IT Services 6 month extension JA - REDACTED.pdf

FA8732-15-D-0024 RX01

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

1. Contracting Activity: AFRL/RIKO, 26 Electronic Pkwy, Rome NY 13441 Contracting Officer:

Solicitation: FA8732-15-D-0024 RX01

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

This action is for a six (6) month extension to the Rome Research Site (RRS) Information Technology (IT) Services order. The customer is AFRL/RIOS. The RRS Information Technology (IT) Services order was competed on the Netcents-2 NetOps & Infrastructure Solutions Small Business multiple award contract vehicle and awarded on 1 October 2015 with a period of performance through 30 September 2020. This six (6) month extension will extend the period of performance to 31 March 2021. The scope of this order is to provide Information Technology operations, maintenance, and project support to AFRL/RI via a hybrid of Firm Fixed Price and Time and Materials methods. The areas of support are in Network, Enterprise, and User services; along with Information Assurance (IA), Cyber Operations, and Project Planning and Integration services.

3. Description of Supplies/Services Required to Meet the Agency’s Needs

(a) The extension of the IT services order will enable AFRL/RIOS to complete essential on-going Operation and Maintenance (O&M) and corporate expenditure projects as well as mission support objectives started in FY19 and FY20 and, at the same time, meet the overarching objectives of recent downward directed cyber, network, and enterprise architecture programs and initiatives. The downward directives are received from entities such as AFRL Information Assurance Officer (IAO), AFMC, Air Staff, and the Department of Defense (DoD). The estimated value of this action is

(b) Since the inception of the IT services order, many downward directed, life cycle replacement, technology driven, upgrade and maintenance related projects of various size and scope have been engineered and planned, some of them have been fully executed, but others have not been started or are in the beginning stages. Due to no fault of the Contractor, it has been necessary to delay many of these efforts for a variety of reasons such as appropriation of funds, enterprise architecture challenges, policy or technology changes, resource limitations due to unforeseen efforts, and most recently, the Public Health Emergency and limitation to site access caused by the COVID-19 virus. The continuation of these IT services and projects would be disrupted without the exercise of the clause at FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services, and the delays are due to circumstances beyond the control of contracting office (FAR 37.111).

(c) Outlined below are specific AFRL/RIOS projects which will be directly affected if the current order is not extended by six (6) months. These projects are required by the Government to be completed as soon as possible but no later than 31 March 2021 as directed by DISA and AFNET regulations, policies and directives for configuration, architecture and equipment, to maintain AFRL compliancy which grants connection to and operation on DoD and Air Force Networks. CDO Technologies is the only company who can complete these projects due to their existing corporate knowledge and utilization of existing resources.

(d) In addition to the above stated projects, the following projects outlined below are specific USAF directed projects which will be or could be directly affected if the current order is not extended by six (6) months. These projects are required by the Government to be completed as directed by the USAF no later than 31 March 2021. CDO Technologies is the only company who can complete these projects due to their existing corporate knowledge, project relationships to one another and utilization of existing resources.

4. Authority Permitting an Exception to Fair Opportunity and Supporting Rationale

(a) 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 $3,500 unless a statutory exception applies. The specific exception that precludes the fair opportunity process for this acquisition is FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), since only one offeror is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized.

(b) Given the Government’s need to complete essential on-going O&M and corporate expenditure projects as well as mission support objectives started in FY19 and FY20 and, at the same time, meet the overarching objectives of recent downward directed cyber, network, and enterprise architecture programs and initiatives, the six (6) month extension of the IT services order is necessary to accomplish the Government’s need.

In order to fulfill the required projects, corporate knowledge and training on specific product lines, understanding local program configurations, and an understanding and adherence to Department of Defense (DoD) and Air Force policies to operating and maintaining RI networks and enterprise systems is required in order to be successful and meet the Government’s requirements. There are many system and software accesses, specific management tool knowledge, Air Force standard systems knowledge and configurations and specific hardware knowledge and training that the contractor personnel need. This knowledge and expertise cannot be expected to be possessed before starting on the order due to the nature of the Government’s environment. The current contractor, CDO Technologies, has acquired this specific corporate knowledge and training through their successful performance over the last four (4) years which makes them unique and highly specialized and the only contractor capable of successfully fulfilling the projects within the required timeline.

The needed required expertise for the on-going projects cannot be expected to be part of a reasonable transition to a new contractor if CDO Technologies is not the successful awardee of the follow-on order. These projects are not part of the normal day to day operations and cannot be expected to be conveyed in a contractor to contractor transition plan. CDO Technologies has been involved in these projects since they were initiated and they have developed and engineered the solutions. This type of corporate knowledge with regard to the work completed to date on these projects is above and beyond a typical transition. Transitioning these projects to a potential new contractor would likely to result in a substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition and is likely to result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the Government’s needs as there is a strict timeline to be met.

