J_A for SIMS PO.pdf

[Document title]

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL (J&A)

TO: Peggy L. Manthe, Contracting Officer, Office of Acquisition and Assistance, USAID/Burundi

CC: Deborah Broderick, Agency Competition Advocate, Deputy Director, CTS

FROM: Apollinaire Kavungerwa, COR/Health Office

DATE: May 26, 2020

RE: 72069519P00001, SIMS Site Assessment, SUBJECT: Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition under the Expedited Procedures

Package (EPP) for the Prevention, Care, and Treatment of HIV/AIDS to modify Purchase

Order No. 72069519P00001

This requests approval of this justification for use of other than full and open competition pursuant to the authorities under the “Expedited Procurement Procedures for Prevention, Care, and Treatment of

HIV/AIDS” (the HIV/AIDS Expedited Procedure Package or the HIV/AIDS EPP) approved on December

31, 2019 and valid through December 31, 2024.

Tab 1 of the HIV/AIDS EPP entitled “Authorization for Use of Other Than-Full-and-Open Competition in the Award or Modification of Contracts Funded Under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS

Relief,” is the Determination of Findings (D&F) that outlines the Administrator’s determination that

PEPFAR activities compliance with full and open competition requirements would impair foreign assistance objectives. Your approval of this J&A constitutes the justification required by ADS 302 to exercise the authority outlined in the D&F.

a) Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

PEPFAR invests billions of dollars annually in programs to prevent and treat HIV infection in priority countries. To optimize these investments and ensure accountability among PEPFAR implementing mechanisms, PEPFAR requires all countries receiving PEPFAR funds to implement the Site

Improvement Through Monitoring System (SIMS). SIMS is a quality assessment and quality improvement framework for HIV services funded through PEPFAR by assessing individual sites where programs are implemented.

USAID Burundi receives around $23 million in PEPFAR funding annually. Because of the security-related complexities of travel in Burundi, and because of USAID Burundi’s small PEPFAR staffing footprint, the program is approved formally each year through the Country Operational Plan (COP) to contract SIMS requirements to a third party. In COP18 (FY19), USAID/Burundi awarded a firm-fixed-price (FFP) type purchase order to CERPED, a third-party contractor, to conduct SIMS visits to a total of

85 implementation sites in the six provinces where USAID Burundi was funded to implement PEPFAR programs: Bujumbura Mairie, Bujumbura Rural, Gitega, Kayanza, Kirundo, and Ngozi.

Justification and Approval (J&A)

SIMS third party Contractor/CERPED

In COP19 (FY20), USAID Burundi was funded to expand implementation of the Burundi PEPFAR program from six provinces to 18 provinces. As a result, the SIMS exercise must expand with the program, from six to 18 provinces, and from 85 to 165 implementation sites, as required by PEPFAR.

USAID/Burundi Health Office (HO) therefore requests the Burundi Office of Acquisition and Assistance to modify Purchase Order No. 72069519P00001 to increase the price by $73,546 from $128,686, to

$202,232, extend the current end date from September 6, 2020 to December 5, 2020 and expand the geographic target area and site coverage from six to 18 provinces and the number of sites from a total of

85 sites to a total of 165 sites.

b) A description of the supplies or services required to meet USAID’s needs (including the estimated value).

The SIMS quality assessment and improvement framework is a standardized set of tools to collect data on quality of clinical services, community-based services, and health systems strengthening interventions.

The SIMS Assessment evaluates programmatic operations and management of activities serving targeted populations in order to determine the quality of HIV services delivered by implementing partners, to identify areas of strong and weak performance, and to provide programmatic data for decision-making.

PEPFAR Burundi’s geographic expansion means that implementing partners are scaling up prevention and care strategies in new sites and with new populations. The targeted SIMS sites and the high-quality reports that come from the visits are crucial contributions that ensure progress review on key standards at the site level. They also support site teams to identify and address barriers and facilitators to provide quality services, especially related to patient experience and provision of client-centered services.

The estimated value is of $73,456 as per the developed Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) to cover the additional 80 sites.

c) Identification of statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

AIDAR 706.302-70(b)(3) and 40 U.S.C. §113; See Action Memorandum entitled “EPP for Programs

Managed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for the Prevention, Care, and

Treatment of HIV/AIDS under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)” approved on

December 31, 2019. This EPP extends the authorities of the previous EPP that expired December 31, 2019. The action memo provides a Determination & Findings (D&F) authorizing the use of other than full and open competitive procedures when issuing or modifying HIV contract awards, and a blanket determination for use of less than competitive procedures for issuing or amending HIV assistance awards.

d) A discussion of the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition that requires use of the authority cited.

