J and A Awen - PL 109-461 SDVOSB Sole-Source.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Office of Construction and Facilities Management AE & Construction Contracting Policy Service

Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition 6.302-5 – Authorized or required by statute

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

This Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other Than Full and Open Competition is executed by the AE & Construction Contracting Policy Service, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Washington, DC 20001.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

This action is a non-competitive award (sole-source) to AWEN Solutions Group, LLC for Lease Delegation, VA Lease Certification Program, eCMS, and Novations support.

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

The Contractor will be supporting the Lease Execution Division in obtaining General Services Administration (GSA) delegated authority to procure leases for VA healthcare facilities. The PWS also calls for support by facilitating the management of lease project documentation, specifically coordinating, collecting, and uploading lease acquisition documentation into VA’s Electronic Contract Management System (ECMS). This contract will also facilitate the organization of documentation associated with Lessors’ requests that the Government review and approve a third-party company to take ownership over the performance (successor in interest) of Leases (the novation process). Lastly, the PWS supports Policy and Programs Division in reviewing and supporting the certification and warrant requests associated with the VA Lease Certification Program.

The total estimated value of the proposed action inclusive of options is $3,765,425.00.

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition for this procurement is Public Law (PL) 109-461, Veterans First Contracting Program, as codified at 38 U.S.C. 8127 and 8128 and implemented at Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) Subsection 819.7007(c).

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

38 U.S.C. 8127(c) permits a contracting officer to award a contract to a verified SDVOSB using procedures other than competition if:

(1) such concern is determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance of such contract opportunity;

(2) the anticipated award price of the contract (including options) will exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (as defined in section 134 of title 41) but will not exceed $5,000,000; and

(3) in the estimation of the contracting officer, the contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States.

The proposed action meets all three of the requirements of 38 U.S.C. 8127(c). First, AWEN has been verified by Veteran Information Pages (VIP) as owned and controlled by a service-disabled Veteran. AWEN has successfully provided services to the VA similar to the required services as this is a follow-on to a task order that will expire on September 28, 2022. For the current task order, AWEN has been rated as Exceptional in the areas of Quality, Schedule, and Management. The Program Office noted that based on their experience under this task order and other previous ORP contracts, AWEN has developed an effective Project Management Plan, which has proven to work consistently in fulfilling their tasks under the task order. They also noted that AWEN has mastered GSA’s Lease Delegation process and made connections with the key players within GSA’s delegation team. This has allowed a smooth and open process in obtaining the required delegations needed to move ORP’s lease acquisition process forward. AWEN”s knowledge and expertise in this area has saved ORP time and effort in obtaining these delegations, allowing the PM’s and LCO’s to concentrate on lease acquisitions. AWEN is also registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) as a small business under the applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code. As such, AWEN is determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance of this opportunity.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies.

In accordance with 819.7007(b), the determination to make a sole source award to an SDVOSB is a business decision wholly within the discretion of the contracting officer;

therefore, the requirement to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable is not applicable to this procurement. In addition, 819.7007(c) further authorizes the contracting officer to make the award without first determining that only one SDVOSB source can meet the requirement.

A notice of the proposed action will be synopsized via the Government Point of Entry (GPE) in accordance with FAR Section 5.201, and the agency will make publicly available the justification required by 6.305(a) within 14 days after contract award.

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

No award shall be made until the Contracting Officer determines the costs to the Government to be fair and reasonable. This determination will be based on the historical pricing data agreed to in one or more VA contracts for the same or similar services from the soon to be expired task order.

The VA possesses ample historical pricing information that can be used to determine whether the proposed price is fair and reasonable and, depending on the contracting officer’s analysis of the proposed price, to further negotiate the proposed price.

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

On June 21, 2022, the Program Office received a requested Market Research Report from GSA. GSA stated that the Government may not be able to target small businesses for this requirement. Two interested sources were identified on the report. While both were small businesses, neither was Veteran Owned. Further, a review of VIP verified SDVOSB contractors under the MAS GSA Schedule was conducted. Market research was also conducted using the Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database to ensure that AWEN is verified as an SDVOSB. AWEN is also registered in the SAM as a small business under the relevant NAICS code.

While there are other vendors that may be capable, no other identified firm has the extensive knowledge, experience, and understanding of this work as demonstrated by AWEN. Also, there is substantial cost avoidance related to re-procurement actions and unacceptable delays associated with getting a new contractor on board and functioning at a high level due to the transition of contractors and the disruption to the ORP lease delegation program. A delay in the Government’s ability to provide services could cause a significant delay in supporting the lease delegation process.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

The FAR allows restrictive provisions or conditions to the extent necessary to satisfy the needs of the agency or as authorized by law (FAR Subsection 11.002(a)(1)(ii)). As such, the Government has discretion to reasonably restrict competition as long as that requirement is needed to meet the agency’s minimum need.

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

The list below represents the two GSA vendors who responded to the GSA Market Research Report.

Vendor Socio-Economic Breakdown Eclipse Technical Systems 8a, Women Owned, Woman Owned Small.

SBA Certified Small Disadvantaged Alfonso & Associates Consulting Inc 8a, Women Owned, Woman Owned Small.

SBA Certified Small Disadvantaged

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required.

The VA will continue to conduct market research and will consider competing similar future requirements.

12. Certifications / Signatures.

Technical and Requirements Certification:

I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in this justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Jeffrey Leiken Program Manager Office of Real Property

Contracting Officer Certification:

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

David Reich Contracting Officer

David E Reich 131118

Digitally signed by David E Reich 131118 Date: 2022.08.19 15:45:23 -04'00'

JEFFREY LEIKIN

Digitally signed by JEFFREY

LEIKIN

Date: 2022.08.19 15:59:41 -04'00'

Competition Advocate Approval:

In my role as Competition Advocate for the procuring activity, based on the forgoing justification, I hereby approve this Sole Source Justification, on an other-than-full- and-open competition basis pursuant to the statutory authority cited in paragraph 4 above, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the items herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

Zebulon Fox, DBA Competition Advocate Head of the Contracting Activity

Zebulon P Fox 131099

Digitally signed by Zebulon P Fox 131099 Date: 2022.08.23 11:57:42 -04'00'