(c) Due to the timelines implemented beyond AFRL’s control, if the services the specific projects described in paragraph 3 above are not performed by the current Contractor, there is serious risk that the required timelines will not be met. The estimated installation cost of the listed projects is estimated to be and of resource man hours, and would still require many Contractor staff resources (due to access and rights to systems) to work hand-in-hand with a contracted integrator to execute the mission. The current IT services Contractor, CDO Technologies, is the only offeror that is capable of providing the highly specialized services required at the level of quality required while also maintaining the current day-to-day Network and Enterprise O&M, Information Assurance (IA) support, Cyber operations, and user services. A six (6) month extension will mitigate many risks, and save the Government duplication of costs for the appropriate resources to execute the listed projects.

5. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination by the Contracting Officer

A fair and reasonable cost determination will be determined by comparison to the current rates on this order and by comparison to the current Department of Labor Wage Determination for applicable labor categories. The Government does not expect the Contractor to increase the rates beyond the current rates in Option Year 4. The current order was determined to be fair and reasonable based on adequate price competition.

6. Description of Market Research Conducted Among all Awardees

Not applicable.

7. Other Facts Supporting the Justification

Other facts supporting this justification are the potential risks associated with acclimating a possible new contractor in the middle of on-going critical projects. If CDO Technologies is not the awardee to the follow-on order and key members or most of the current staff is not retained by a new contractor, there is severe risk of loss of corporate knowledge as well as significant loss of time due to hiring new personnel and the time it takes new personnel to gain system accesses and learn AFRL/RI’s corporate IT infrastructure. The implementation of the above stated projects in the March 2020 to March 2021 time frame will require all of the current IT service contractors and Government employee efforts. If a contractual changeover happens in the middle of these efforts, AFRL/RI is at total risk of project failure for some or all of these critical projects as well as at risk for basic network and IT infrastructure failure if a new contractor is unable to perform. There will not be adequate resources to support the projects, provide O&M, and support a contractor transition without total risk of project failure for some or all of the projects.

These projects all require of resource man hours that are shared with all O&M tasks required by the Performance Work Statement (PWS). The start and completion dates on the project timelines have moved considerably as a result of resource limitations from O&M, inspection preparation, IA/Cyber requirements for accreditation packages and most currently the COVID-19 virus policies. The projects require extensive stakeholder coordination, and when timelines move, the coordination’s have to be re-accomplished. Further, maintaining compliancy with ever changing DoD and Air Force policy and new downward directed programs, along with supporting new mission programs, requires the primarily O&M staff to be extremely diverse, highly seasoned within the environment and to work closely with AFRL/RIOS Government points of contact. Time involved in appointment of key personnel in Network, Enterprise, IA/Cyber positions as Change Managers, Change Sponsors, FAR rights holders (critical functions that require additional training, certifications, access credentials, etc. which are granted outside of the organization) will impact and delay both projects and O&M operations. There is a very high probability that a contractual change to a different awardee, or even possible loss of current staff in anticipation of a possible change on 1 October 2020, will move some or all of these projects well off their critical path for execution. Subsequently, this could also put AFRL’s networks in a state of non-compliance that would jeopardize accreditation.

If the six (6) month extension is not executed and critical Contractor staff is not retained by a new contractor, there is major risk as stated above as well as additional resources needed to be purchased for the installation services and for engineering support man hours; however there still would be the challenge of system and software accesses for new employees and outside installation teams.

8. Actions to Remove/Overcome Barriers to Increasing Fair Opportunity

The follow-on Rome Research Site (RRS) Information Technology (IT) Services order is anticipated to be solicited as a small business set aside via Netcent-2 NetOps & Infrastructure Solutions Small Business contract vehicle with a start date of 1 April 2021. All eligible contractors on the NetOps & Infrastructure Solutions Small Business contract vehicle will be eligible to submit a proposal. Adequate competition is expected based on historical solicitations for this requirement and vendors who have currently expressed interest. At the time of the follow-on order, all required projects outlined in this document should be completed per the mandated timelines, thus a transition of the day to day expected contract requirements per the PWS can be accomplished. Per requirements of the current order, CDO Technologies will be required to provide reasonable support to the Government and the successful offeror to ensure an orderly transition and minimize the impact of the entire operation. The services provided by this order are vital to the Government’s overall effort and continuity shall be maintained at a consistently high level without interruption; therefore, the incumbent contractor is required in the PWS to give its best efforts and cooperation in order to effect an orderly and efficient transition from its operation to a successor.

9. Contracting Officer’s Certification

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

10. Technical/Requirements Personnel’s Certification

As evidenced by their signatures on the Coordination and Approval Document, the technical and/or requirements personnel have certified that any supporting data contained herein, which is their responsibility, is both accurate and complete.