Justification_and_Approval_for_Skillsoft_Sole_Source_Redacted.pdf

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) PART 8

LIMITED SOURCE JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL (J & A)

SkillSoft eLearning Solution with Knowledge Center Licenses

Control Number: 17-003JA

1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE REQUIRING AND CONTRACTING

ACTIVITY:

a. Requesting Activity:

Defense Security Services (DSS)

27130 Telegraph Road Quantico, VA 22134

b. Contracting Activity

DSS Office of Acquisitions (AQ) 27130 Telegraph Road Quantico, VA 22134

2. NATURE OR DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION:

The purpose of this document is to obtain the necessary approvals for a limited source acquisition in accordance with FAR Part 8.405-6. “Limited source” in this case pertains to the restriction of competition for the purchase of SkillSoft eLearning Solution. This solution includes Knowledge Center Licenses, Brand Name, as a sole source from SkillSoft Corporation.

Per FAR 8.401, this acquisition is being conducted under the authority of the Multiple Award Schedule Program, Title III of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 251, et seq.) and Title 40 U.S.C. 501, Services for Executive Agencies.

The procurement strategy is to issue a Request for Quote (RFQ) directly to SkillSoft via email. This is a sole source to SkillSoft based on FAR 8.405-1(d)(1). Competition for this requirement is waived on the basis of this justification that is prepared and approved in accordance with FAR 8.405-6.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICE:

SkillSoft currently provides eLearning Solution with Knowledge Center licenses for training to DSS and has since fiscal year (FY) 2010. These licenses provide access to a web-based e-Learning management system that supports the entire DSS workforce (900 to SkillSoft using their GSA contract . The contract (FFP), was awarded for with a PoP August 5, 2013 through August 4, 2016. DSS exercised both options.

In FY16, DSS issued a logical follow on contract as a sole source to SkillSoft Corporation for SkillSoft eLearning Solution with Knowledge Center licenses. The Office of Acquisitions sent solicitation along with a limited Justification and Approval (J&A) to SkillSoft. The contract was awarded to SkillSoft Corporation using their GSA Schedule . The contract, , was a FFP contract for with a PoP of nine (9) months. The PoP for this current contract is August 10, 2016 through May 9, 2017.

DSS Effort To Implement SkillSoft Training Courses

Regardless of who provides web based training, there are costs to implement the training.

In FY2010 implementation of SkillSoft courses took DSS approximately 20 work days to complete the course mapping and validation process for content (including a review of the learning materials). This did not include the registration processes.

In the near future DSS will be transitioning to USALearning® using the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Based on correspondence with , this transition may occur as early as September 2017. At the latest, the transition should be completed by September 2018. Therefore, it is not cost effective for DSS to pursue a new contract by conducting a full acquisition process. If someone other than the incumbent were to win the award, DSS would be required to map the courses and perform validation processes for a contract that may only be required for less than four months. Therefore a sole source to SkillSoft is more efficient until the transitioning is completed. Below is the basis for DSS transitioning to USA learning.

Transitioning to USA Learning Using OPM

Under the umbrella of USALearning®, formerly known as GoLearn®, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) provides educational and training services to 40 agencies to satisfy their annual Office of Management and Budget (OMB) mandated training requirements. Using this shared environment maximizes the cost savings to the Government and has helped to establish a sound business case for unifying the training infrastructure across the Government.

USALearning® will provide an enterprise-level server environment to support peak capacity with load balancing, multiple firewalls, and significant server infrastructure to support over two million active accounts completing 400,000 training and education learning experiences per month, with topics covering DoD insider threat, controlled unclassified information (CUI), mandatory security training, professional development, National Industrial Security Program requirements, and security awareness.

For DSS to meet the changing requirements of the DSS training mission, must have proven learning delivery capabilities and the flexibility-to-scale to meet the expanding DoD requirements. It is in the government’s best interest to use this interagency agreement to obtain the described services under the Office of Personnel Management Revolving Fund, 5 U.S.C. § 1304(e) (1) and 5 USC 4116.

This acquisition takes advantage of OPM HR Solutions’ USALearning® Software as a Services’ (SaaS) proven capability to provide a substantial increase in functionality and delivery capability to meet the DSS mission of providing security training to an estimated user population of over two million users with substantial savings over current or other acquisition strategies.