CERPED has been implementing SIMS visits since 2017 and has extensive experience and expertise. The contractor is uniquely qualified to rapidly implement site visits in the additional 12 provinces, and to produce the high-quality results that contribute substantially to PEPFAR program goals. Because the geographic expansion of the program results in exceedingly ambitious country targets, the input of this contractor and its specialized skills are crucial to the success of the program.

Given the urgent and overwhelming needs that come from the ambitious targets established by PEPFAR, and PEPFAR’s large financial and programmatic investment, authorization of the use of other than full-and-open competition is necessary. Award to another source would result in substantial additional costs to the government and in unacceptable delays that would conflict with the timeline set by PEPFAR to achieve the new targets.

Expeditiously providing assistance in the most responsive manner takes priority over other options that would delay such assistance, especially where delay or inflexibility could compromise USAID’s ability to provide life-saving assistance to those affected by HIV/AIDS and to meet PEPFAR’s targets.

e) A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable.

USAID/Burundi considered the feasibility of issuing another Request for Quotation to at least three sources to promote competition to the maximum using FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures as was previously done the last two years. The result in both instances, was that CERPED was selected for award based on best value trade off considering technical, cost and other factors specified in the Request for Quotation. Thus, it was determined to modify the current award with CERPED given the short lapse in time in the award of the current purchase order, the urgency in expanding the geographic target area and site coverage and the number of sites, and the determination that the capability of those organizations identified through market research that could successfully perform the required work had not changed, and thus the outcome of requesting a quotation would essentially be the same; CERPED would again be selected for award. Thus, in accordance with FAR 13.106(b), the Contracting Officer determined that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available and thus no other potential sources were solicited.

f) A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

Since this is an extension of ongoing interventions under the current purchase order, USAID anticipates that proposed costs under this extension will be consistent with costs the contractor is incurring during implementation. A full cost analysis of the extension proposal will be conducted to ensure that cost estimates are fair and reasonable. In addition, an Independent Government Cost Estimate has been completed for the extension and will serve as a reference point in analyzing proposed costs. Therefore, the Contracting Officer anticipates that the cost to the Government will be determined to be fair and reasonable.

g) A description of the market research conducted (see FAR Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason(s) market research was not conducted.

In considering this extension and expansion modification, USAID assessed whether or not any other organization in Burundi would be able to quickly establish an effective working relationship with USAID and stakeholders and avoid a loss or lag of implementation and achievement of results. It was determined that while other organizations had the technical capability to implement the activity, CERPED was best placed to continue interventions owing to its ongoing relationship with USAID and stakeholders.

CERPED already has established valid, on-going relationships related to this specific Activity which will allow them to continue operating without a gap in performance, which would be very difficult for any other firm to replicate. It is likely that issuing a new Request for Quotation for this expansion would impede achievement of results towards HIV epidemic control in Burundi. It was determined a delay in the achievement of critical PEPFAR objectives is not acceptable.

h) A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

As this proposed action is a modification rather than a new requirement, and was not publicized, no sources expressed in writing an interest in the acquisition.

i) A statement of the actions, if any, USAID may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition of the supplies or services required.

Upon conclusion of the purchase order, USAID/Burundi aims to reassess the technical support needs.

Since the requirements under this Activity are recurring and further technical assistance is needed, USAID/Burundi HO is considering conducting a limited competition to local entities for a Blanket

Purchase Agreement for a new activity and will be based on the relevant needs at that time.

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that you approve this justification for use of other than full and open competition pursuant to the Action Memorandum “Expedited Procurement Procedures for Prevention, Care, and

Treatment of HIV/AIDS,” approved on December 31, 2019 and valid through December 31, 2024, which includes authorization for exceptions to competition in the modification or award of Contracts, Grants, and Cooperative Agreements. Your approval of this J&A constitutes the justification for other than full and open competition as required by Tab 1 (D&F for the Authorization of Less than Full and Open

Competitive Procedures in the Modification or Award of Contracts) of the HIV/AIDS EPP.

CERTIFICATION:

The requirement for technical certification at FAR 6.303-1(c) is fulfilled through:

● The signature of the Technical Officer below certifying the specific supporting data for this J&A;

and

● The Action Memorandum entitled “Expedited Procurement Procedures for Prevention, Care, and

Treatment of HIV/AIDS,” approved on December 31, 2019 and valid through

December 31, 2024, which includes authorization for exceptions to competition in the modification or award of Contracts, Grants, and Cooperative Agreements. (HIV/AIDS EPP

D&F is attached.).

Technical Officer:

I hereby certify that the supporting data which form a basis for the justification are complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Apollinaire Kavungerwa /signed via email 5/26/2020

Technical Officer Date

APPROVAL:

Peggy L. Manthe _______________ __________________

Contracting Officer Date:

Peggy L. Manthe

CLEARANCE: Stephanie Altman (by email) 5/27/2020

RLO Date: