ID04170077_JA_EPA_LMS_Sole_Source_Procurement_05122017-FBO.pdf

GSA FAS – Open Market JOFOC

ID04170077

Open Market Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition

General Services Administration Federal Acquisition Service Southeast Sunbelt Region

1. Requiring and Contracting Activity

a. Requiring Activity: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 109 T.W. Alexander Drive Hillsborough, NC 27709

b. Contracting Activity: General Services Administration Federal Acquisition Service Assisted Acquisition Services Division 401 West Peachtree St., NW, Suite 2700 Atlanta, GA 30308

c. Contracting Officer: Dennis Martin

d. Task ID: ID04170077

e. Estimated Value: $344,803.00

f. Contract Vehicle: Open Market - Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Contract

g. Period of Performance:

One year base May 25, 2017 – May 24, 2018;

Option (1) May 25, 2018 – May 24, 2019;

Option (2) May 25, 2019 – May 24, 2020;

Option (3) May 25, 2020 – May 24, 2021, Option (4) May 25, 2021 – May 24, 2022 and Six (6) Month Extension May 25, 2022 – November 24, 2022.

2. Description of Action

In 2012, the U.S. EPA awarded a full and open contract 4QBG68123025 to implement and maintain a new learning management system (LMS) to contractor Cardno EM Assist. The LMS is called the Air Pollution Training Institute (APTI) and it provides training to multiple state and local organizations that use independent learning management systems that support training for implementation of the Clean Air Act. In order to further streamline the education process and reduce cost for Clean Air Act training, the EPA further enhanced the LMS in coordination with Cardno EM Assist to host the training and student records for APTI, state, and local organizations as specific user needs advance. There are a variety of organizations that rely heavily on the learning management system (LMS) for the Air Pollution Training Institute

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(APTI) to sustain its daily operations, such as multi-jurisdictional organization (MJO), National Council on the Aging (NCOA) and National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA). The EPA does not own the LMS. Since its inception, APTI-Learn have services 22,009 registered students.

On 12/22/2016, contract 4QBG68123025 was re-competed full and open as RFQ1160792

- ID04160147 which was solicited to all qualified Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) holders with Special Item Number (SIN) 132-51: Information Technology Professional Services and 132-34: Maintenance of Software as a Service at the lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA). On the quote due date, four (4) quotes were received.

Of the four (4) quotes received, only two (2) were evaluated by the EPA’s evaluation board. The other two quotes were not evaluated for technical acceptability after determining the prices were unreasonably high. Additionally, among other technically unacceptable findings documented in the technical evaluation report, one of the most critical facts is that the incumbent contractor, Cardno-EM-Assist, implemented enhancements to the LMS to which the Government does not possess the data or source code.

Cardno-EM-Assist owns the licensed system, including the platform, programming codes and software. The Government does not possess any of the programming code, algorithms, processes, or formulas associated with the customized modules for the LMS developed by Cardno-EM-Assist. The LMS modules customized such aspects as the LMS site homepage, landing page, navigation, business processes, branding and visualizations, and routing/notifications, among other aspects. Notwithstanding, the new contract would only require maintenance, operation and additional customized enhancements of the current LMS; as a result, a new contractor would not have access to Cardno EM-Assist proprietary system or previous enhancement modules in order to maintain the LMS.

Since the Government was unable to make an award to any of the contractors due to the lack of the data necessary to maintain the LMS and current enhancement modules, it was considered in the Government’s best interest to cancel the solicitation and seek an alternative acquisition strategy. The selected acquisition strategy to ensure the continuity of the LMS services is to seek a sole source award with the incumbent contractor.