USALearning® provides DSS with total value proposition far exceeding its dollar value and is not available by any alternative acquisition strategies. OPM USAL will enable DSS to establish an effective, competitive, and compliant contract for a SaaS learning delivery capability. In particular, the USALearning® Program Office will provide the following services:

Manage the administrative process and funds transfer Manage the procurement process and financial transactions Provide senior technical expertise for innovative solutions Handle the procurement to avoid protests or delays Develop the Agency technical and cost proposal with detailed solution MIPR the money so it is spent and off the books Own the system handling the OMB 300 reporting Provide solutions under SaaS, which avoids all lengthy, labor-intensive, and expensive steps federal agencies require to implement a new IT system

Provide management oversight Process vendor invoices Address task order modifications and period of performance changes Arbitrate disputes Provide the Authority to Operate (ATO) Provide security vulnerability scanning and penetration testing Support the FedRAMP certification Be the Agency partner responsible for delivery of quality materials on time and on budget

Although the above USALearning® Program Office services have tremendous value, it is the USALearning® SaaS capability from the integrated federal government-maintained open source software (Moodle) with built-in, government-owned extensions that delivers substantial value to DSS.

DSS, by entering into this agreement, avoids significant direct development costs by leveraging OPM-developed, government-owned extensions integrated into USALearning®. If DSS contracts this solution with another vendor, it would not have access to the government-owned extensions integrated into the open source Moodle LMS. Contracting directly and building an equivalent of USAL would be cost prohibitive, placing a significant program management and functionality burden on DSS.

Although DSS will tailor USALearning® to meet its requirements, USALearning® includes the following government services, extensions, and functionalities:

Roster and Program Roster extensions for managing students and courses

Qualification Card extension for managing collection of Moodle learning elements

Individual Development Plan extension for employee & supervisor coordination

SF 182

Mentor extension for mentor and mentee collaboration, tracking, and coaching Activity Reports extension providing adhoc and standard reports Program Advisor extension providing audit capability on student achieving certificate USALearning® system-level security and monitoring Experienced API (x-API) capability Student Information System extensions supporting the CDSE

Registrar Office Software extensions supporting national education institutional accreditation standards Common Access Card (CAC) and Person Identity Verification

(PIV) functionality for identity management System of Record Notification (SORN) OMB 300 reporting process support

By utilizing USALearning® SaaS, DSS will receive regularly-scheduled upgrades, including updated integrated, government-owned extensions for each major Moodle software release. As DSS has experienced over the past seven years, managing updates against competing information technology priorities is a losing and costly proposition.

DSS’s current learning management solution, the Security Training, Education, and Professionalization Portal (STEPP), currently utilizes a 2010 SumTotal LMS version.

DSS is projected to spend over eight months of effort and burn 6,700 direct hours of contractor support to update the LMS to the 2015 software version, which will be out of date and require another update process to start in FY18. Moreover, the SumTotal LMS requires a seat-license for each student at a current annual cost of compared to USALearning® which has no licensing fees.

The Economy Act is the default statutory authority for all agency-to-agency agreements.

However, if there is a more specific statutory authority that could apply to the agreement in question, then that statutory authority (and not the Economy Act) does apply (48 CFR 17.5). OPM and DSS interagency agreement should be entered under Office of Personnel Management Revolving Fund 5 U.S.C. 1304(e).

In order to provide broader funding flexibility for certain government functions, Congress has implemented several non-Economy Act authorities that are not subject to the rule about returning expired funds at the end of the fiscal year. 5 U.S.C. 1304(e) (the OPM Revolving Fund authority) is one such authority. This statute accomplishes two things at once:

It establishes a revolving fund for OPM's use It authorizes other agencies to enter into reimbursable agreements for training or other personnel management services with OPM revolving fund organizations such as HR Solutions

Whenever OPM HR Solutions is the servicing agency and the purchased services are training or personnel management services, 5 U.S.C. 1304(e) is the correct authority to use. This is because 5 U.S.C. 1304(e) is the piece of legislation that both allows other agencies to enter into reimbursable agreements with OPM HR Solutions for these services and allows customer payments to be directly credited to OPM’s revolving fund.

