JA-FinalSourceAmerica-ATHD-3months-_Final-29Jan16.pdf

MICC Eustis 2016-2

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY (removed when posted to internet)

Justification and Approval for Other Than Full and

Open Competition

Army Training Help Desk (ATHD) – Army Training Support Center

1. Contracting Activity: MICC-Fort Eustis

2. Description of Action:

Nature: New Requirement Follow-on Requirement

Mod to Existing Purchase Order/Contract Number: FSS Contract Number

W911SE-11-D-2005-2A02

Pricing: Firm-Fixed Price Time & Materials Cost

Funds: OMA Other Funds:

Name of Proposed Contractor(s): Cubic Applications, Inc.

Street Address: 2280 Historic Decatur Rd STE 200

City, State, Zip: San Diego, CA, 92106-6020

Phone: 757-722-0717, ext. 1701

3. Description of Supplies/Services:

The estimated value of the proposed action is $550K.

Approval is requested to enter into up to a three-month extension to maintain continuity of services under an existing non-personal services contract (W911S0-11-D-0057). This extension is requested in order to maintain continuous services and support of ATHD and until a follow-on contract is The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform ATHD Help Desk Customer Support as defined in the Performance Work Statement

(PWS) except for those items specified as Government furnished property and services. The contractor shall perform to the standards in the contract. The ATHD Support Contract is to provide courteous and professional customer service agents that respond to ATHD Federation

Enterprise customer inquiries via phone, chat and web on a continuous basis, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

4. Authority Cited. This action is authorized under provisions of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) as implemented by Federal Acquisition (FAR) 6.302-1, Only One Or a Limited Number of

Responsible Sources, and No Other Type of Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency

Requirements).

5. Reason for Authority Cited: To continue performance of services within the limits in the contract. Due to a requirement to maintain continuity of services without interruption of the

Army Training Helpdesk 24/7 operation.

The incumbent, Cubic Applications, Inc., is the only responsible contractor that can satisfy the

Army’s requirement during this interim period. The rationale for using this authority is to prevent a break in service primarily caused by increased security vetting requirements and training of new contracted Tier 1 help desk agents. It is the requiring activity’s determination that a break in service prior to May 2016 would introduce unacceptable risk to the Army

Training Help Desk’s world-wide, 24/7, mission. The current contractor has been determined responsible in accordance with FAR Part 9.104. This is a temporary solution in order to avoid unnecessary risks until this requirement can be competed under the Source America contract.

a. Background: Services include Helpdesk support in building 3308 located on Fort

Eustis, Virginia. Helpdesk support is defined as first level customer support for student services for distance learning courseware. Contractor personnel are expected to answer any phone calls within 30 Seconds and have an average incident resolution time of 13 minutes. Actions taken to resolve calls include responding to incoming customer inquiries for Army-wide Training Support products/services and queries of

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and other data bases for standard responses.

When the inquiry cannot be resolved, the action is elevated to the appropriate Subject

Matter Expert. All actions taken to resolve calls are annotated. In addition, the vendor will animate (FAQs) using Right Now Technologies software.

The current contract, W911SE-11-D-2005-2A02, was awarded for a base and two (2) year option periods. This contract was awarded and administered by MICC-Fort

Eustis as an unrestricted acquisition. The performance periods were and are as follows: 1-31 Aug 12 (Base Period); 1 Sep 13-31 Aug 14 (Option Period 1); 1 Sep

14-31 Aug 15 (Option Period 2), 6-month Extension: 1 Sep 15-28 Feb 16. The current contract expires 28 Feb 16.

Chronology of Events:

March 2015-Contacted Source America to discuss requirement.

April 2015-Met with Source America and received draft timeline with award in

January 2016 award based on Source America requirements for advertising action, evaluation, price negotiation, and 2 federal register publications.

July-September 2015 - Price negotiation between customer (ATSC) and Source

America.

September 2015- Received revised timeline from Source America with February

2016 award date due to price negotiation delays.

November 2015 - First posting in Federal Register.

December 2015-Received word that 2nd posting did not occur before end of 2015, anticipating posting on 22 January 2016 with award no earlier than 21 February 2016.

The PWS requires a 91-day phase in for issuance of CAC cards; Information

Assurance Workforce Requirements and Agent Training.

January 22, 2016 – Source America failed to meet the 22 January 2016 deadline for procurement listing; follow-on effort now being competed as a Small Business set-aside.

b. Alternatives:

(i) Forgo Services: Forgoing current services is not a viable alternative. This would result in at a minimum, a significant disruption of the Army Training Help Desk’s world-wide, 24/7, mission, resulting complete mission failure.

(ii) Re-competing a new contract effort: This alternative is not in the best interest of the Government because a re-compete of this effort at this time would cause a break in service. There is insufficient time to re-compete this requirement by the contract expiration date of 28 Feb 15.

