JA on Letter Head Control Kao signed_Redacted.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES

4800 MARK CENTER DRIVE

ALEXANDRIA, VA-1155

March 31, 2022

WHS-2022-309

JUSTIFICATION FOR

OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (JOFOC)

UNDER FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION FAR SUBPART 6.3

1. AGENCY AND CONTRACTING ACTIVITY:

Agency:

The Assistant Secretary of Defense (Readiness) for the Secretary of Defense Strategic Thinkers Program (STP)

Contracting Activity:

The Department of Defense (DoD) Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) Acquisition Directorate (AD)

2. DESCRIPTION OF ACTION: The Assistant Secretary of Defense (Readiness) ASD (Readiness) proposes to extend services by issuing a bridge contract to the incumbent Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) without using full and open competition to continue providing the Secretary of Defense Strategic Thinkers Program (STP). The STP is a 12 month master’s degree granting academic program that focuses on developing strategic thinking through the study of military history; the STP educates up to 20 mid-career military officers and government employees each academic year. Therefore, we need continued services from JHU/SAIS to provide support for academic year 2022-2023.

WHS AD will execute a hybrid contract that consists of a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) and Time and Materials (T&M) (Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs) for travel. This contract will be a follow-on bridge to The John Hopkins University Contract No. HQ0034-18-C-0146 that was issued by WHS AD. The current contract expires on July 31, 2022, in which is providing academia support for 2022-2023, and a follow-on bridge contract is required for continuous academic support for year 2022-2023, until a new competitive acquisition is awarded. WHS AD is targeting the competitive acquisition to be awarded in April 2023 or sooner. The total estimated value of this proposed bridge contract is approximately (with a potential variance of +/- 5%). The anticipated period of performance will be from August 1, 2022 to July 31, 2023.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES: The overall objective of this bridge is to continue the development of the STP. The purpose of the STP is to develop military officers and DoD civilians prepared for service on the staffs of the Secretary of Defense, Combatant Commanders, or four-star headquarters or for positions with the Department of State, National Security Council, or with other federal agencies. Students in this program are being trained for future service in the highest ranks of the Department of Defense. The program is currently in its third year, and is building a reputation as one of the most intellectually challenging and career enhancing Professional Military Education programs offered by the DoD. In order to educate the fourth academic cohort, JHU/SAIS will need to offer the same services that it is currently offering: (1) provide a specific STP curriculum consisting of 16 credit hours available only to STP students (2) provide 16 credit hours to each student consisting of appropriate courses in the areas of foreign policy, foreign language, politics, security, and intelligence (3) design and execute two war games addressing current strategic dilemmas (4) design and execute a staff ride to study battlefields discussed during the STP specific curriculum, and (5) coordination of 12 Subject Matter

Experts or guest lecturers to address the STP students. In order to provide these services, JHU/SAIS will utilize:

One full time professor dedicated to the STP;

Two associate professors to co-teach classes; and One full time administrative professional to manage the STP.

4. AUTHORITY CITED: This action is authorized under provisions of 10 U.S.C. 2304(d)(1)(B) as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)(B), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. For DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard, services may be deemed to be available only from the original source in the case of follow-on contracts for the continued provision of highly specialized services when it is likely that award to any other source would result in substantial delays to the execution of the program, which would result in the cancellation of the program in Academic Year 2022-2023.

5. REASON FOR AUTHORITY CITED: Failure to award this contract to JHU/SAIS will result in termination of the STP Academic Year 2022-2023 and students not being able to obtain their master’s degree for that year. JHU/SAIS has already begun the admissions process with the STP students selected to form the class for the Academic Year 2022-2023 under the authority of the current contract no.

HQ0034-18-C-0146. The orientation for admitted students is at the beginning of April, and should the contract fail to be awarded to JHU/SAIS, the students will miss orientation, an opportunity for them to meet fellow students in their master’s degree program and to determine which classes to select in order to accomplish their master’s degree. The military services have already begun drafting orders to send the selected service members to JHU/SAIS and the students have already applied and, in some cases, been admitted. Seventeen students have already been selected to form the cohort for Academic Year 2022- 2023; if these students have their orders to the STP canceled and must be reassigned at the last minute it will destroy all credibility that the program has built with the military services. Even moving the program to another university at this time will severely damage the program’s reputation and the STP will most likely be canceled.