Additionally, since 5 U.S.C. 1304(e) is a more specific statutory authority than the Economy Act, agreements entered into under this statute are not subject to the rule about returning expired funds at the end of the fiscal year. Equally importantly, since 5 U.S.C.

1304(e) is a more specific statutory authority than the Economy Act, the Economy Act cannot apply to the DSS OPM interagency agreement for USA Learning.

OPM’s congressional authority is outlined in the following US Code:

5 USC 1304 (e)(1) Authorizes the establishment of a revolving fund without fiscal year limitation for financing investigations, training and such other functions as the Office is authorized or required to perform on a reimbursable basis, including personnel management services performed at the request of individual agencies.

5 USC 4116

Directs that the Office of Personnel Management, on request of an agency, shall advise and assist in the establishment, operation, and maintenance of the training programs and plans of the agency under this chapter, to the extent of its facilities and personnel available for that purpose.

Determination For Transitioning to USA Learning Through OPM

1. The use of Office of Personnel Management Revolving Fund, 5 U.S.C. § 1304(e)(1) is in the best interest of the government and the correct statue for DSS to enter into an agreement with OPM for purchasing of training services.

2. DSS entering into an agreement for purchasing of training services with OPM HR Solutions under 5 USC 4116 is in the best interest of the Government and the intent of congress with this statutory authority.

3. This requirement cannot be obtained as conveniently or economically by contracting directly with a private source.

4. Funding is available and appropriate for the acquisition.

5. The assisting agency is specifically authorized by law or regulation to purchase this requirement on behalf of other agencies.

Based on the decision to transition to USA Learning through OPM, the renewal of the existing SkillSoft eLearning Solution with Knowledge Center licenses represents the most cost effective approach for DSS, ensuring continuity of operations without interruption.

5. DETERMINATION OF BEST VALUE

Based on an RFQ issued against SkillSoft’s GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS)

, it is anticipated the pricing will be fair and reasonable, as determined under the terms and conditions of the RFQ and SkillSoft’s GSA schedule. Pricing for a renewal from SkillSoft can be determined fair and reasonable by comparing their proposed prices with historically paid prices and the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE).

FAR 8.404(d) states that “Supplies offered on the schedule are listed at fixed prices.

Services offered on the schedule are priced either at hourly rates, or at a fixed price for performance of a specific task (e.g., installation, maintenance, and repair). GSA has determined the prices of supplies and fixed-price services, and rates for services offered at hourly rates, to be fair and reasonable for the purpose of establishing the schedule contract. GSA's determination does not relieve the ordering activity contracting officer from the responsibility of making a determination of fair and reasonable pricing for individual orders, BPAs, and orders under BPAs, using the proposal analysis techniques at 15.404-1. The complexity and circumstances of each acquisition should determine the level of detail of the analysis required.” Based on the justification to continue with its current web based training (SkillPort), market research conducted via both open market and GSAs FSS, and by utilizing the streamlined procedures under FAR Part 8, DSS has determined that issuing a sole source order to SkillSoft represents the best value to the Government at the lowest potential cost.

SkillSoft eLearning Solution and Knowledge Center licenses are only available through SkillSoft Corporation. There are no resellers. It is available on their GSA schedule GS-

. Therefore, their GSA pricing is determined to be fair and reasonable.

6. DESCRIPTION of MARKET SURVEY / EFFORTS TO OBTAIN

COMPETITION

Based on information provided above, a RFI was posted in FY13. Only two responses were received, SkillPort being one. The other response was determined not capable of providing the required training.

If DSS advertises this and SkillSoft (incumbent) was not selected, DSS would have to map and build learning programs to replicate what is already in existence. This would be both time consuming and costly.

Market research was conducted for the purpose of seeking as many potential sources as possible. SkillSoft is the sole manufacturer and provider of SkillSoft eLearning Solution with Knowledge Center licenses which provides access to the SkillSoft web based training.

7. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS

There is nothing additional which has not already been stated throughout this document.

8. ACTIONS TAKEN TO REMOVE BARRIERS TO COMPETITION

Nothing to add to this section that has not already been articulated within this justification document.