JA FAR Part 6 SDVOSB Sole Source.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Office of Procurement, Acquisition and Logistics (OPAL)

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) 5202 Presidents Ct, Suite 103

Frederick, MD 21703

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 Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC), on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), The Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning (OHIL)

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

This activity proposes to negotiate a non-competitive award (sole-source) with Washington Business Dynamics (WBD), a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), for the procurement of project management support services from a seasoned team of program management and transformation professionals to support the execution of innovative best practices, processes, standards, and procedures that focuses on new and emerging healthcare solutions and technologies.

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

The contractor shall provide program and project management support services from a seasoned team of program management and transformation professionals to support the execution of innovative best practices, processes, standards, and procedures that focuses on new and emerging healthcare solutions and technologies. This includes activities such as developing presentations materials and project artifacts, supporting communications through social media and press releases, and managing program and project activities between national stakeholders at Central Office, field sites across VHA, industry partners, and other government agencies throughout the lifecycle of the VHA Innovation Operational Model. To effectively manage these programs, OHIL needs expertise in designing and supporting workforce development programs that promulgate industry best practices in innovation, events that bring together communities of practice, and strategic communications that engage and excite healthcare innovation audiences both internal and external to VA. In summation, the Contractor shall provide the following support: program/project management, strategic communications, event planning and execution, systems support, and human capital strategy support and services. The estimated value for this acquisition is $4,999,639.00 and the period of Performance is a 12-month period.

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) 5202 Presidents Ct, Suite 103

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

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

VAAR 819.7007 states explicitly, “A determination that only one SDVOSB can meet the requirement is not required,” and that using this authority, the following must be verified:

(1) The anticipated award price of the contract (including options) will not exceed $5 million;

The estimated value is $4,999,639.00 and does not exceed $5M.

(2) The justification prepared pursuant to FAR 6.302-5(c)(2)(ii) is posted in accordance with FAR subpart 5.301(d);

This J&A will be posted on SAM.gov.

(3) The SDVOSB concern has been determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance; and

Washington Business Dynamics (WBD) is a registered and verified Service- Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). Washington Business Dynamics (WBD) has experience supporting complex project management for healthcare and technology to include operations, communications, private sector collaboration and engagement, acquisition, and customer relationship management. Additionally, unique to the market is experience within VHA and DHA in procuring healthcare services, pharmaceuticals, products, and Healthcare information technology. This includes procurements ranging in size to over $3 billion. They have unique experience using Other Transaction Authority (OTA) to procure cutting-edge technologies and support prototyping. They have connections to the venture capital (VC) communities in Boston and Silicon Valley and maintain close ties to healthcare academic researchers that are working to https://www.acquisition.gov/content/part-6-competition-requirements#i1119843 https://www.acquisition.gov/content/part-5-publicizing-contract-actions#i1120562

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) 5202 Presidents Ct, Suite 103 bring new products to the marketplace. These relationships have been used to connect nontraditional government contractors with the Government to drive commercial innovation in the federal market. For example, at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, WBD facilitated meetings with VC backed firms and advised on OTA use to bring new healthcare technologies to vaccine development. WBD has experience advising clientele on various acquisition methodologies: Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), grants, cooperative agreements, and Other Transaction Authority (OTA). This acquisition experience ranges in size from hundreds of thousands of dollars to billions of dollars. It includes acquisition experience with a broad range of health sector products and services in pharmaceuticals, healthcare information technology, biotechnology, devices, products, etc. WBD also has experience with designing and developing OTAs and with providing training to prepare Contracting Officer Representatives (CORs) and other stakeholders in participating in OTAs. For example, WBD supported Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in using OTAs to contractually engage with private equity. This included the exploration of using OTAs in Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation (RDT&E) and in prototyping.

WBD also has unique experience in establishing an OTA Consortia – which is an increasing popular use of OTAs. Consortia are groups of similar companies and organizations that are interested in working with a Government within a specific subject area. These consortia collaborate together and work with the Government to address a wide range of issues. WBD has experience is modeling and developing OTA consortia.

Small- and Large-Scale Event Planning: WBD has a broad range of experience with small- and large-scale event planning. At the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Office of the Chief Information Officers (OCIO), WBD supported the CIO directly in planning two large-scale events. The first is the “Cloud Summit”. The Cloud Summit includes attendees from across FEMA and private industry. Private industry attendance includes traditional and non-traditional government contractors. The Cloud Summit focused on private industry presenting (with the OCIO facilitating) Cloud based technologies that range from industry proven approaches to the cutting-edge. WBD planned all aspects of the event: structuring, advertising, security and safety, crowd management, catering, speaker planning, instructions and guidance for participants, contingency planning, audiovisual management, meet and great participants, registration, etc. WBD also has large-scale event planning experience internationally. These events included over 2,500 attendees and included complex logistics with simultaneous language translation services and in planning logistics for attendees coming from multiple countries. WBD has experience supporting small scale events ranging in size from 40 to 150

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) 5202 Presidents Ct, Suite 103 participants. This experience also includes all aspects of the event: structuring, advertising, security and safety, crowd management, catering, speaker planning, instructions and guidance for participants, contingency planning, audiovisual management, meet and great participants, registration, etc. WBD’s experience with both large and small scale events span the Defense Health Agency, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, and various healthcare focused international development client organizations. WBD has unique experience with both large and small events in coordinating attendance by non-traditional government contractors, private equity and venture capital, entrepreneurs, and academia to explore public private partnerships through both FAR based consulting and OTAs.