3. Description of Supplies or Services:

Under the prospective task order the contractor shall update, maintain, and make enhancements to APTI-Learn which hosts APTI courses and training records, and the training records for four of the six MJOs (WESTAR, MARAMA, LADCO and Metro4/SESARM) and NCOA. State and local air pollution control agencies may elect to access and use APTI-Learn. The Contractor shall provide support to ensure that the LMS continues to maintain a schedule of training events/courses, allows students to search and register for classroom courses, allows learners to search and take self-instructional (web-based) courses, maintains student transcripts, issues course completion certificates, allows for evaluation of courses and instructors, and allows system administrators to compile annual statistics on the training taken by learners. The

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contractor is subject to making necessary customizations to the existing LMS in order to sustain the EPA’s growing educational needs.

The estimated value of the proposed contract including the one (1) year base and four (4) one year options is $344,803.00. A six (6) month contract extension was also evaluated and resulted in a total contract price of $378,933.00.

4. Authority.

The authority of this request is in accordance with FAR 13.501 41 USC 1901 Contracts Competition Requirements and Federal Acquisition Regulation FAR 6.302-1-(a)(2) - Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

5. Applicability of Authority:

The incumbent contractor has managed ATPI-Learn, an enhanced version of its commercial Learning Management System (LMS) software product for the EPA. Under contract 4QBG6812302, the incumbent Cardno EM Assist was required to implement and maintain a centralized LMS that would host current APTI courses and training records, and the training records for four Multijurisdictional Organizations (MJOs) and NCOA. Additionally, the incumbent contractor is responsible for coordinating with client stakeholders and technical staff to implement functional enhancements and provide access to externally hosted LMS needs including system maintenance and helpdesk support. Over the past 5 years, Cardno EM Assist has implemented several updates to the APTI-Learn LMS based on suggested improvements and requirements defined by the EPA and MJO stakeholders. The LMS updates have improved user experience, workflow elements, and overall effectiveness of the LMS to meet APTI’s web-based training needs.

Currently, Cardno EM Assist only offers licensing agreements for the use of its software.

Therefore, the EPA does not have the ability to purchase the LMS from Cardno EM Assist. The EPA estimates awarding the contract to another contractor would duplicate the considerable time and effort already invested in developing the current APTI-Learn LMS, as well as duplicate the cost of acquiring a new LMS. The duplicative tasks would be the management and record keeping of Self Instructional (SI) courses which consist of 55 SI courses, 145 video modules, 115 active course titles, 23,380 student enrollments trained in classroom courses, and SI courses and video completions consisting of 83,596 online course sessions resulting in 13,377 completions (remainder courses are in progress or courses where the users chose not to complete the entire course).

The time, effort, and funds needed to reconfigure a new LMS, transfer records and training materials, and retrain administrators to use a new system would be even higher now.

Specifically, the estimated cost for a new vendor based upon the EPA’s experience under contract 4QBG68123025 to build the same LMS today would be approximately $318,729.81.

The basis for this determination is further detailed below.

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There are several problematic factors associated with awarding to a contractor other than the incumbent contractor. These key factors are listed below:

1. The EPA anticipates the need for additional enhancements to the LMS in the new contract in order to accommodate the growing list of consumers and their varying needs.

Another contractor would not have access to make the necessary enhancements to the LMS or address any future change requests of the EPA and or its stakeholders.

2. Without access to the data comprising the LMS enhancements, there would be inevitable technical challenges of introducing a new contractor and an entirely new LMS. For example, the EPA’s learning management system services approximately 22,279 students nationwide. As such, a new contractor would need to transfer courses and records into the newly developed LMS could take months to properly complete. In addition, the tracking of course completion would be a major under taking and could result in loss data.

3. Without access to data for the current enhancements, a competitive acquisition approach for the LMS would not produce potential savings that would exceed the $318,729 investment required to procure a new LMS and duplicate the enhancements to bring the LMS to its current capability, and would result in an unreasonable delay of 1 year to the EPA. Additionally, the resulting price quotes and technical evaluations from solicitation RFQ1160792 - ID04160147 support this conclusion.

