JA FAR Part 6 SDVOSB CAPS virtual patient courses Official SIGNED - Redacted.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Office of Procurement, Acquisition and Logistics (OPAL)

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) 10300 Spotsylvania Avenue, Suite 400

Fredericksburg, VA 22408

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(1) Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a "Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition."

This Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other Than Full and Open Competition is executed by the Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (NCPTSD).

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

This proposed action is for a non-competitive award of a sole source FirmFixed-Price (FFP) follow-on contract with Alpha Omega Group (AOG), a service-disabled Veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB). The services to be acquired from AOG include the following: the maintenance of and updates to courses within the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 Training Curriculum and for the creation of one new course to be added to the curriculum. The period of performance is for a twelve (12) month base period with four (4) twelve (12) month option periods.

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

The National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (NCPTSD) will work with Alpha Omega Group (AOG) to update and expand and improve the three existing responsive virtual patient courses in the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) Training Curriculum. In addition, NCPTSD and AOG will create one new virtual patient course that uses the new Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5, Revised (CAPS-5-R). All four 508- and SCORM-compliant courses will be housed on the vendor’s server and will be made available to learners via two learning management systems: VA’s Talent Management System (TMS) and the TrainingFinder Real-time Affiliate Integrated Network (TRAIN). The vendor will maintain course analytics, integrating the new course into the existing analytics platform. The anticipated value of this contract is $2,347,830.06.

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

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C.§ 3304(a)(5) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.302- 5 entitled, “Authorized or required by statute”. The applicable statute is Public Law 109-

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC)

461: “Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006” specifically, the “Veterans First Contracting Program” outlined in 38 U.S.C.§ 8127(c) and VAAR 806.302-570(c).

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

The three courses were built using the AOG team’s proprietary cross-platform technology, which provides 3D rendering, audio, user interface, and advanced technology. To develop and implement the virtual patients’ verbal responses, the AOG team created a purpose-built online program called TORC (Tool for Online ReChat Creation) that is available solely for the CAPS-5 virtual patient courses. TORC allows National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (NCPTSD) subject matter experts (SMEs) to easily track expected learner input and to create realistic responses – dialogue -- on the part of the virtual patients. Learner inputs were coded by NCPTSD SMEs for relevance and accuracy so that learner performance could be tracked and gathered by course analytics. Both the cross-platform programming technology and the dialogue system are proprietary and not commercially available to other vendors.

While other vendors might possess the technical capability to build a new virtual patient course, none have access to TORC or the AOG team’s cross-platform technology.

Therefore, a new vendor would be required to develop a completely new and separate system to program, build, and create dialogue for a new virtual patient course. This would require NCPTSD SMEs to re-code each of the hundreds of lines of dialogue for the three existing courses as well as the new course. Further, a new vendor would be unable to perform the necessary upgrades to the existing courses, as they would lack access to the underlying, proprietary technology and TORC. Even if a new vendor were able to recreate the technology, it would be time-consuming to develop a new dialogue system. This would be an unacceptable and unnecessary expense to the government and present a hardship to the psychologists who serve as NCPTSD SMEs. Training them on the use of a new system and requiring them to re-code dialogue would take valuable time away from their core work conducting research and training to improve the care of Veterans with PTSD. It would slow the pace of enhancements to the existing courses as well as development of the new course.

Alpha Omega Group (AOG) is a VetCert certified SDVOSB. Working with their subcontractor Reverge Studios, AOG successfully developed three virtual patient courses and implemented an analytics package, based on Tableau, to track metrics for the three courses. This work has been performed under contract number 36C10G19C0003.

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC)

(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 819.7008(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, 819.7008(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 cost to the Government to be fair and reasonable. In accordance with FAR 15.404-1(b)(2), the Government may use various price analysis techniques to ensure a fair and reasonable price before making any award.

(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.

Alpha Omega Group (AOG) has successfully supported VA in similar efforts and has been determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance. They are registered and verified in VetBiz.gov as a SDVOSB with the NAICS code 541511 for this requirement which in accordance with Public Law 109-461, Section 502(c) meets the requirements of this statute to allow a sole source to a SDVOSB.

In addition, the Federal Awardee Performance, and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) was reviewed and FAPIIS shows no reports for Alpha Omega Group (AOG) that would indicate defective pricing, instances of contractor fault or recipient not- qualified, terminations for cause, default, material failure to comply, or non-responsibility of the contractor.

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

The Procuring Contracting Officer has determined that this proposed action meets all the requirements of 38 U.S.C. 8127(c). This acquisition is below the $5,000,000.00 threshold, Alpha Omega Group (AOG) is a responsible SDVOSB for performance of the

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) services described herein, and the proposed contract can be awarded at a fair and reasonable price.

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

Name: Alpha Omega Group (AOG) Address: 17 Via Costa Verde Rancho Palos Verdes, California 90275-4880 United States

(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.

All future requirements will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Toward the expiration of this contract, consideration will be given as to whether the future acquisition should be competitive.

(12) Technical Representative Certification:

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

Signature: Date: __3/21/24___

Cybele Merrick Program Manager National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

(13) Contracting officer certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the contracting officer ’s knowledge and belief.

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

Signature: Date: ___3/21/24 __

Rodney Burgos Cabassa Contracting Officer Strategic Acquisition Center

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC)

For acquisitions over $750K not exceeding $15M

Approval

In my role as Contracting Activity Competition Advocate, based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve this acquisition on an “other than full and open competition” basis pursuant to the statutory authority cited in paragraph four above, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the property and services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition. As this action does not exceed $15M, the certification below required by FAR 6.304 serves as approval.

Signature: Date: ___3/22/24___

Adam M. Spacht Director, Compliance and Internal Control Service Strategic Acquisition Center—Fredericksburg