Customer Relationships Management: WBD has customer relationship management (CRM) experience in alignment with program and project management. Specifically, WBD has experience in providing skilled resources for the operation and management of CRM platforms that include Salesforce and the Microsoft Power Platform that includes the Dynamics 365 CRM which ties to PowerBI. For example, WBD is currently the prime on a $35 million contract that provides USAID with CRM support. Unique to WBD is its experience using CRM platforms to support Public-Private Partnership (PPP) programs that include innovative collaboration between the public and private sectors in healthcare, biotechnology, and healthcare information technology. WBD has experience designing, developing, testing, and deploying tools and procedures for use across the program office that include portfolio-level data. WBD also has extensive experience across the federal government in change management.

This includes use of a proprietary “Four Frames of Change” approach which has been peer reviewed and academically validated to significantly improve change management outcomes. WBD also has experience across the Federal government with developing executive level reporting and dashboard with Salesforce, PowerBi, and other platforms.

Strategic Communications: WBD has federal and commercial consulting experience with strategic communications. This includes Veterans Affairs experience and extensive experience with strategic communications related to health information technology and healthcare generally. Uniquely, their experience includes development of strategic communications focused on reaching vulnerable, disadvantaged, and disabled populations. This experience stems from their unique federal, state, local, and international development engagements that have included healthcare focused communications with diverse and underserved populations. WBD has experience collaborating with government stakeholders in developing overall strategic communication strategies that cut-across portfolios. They have a proprietary strategic

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) 5202 Presidents Ct, Suite 103 communication approach that supports both the development and maintenance of that strategy which covers diverse and high-quality print and electronic materials, website maintenance, and social media communications. Uniquely, WBD has experience at the Department of Defense in using and innovative “crowd-sourcing” technology to gather feedback from stakeholders. The proprietary strategic communications tool that WBD uses is called “Waggl”.

Waggl uses an innovative, machine learning algorithm to crowd-source customer and stakeholder feedback that can be used to further refine strategic communications. WBD has a combination of industry and Veterans Affairs experience with developing communications materials which includes application of VA guidelines.

Workforce Development: WBD has workforce development experience in supporting federal, commercial, and international development clientele. This includes experience supporting frontline innovators from various offices or business units, innovation centers, and uniquely corporate venture capital. Their experience focused on developing a culture of innovation and developing mechanisms for innovative ideas to be tested, implemented, and scaled both within the organization and across multiple organizations. For example, on behalf of the US Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation, WBD supported procurement modernization efforts for the Government of Indonesia. This was a large-scale, five year workforce development effort that spanned multiple Ministries (Departments) and forty-four difference geographies. WBD collaborated with the Government to establish a procurement Fellows program to help advance the careers of the most talented procurement professionals and to help them bring their innovative ideas in procurement to the forefront. This included innovations focused on pharmaceutical supply chains and medical devices and technologies. WBD developed and supported the operations of the fellowship program which included facilitating the selection of projects, fellows, and provision of training. WBD designed, developed, and operated a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) program to support those efforts. The MEL provided comprehensive metrics on implementation to include comprehensive monthly reports and dashboards. A unique aspect of the WBD experience with Workforce Development is that it supported the development of a Fellow program that also tied to a PPP effort to engage the private and academic sectors in improving healthcare procurement modernization.

(4) In the estimation of the contracting officer, contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the Government

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) 5202 Presidents Ct, Suite 103

The rates will be verified using the IGCE, the rates from similar contracts, and technical expertise. A fair and reasonable price determination will be made prior to award.

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.

IAW VAAR § 819.7007 Sole source awards to service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns (b), “The contracting officer’s determination whether to make a sole source award is a business decision wholly within the discretion of the contracting officer. A determination that only one SDVOSB concern is available to meet the requirement is not required.”

A notice will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.301(d).

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. This determination will be based on a comparison of current contract pricing, past proposal submissions (if available), other information made available, and an Independent Government Cost Estimate.

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.

Market research was conducted and WBD has been determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance. They are registered and certified in VetBiz.gov as a SDVOSB with the NAICS code 541611 – Administrative Management and General Management for this requirement which in accordance with Public Law 109-461 Section 502(c) meets the requirements of this statute to sole source to a SDVOSB. In addition, a review of their Representations and Certifications was conducted in the System for Award Management (SAM) and WBD represented that they are an SDVOSB.

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

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) 5202 Presidents Ct, Suite 103

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

In accordance with Public Law 109-461, codified at 38 USC § 8127, in order to increase contracting opportunities for small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans and small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans with service-connected disabilities, contracting officers of the VA are given specific statutory authority to award a contract to a small business concern owned and controlled by veterans using procedures other than competitive procedures (i.e. a “sole source” contract). The contracting officer may do so in accordance with VAAR 819.7007.

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

Washington Business Dynamics, LLC

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. Certifications / Signatures.

Technical Representative Certification:

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

8/17/21

Jason Rhodes Date Innovation Coordinator, Contracting Officer’s Representative Nashville, TN

1932 9TH ST NW Suite 401 Washington, District of Columbia 20001-5146

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.

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) 5202 Presidents Ct, Suite 103

Contracting Officer Certification:

Pursuant to (FAR 6.303-2(a)(12)), I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

David Rupert Date Contracting Officer Strategic Acquisition Center- Frederick (SAC-F)

Competition Advocate Approval:

Competition Advocate Approval

Upon the basis of the above justification, I hereby approve, as advocate for competition for the procuring activity, the solicitation of the proposed procurement described herein using other than full and open competition, pursuant to the authority of 38 U.S. Code 8127(c).

Efrain Fernandez Date Competition Advocate Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC)