alike will leverage web-based tools to ingest, harvest, and disseminate content.

(U) Elevation Content Maintenance

(U) To provide durable support for contingency operations, the DoD needs a complete worldwide library of pre-existing and maintained DoD elevation models. N make a wider range of Elevation/Terrain/3D content available to our customers to meet their existing and emerging requirements.

(U) NGA requires a dynamic service to maintain an existing worldwide library of DEMs in a variety of DEM formats, surfaces and currencies. This effort will include products generated, modified, or assessed by the Office of Geomatics that are digital representations of the terrain surface of the earth through the Geospatial Repository and Data Management (GRiD) system. The data that makes up a DEM file consists of individually measured elevation values at a given post spacing with a designated Area of Interest (AOI).

(U) To meet the requirements to provide elevation data content, the contractor shall exploit multiple sources for the extraction or generation of topographic elevation data such as, but not limited to, EO, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), SAR, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IfSAR), Passive Point Cloud, and lesser resolution data/products using existing data. NGA will review any needs for additional source types to meet shortfalls, gaps or voids in coverage as the needs arise.

(U) Value Added Imagery and Raster Products

(U) Summit services will include the creation of value-added imagery and other raster products derived from commercial and NTM imagery sources. Raster data layers such as orthophotos, material classification, and land-use/land-cover products are critical foundation data layers for GEOINT analysis. The contractor shall leverage TRL-9 software capabilities to generate these products and develop new algorithms and techniques to deliver imagery and raster products as defined in the Summit program requirements. Imagery and other raster products shall be formatted to open standards and specifications to maximize compatibility with NGA and partner systems.

(U) Stakeholder Coordination

(U) The contractor shall facilitate quarterly engagements with NGA Geomatics stakeholders to expedite the creation, modification, and integration of NGA Summit geospatial data into stakeholder systems. These engagements will offer an opportunity for stakeholders from across the DoD, federal agencies, and industry to exchange information and identify critical needs. The engagements shall be comprised of in-person and virtual workshops designed to inform program stakeholders around the globe.

(U) Strategic Partnerships

(U) The contractor shall strategically partner with the government, academic, and industrial domains, as well as exhibit an open software architecture that supports partnering, collaboration, and integration of best-of-breed solutions.

(U) The NGA Elevation modernization program in support of the Digital twin concept relies heavily on the support provided by the GDNP :UAF efforts and unique capabilities. The GDNP :UAF has supported the program for the past four years and is poised to continue through the 2020s. To continue this strategic partnership in meeting continued technological advances and increasingly sophisticated mission needs, the lab has developed a strong team called the GeoData Cooperative .

This is a very specialized field of expertise related to the Artificial Intelligence/Automation required to meet the future state as described in the NGA

Elevation strategy and Digital Twin concept. Without these capabilities, which are uniquely provided by the GDNP: UAF, NGA will be unable to execute its elevation modernization strategy.

(U) In summary, GDNP services outlined above constitute essential engineering, research or development capabilities which is it imperative for NGA to maintain within the meaning of FAR 6.302-3.

6. (U) EFFORTS TO OBTAIN COMPETITION.

(U) NGA utilized Market Research in an attempt to identify previously unknown vendors capable of meeting the contract requirements. NGA conducted: 1.) Request For Information solicitation and 2.) ongoing industry engagement to allow for an understanding of the capabilities of industry. The RFI had fourteen respondents. One respondent had GeoData Cooperative experience and would be capable of acting as an integrator. Three other respondents demonstrated an understanding of the requirements and could possibly act as the integrator. One respondent demonstrated experience operating a High-Performance Computing environment, four respondents demonstrated experience with production of NGA specification compliant elevation products, and five respondents were software developers with limited to no experience/understanding of the NGA elevation program/products. The RFI responses clearly demonstrated that, although various industry entities can provide certain specific pieces of the required Artificial Intelligence and Automation skills and traditional production skills, they cannot readily duplicate the comprehensive work being performed by the consortium (GeoData Cooperative) required to continue the implementation of the NGA elevation modernization strategy NGA plans on continuing industry engagement to seek opportunities to open up competition within industry, but in the short and medium terms, a sole source contract utilizing the UARC is necessary to enable NGA to continue to move forward with the elevation modernization strategy.

Based on the results of market research performed, it was recommended that a sole source award be made to the GDNP :UAF using the FAR 6.302-3 authority. In accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2304(1), as implemented by FAR 6.305, the approved Justification and Approval (J&A) will be made publicly available within 14 days after contract award in a posting to beta.sam.gov.

7. (U) FAIR AND REASONABLE.

(U) Prior to award, the Contracting Officer will ensure that a fair and reasonable price is obtained. This will be accomplished by using the price/cost analysis techniques outlined in FAR 15.404-1.

8. (U) DESCRIPTION OF MARKET RESEARCH CONDUCTED.

(U) See Section 6, Efforts to Obtain Competition. Market research has shown that the GDNP :UAF is the only known commercial, government, or academic source that is capable of . NGA canvassed SFN Elevation division personnel as experts in this unique and specialized area and whom participate in other Government agencies and/or with industry partners on a recurring basis. The GDNP:

UAF has decades of involvement providing concentrated services in science and associated applications that are uniquely tied to its academic and research specialized areas (the SGL), upon which reliance upon FAR 6.302-3 and 10 U.S.C. 3204 (a)(3) is based.

9. (U) OTHER FACTS.

(U) None.

10. (U) INTERESTED SOURCES.

(U) NGA is not aware of any sources other than the GDNP :UAF , who are interested in the acquisition and would be able to provide necessary supplies and services.

11. (U) ACTIONS TO OVERCOME COMPETITION BARRIERS.

(U) As program requirements evolve, options for future purchases will be examined.

Throughout the period covered by this contract, NGA will continue to examine if parts of this could be transitioned to industry or to other universities in the UARC community, once proof of concept has been demonstrated. NGA will continue to conduct market research to determine if the necessary capabilities are available from other sources.