4. If the Government selected another vendor for the new LMS contract, the system would be down completely during the development of a totally new LMS. As a result, user access to self-instructional courses for State and local agencies would be totally disrupted for a minimum of 1 year after contract award which is the timeframe a new vendor would need to develop a system that is comparable to the existing LMS based upon experience under 4QBG68123025.

5. The new contractor’s lack of access to the LMS would prevent all users from registering for classroom training. Subsequently, on-line registration is critical in conducting classroom training in which there are currently numerous instructors who are employed by the National Council on Aging (NCOA). If the LMS were down for 1 year or more, the NCOA would be unable to retain the instructors which would result in a significant disruption of a well-established program.

In summary, a transition of this nature would ultimately result in personnel instability, significantly extended learning curves, performance degradation through the loss of efficiencies, and the loss of critical specialized capabilities. Maintaining the efficiency and reliability of the Cardno EM Assist performance will allow for continued operations with no break in service which is critical to the EPA’s mission.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition:

A notice of intent to award this action will be posted to the GPE www.fedbizopps.gov as required by FAR Subpart 5.2, inviting other interested offerors to submit their capabilities

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statements for review to determine whether competitive opportunities exist. After awards, the contracting officer will publicly post this justification, as required by FAR 13.501(a)(1)(iii).

7. Contracting Officer Determination - Fair and Reasonable Cost:

Although this effort is sole source in nature, it is not absence of market leverage because the goods/services are commercial and there is recency/relevancy in the re-compete (RFQ1160792 - ID04160147) Air Pollution Training Institute (APTI) Learning Management System (LMS) results. For example, awarding to a new contractor would certainly result in significantly higher price point for the EPA. An illustration of the market is represented in the average quotes received in the re-compete. See Table (A):

Table (A)

Contractors Quoted Prices A $6,370,956.36 B $589,976.40 C $1,457,280.00 D $295,078.69

Average Quoted Price $2,178,322.86

RFQ1160792 - ID04160147

The proposed contract will only require operation and maintenance of the existing LMS;

therefore, a new contractor would not have access to the existing LMS due to restricted proprietary codes. As a result, a new contractor would be required to develop a new LMS that meets the full range of the EPA’s training needs and its state and local stakeholders.

The techniques to determine cost reasonableness of the contractor’s proposal is in accordance with FAR part 15.404-1 -- Proposal Analysis Techniques is to ensure that the final agreed-to price is fair and reasonable. The cost reasonableness approach will involve techniques such as obtaining other than cost or pricing data (i.e. labor rates, comparison of labor rates/hours, skill mix appropriateness, pricing catalogs, comparative analysis to the independent government estimate (IGE) and similar projects). As a result, based on the acquisition history and facts of this sole source procurement, the Contracting Officer anticipates the proposed price will be fair and reasonable.

8. Market Research:

The RFI ID04160147 was issued and received ten (10) interested vendors. Moreover, the RFI showed there were two or more capable interested small businesses. However, only one offeor provided quotes out of all the interested vendors.

During the acquisition planning process the Contracting Officer in cooperation with the EPA program offices determined capabilities (lead-times, production, delivery, and estimated cost) for

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this procurement. The most recent and relevant market research information was derived from the results of the re-compete for the existing contract 4QBG68123025.

The first re-compete acquisition strategy was to utilize the FSS. This strategy was preferred due to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) acquisition history of acquiring services for the learning management system (LMS) with the existing task order 4QBG68123025. However, re-competing the requirement would result in the same proprietary issue that has made the effort unawardable.