In addition, JHU/SAIS has been in the OSD environment for approximately three years providing academic support; JHU/SAIS developed the academic curriculum for the STP. The STP is a highly specialized master’s degree granting program. The program must be hosted by a university that has an established strategic thinking program with experts published in this field serving on the faculty. The STP requires that the Program Director be a full professor with 10-15-years of experience at the collegiate graduate level teaching strategic studies, military history, or a closely related field; who has a doctoral degree in strategic studies, history, or a closely related field; has conducted substantial research and publication in strategic studies, military history, or a closely related field; has familiarity with war gaming, particularly its use within the classroom; experience with managing budgets and directing a graduate program; and experience working with Department of Defense organizations. The JHU/SAIS faculty includes Dr. Daniel Marston, who developed the Art of War Program at the Army Command and General Staff College, who serves as the STP Program Director, and Dr. Paula Thornhill, a retired Air Force Brigadier General who previously served as Dean of the Air Force Institute of Technology and currently serves as an associate professor for the STP at JHU/SAIS. JHU/SAIS already has published experts with experience in strategic studies, wargaming, and military history on its faculty and has an academic reputation appropriate for a challenging Professional Military Education Program designed to educate future senior leaders within DoD. Failure to award this contract to JHU/SAIS to support STP Academic Year 2022-2023 starting 1 August 2022 and continuing through 31 July 2023, will result in a delay in students receiving educational services that’s already in place with JHU to provide the students in support of this STP program. Additionally, JHU/SAIS has a suitable campus that is located in Washington, DC, allowing for supervision of the program by the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Force Education and Training)—located at the Pentagon—including meeting with the Program Director to approve the curriculum and budget and attending STP courses at least once each semester. If STP was moved to another university, the government would need to pay that university for the value of the time needed to set up the program, including: developing curriculum, hiring faculty, developing the war games, identifying and hiring the guest lecturers, designing the staff ride (a visit to a historic battle field to study the event at the site), and perhaps even changing the campus or modifying the existing master’s degree requirements. If the program were to be moved outside of the National Capital Region, the cost of travel for at least two members of the Force Education and Training office to visit the university each quarter would need to be added to the contract.

6. EFFORTS TO OBTAIN COMPETITION: On January 27, 2022, Washington Headquarters Services issued a “Notice of Intent to Sole Source” on Sam.Gov. The Notice of Intent was posted for over fifteen days and closed on February 18, 2022. Based on the Notice of Intent, no vendor challenged the bridge contract with SAIS. As previously mentioned, the Government will conduct a competitive acquisition, which is scheduled for award in November 2022.

7. FAIR AND REASONABLE COST DETERMINATION: The Government will ensure that the final negotiated price is fair and reasonable in accordance with FAR 15.404-1-“Proposal Analysis Techniques.” The Government will compare proposed prices set forth by SAIS to historical prices paid by the Government under the current contract. The Government will also compare the proposed prices with prices obtained through market research for the same or similar services. The Government will also compare the proposed prices with the Independent Government Cost Estimate prepared for the bridge contract.

8. MARKET RESEARCH: On January 27, 2022, a “Notice of Intent (NOI) to Sole Source” was posted to SAM.gov. The NOI was posted for 15 days and was to close on February 11, 2022. After discovering a detailed description of the required services was missing, an amendment was posted to add the detailed information ensuring industry fully understood the requirements needed. The notice was extended an additional five (5) days and closed on February 18, 2022. As a result of the notice, no responses were received.

9. OTHER FACTS: N/A

10. INTERESTED SOURCES: To date, no other sources have expressed an interest in writing.

11. ACTIONS TO INCREASE COMPETITION: WHS posted a Notice of Intent to Sole Source to JHU on SAM.gov on January 27, 2022. Contractors who could meet the capabilities were to submit their capability statement by February 18, 2022. No responses were received. WHS intends to compete the long-term effort with anticipated period of performance of a base period of 12 months with four-12 month option periods prior to the expiration of this sole source contract.

12. Is this acquisition for a non-competitive follow-on acquisition previously awarded on a non-competitive basis?

Yes. A copy of the previous justification is attached. The actions to remove any barriers to competition cited on the previous justification were were not completed.

No. The original acquisition was conducted on a competitive basis.

Not Applicable. This is a new requirement.