(iii) Use Government resources: Currently there are no available Government personnel able to supplement this work with the experience required to execute the mission-oriented tasks contained throughout the PWS. The organization does not have the capability to in-source personnel to meet mission requirements without a break in operational support. The Tables of Distribution and Allowances (TDA) provides adequate guidance of the contract, but lacks personnel with the requisite skill sets to execute the tasks outlined in the PWS.

(iv) Three-month extension: This temporary measure provides the Government the skilled resources required to continue the ATHD mission uninterrupted throughout the integration and execution of UC 15.2. It also provides a more seamless transition from the current contract to a new contract.

c. Justification: This extension is requested in order to provide continuity of services throughout the integration and execution of Unified Challenge 15.2. The

UNIFIED CHALLENGE Experiment campaign provids valuable insights that will inform the Army's transition to Force 2025 and Beyond. Army experimentation provides a unique, cost effective venue with which to examine the interplay of new concepts, such as the Army Operating Concept and the supporting Functional Concepts against a variety of threats. UNIFIED

CHALLENGE experiments provided a robust examination of the new Army

Operating Concept over three major events. The experiments informs the development of supporting functional concepts and assesses the Army's capability to conduct joint and inter-organizational operations promptly, with sufficient scale and duration to prevent, shape, and win future conflicts. The rationale for this extension is that it provides the best method to procure these services in a timely manner, with no break in service, at a price that is fair and reasonable, as determined at the time of award. This extension will continue to meet ATHD mission requirements and mitigate the risk of disruption of operational support.

The intent of this action is to sustain current operations while preparing to transition this requirement to a Source America requirement.

d. Prior Acquisitions: The current contract, W911SE-11-D-2005-2A02, is Firm

Fixed Price (FFP), and was awarded through OPTARSS II multiple award contract vehicle which supports the Army’s socio-economic goals with an unrestricted suite for all task order over $2M annually to Cubic Applications, Inc.

on 20 Jul 12, in the amount of $1,378,804.56, for base year plus two option years.

The contract’s period of performance ends 28 Feb 16.

e. Impact: The impact of not processing the extension would be a break in service and potentially, a work stoppage that would severely impact the ability of ATHD and negatively affect the execution of assigned missions. The contract extension temporarily mitigates risks to mission success through the execution of Unified

Challenge 15.2, and the work effort can be transitioned to the new Source

America contract.

6. EFFORTS TO OBTAIN COMPETITION: A sources sought synopsis (SSS) identified adequate competition for the follow-on contract. A notice, as required by FAR 5.201, announcing the intent to negotiate the extension on a sole source basis with the incumbent contractor, Cubic Applications, Inc., will be posted to FedBizOpps upon approval to proceed.

Due to the highly complex nature of this requirement and the time involved, it is unlikely that any objections will be received from other firms; however, any concerns or disputes will be addressed if they are brought forward at that time. No further non-competitive actions will be authorized without compelling rationale and review.

7. ACTIONS TO INCREASE COMPETITION: Based on market research, mandatory sources for services, to include Source America, as identified in FAR Part 8.002(b) were considered. Services on the Procurement List identified that the services could be satisfied by Source America and a contract will be the Acquisition Strategy planned.

8. MARKET RESEARCH: There was no market research conducted for the extension for reasons discussed in paragraphs 6 and 7 above. Based on this information, competition for this action is not feasible.

9. INTERESTED SOURCES: The notices required by FAR 5.201 will be published, and any responses that substantially address the rationale herein will be addressed. The information provided will include a summary of the justification for the interim extension, a description of the work, and the Government point of contact. The SSS response date was 6

May 15 to Source America.

10. OTHER FACTS:

a. Procurement History: See paragraph 5d.

b. Acquisition data availability: N/A.

c. Unusual and compelling urgency: N/A.

d. Subcontracting Competition: N/A.

11. TECHNICAL/REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance included in this justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Name: Date:

Title: Signature: _______________________

12. MANAGEMENT REVIEW/APPROVAL: The requirement herein described is a valid requirement for the activity named in this justification. The technical and requirements information contained in this justification represent the minimum needs of the Government.

The only way to satisfy this requirement is by limiting the competition as described herein.

I have reviewed this justification and have no Small Business concerns.

Name: Date:

Title: Signature: _______________________

I have reviewed this justification and have no Small Business concerns.

13. FAIR AND REASONABLE COST DETERMINATION: I hereby determine that the anticipated price for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. The techniques identified at FAR 15.404-1(b)(ii) and (v) will be used to ensure award will be at fair and reasonable prices. The Contracting Officer used a comparison of proposed prices to pricing contained in the option period, and the IGCE. Certified Cost and Pricing Data will not be obtained).

Name: Date:

Title: Signature: _______________________

14. PROCURING CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION: I certify that this

Justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Approval

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of ATHD support services at an estimated $550K on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c) (1) as implemented by 6.302-1, Only One Or a Limited Number of Responsible Sources, and No Other Type of Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency

Requirements), subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services and property herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

Date: ___________________ Signature: ___________________

RICKY L. SHANNON

Contracting Officer

MICC-Fort Eustis