The second re-compete acquisition strategy was to pursue a logical follow-on with the incumbent contractor Cardno EM Assist in accordance with FAR 8.405-6(b)(2). Subsequently, the incumbent contractor’s schedule is due to expire on May 27, 2017 and the contractor has no intentions of renewing the schedule. The expiring schedule exasperates risks associated with awarding to the incumbent and maintaining continuity of service; and therefore, an open market procurement was determined to be necessary

9. Other Supporting Facts:

The summary of the critical facts for this procurement are as followed:

a) All four (4) quotes received in the re-compete were determined technically unacceptable.

b) GSA/ASSD learned of the proprietary issues associated with the LMS prior to the quote due date January 27, 2917.

c) The incumbent contractor’s GSA schedule is due to expire on May 27, 2017;

therefore, a Logical Follow-on FAR 8.405-6(c) (2) to the original task order is not a viable acquisition approach.

d) The incumbent contractor owns the licensed system, including the platform, programming codes and software.

e) Not awarding to the incumbent contractor will result in an interruption of the LMS system. It would take an estimated six month to a year period for a new contractor to build the LMS system that functional at its current state.

f) Awarding to a new contractor will result in a duplication of cost at an estimated $318,729.81.

g) The new Presidential Administration communicated a type of “freeze” on EPA funding/grants. As such, the EPA has funding restrictions that impact current and future procurements.

10. Listing of Sources:

The EPA’s requirement for Air Pollution Training Institute (APTI) Learning Management System (LMS) was re-competed. The Request for Information (RFI) was release on the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) in which there were ten (10) interested vendors. Additionally, the Request for Quote (RFQ1160792 - ID04160147) via the FSS resulted in four (4) offeors providing quotes. Notwithstanding, the four quotes were either technically unacceptable and or

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the price was unreasonable. The results of the re-compete provide the most recent surveillance of the market even though an award was not made. See list below:

RFI’s Interested Vendors

1. 6K Systems, Inc. (SDB)

2. Cardno EM-Assist, Inc. (LB)

3. Coley & Associates, Inc. (SDVOSB)

4. Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc.

5. Digital Capstone, Inc. (WOSB)

6. Envisage Technologies LLC (SB)

7. Hughes Network Systems, LLC (LB)

8. The Marlin Alliance, Inc. (EDWOSB)

9. Meridian Knowledge Solutions, LLC (LB)

10. Swingtech Consulting Inc. (WOSDB, 8(a)

The offeors of for the re-compete are represented in the list below:

1. Ventera Corporation (LB)

2. Gyrus System (WOSB)

3. Digital Capstone, Inc. (WOSB)

4. International System Services Incorporated (SDB)

11. Statement of Actions to Overcome Barriers to Competition:

To remove or overcome competition barriers with this requirement, the EPA proposes to acquire the enhanced resource codes of the LMS that were developed by Cardno EM Assist in service of the existing task order 4QBG68123025. The objective is to request information from vendors and or solicit vendors within the learning management system market to develop an LMS that would have the capacity to integrate with the current enhancement resource codes of the EPA’s

LMS.

The ramp up for this approach could also be achieved through conducting an industry day at the EPA in order to allow vendors the opportunity to observe the LMS in its functioning state.

Ultimately, the goal is to establish a competitive environment for recurring EPA learning management needs.

12. Requiring Agency Certification:

I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which form the basis for this justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief (FAR 6.303-2(c)).

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Kimberly Keith-Thompson Date Contract Liaison Specialist Project Officer Environmental Protection Agency/CORE/

13. Contracting Officer Certification:

The undersigned has determined that the anticipated cost to the Government for this acquisition will be fair and reasonable. Further, I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief (FAR 6.303-2(a)(12)).

Dennis P. Martin Jr. Date Contracting Officer Assisted Acquisition Service Division (AASD)

KIMBERLY KEITH-

THOMPSON

Digitally signed by KIMBERLY KEITH-

THOMPSON

DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=USEPA, ou=Staff, cn=KIMBERLY KEITH-THOMPSON, dnQualifier=0000027212 Date: 2017.05.12 09:41:37 -04'00'

DENNIS MARTIN

Digitally signed by DENNIS MARTIN DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=General Services Administration, cn=DENNIS MARTIN, 0.9.2342.19200300.100.1.1=47001002856718 Date: 2017.05.12 10:40:16 -04'00'