JA_Redacted 09042020.pdf

Defense Threat Reduction Agency

8725 John J. Kingman Road, Stop 6201

Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6201

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Nature and/or Description of Action

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) contracting activity proposes to execute a sole source contract without using full and open competition on behalf of the Defense Threat

Reduction Agency’s Biological Threat Reduction Program. This effort will strengthen the connection between national and sub-national animal health system of Iraq. The goal of this project is to provide training and field manuals to field veterinarians and livestock producers throughout Iraq, resulting in better detection, diagnosis, reporting, and control of animal disease caused by Especially Dangerous Pathogens (EDPs). The proposed contract will have a 36 month

Period of Performance, inclusive of all options, and an estimated dollar value of $3.2M.

2. Description of the Supplies/Services Required

DTRA has identified a new requirement for engagement with the field force of the Iraq national animal health system. The ongoing BTRP laboratory engagements, which are focused on improving confirmatory laboratory diagnostic capabilities, are only effective if proper samples are provided by field-level veterinarians. Therefore, DTRA proposes an activity to provide training workshops and field manuals on disease recognition and reporting in order to enhance diagnosis and control of EDPs in Iraq. The proposed trainings will target field level livestock producers and provincial veterinarians and will emphasize recognition and reporting of EDPs along with adherence to all relevant biosafety and biosecurity best practices. The proposed trainings will revolve around the use of two copyrighted field manuals from Lifestock

International on identification of animal diseases and specimen collection: “A Field Manual of

Animal Diseases by Syndromes, with Emphasis on Transboundary Animal Diseases” and “A

Field Manual for Collection of Specimens to Enhance Diagnosis of Animal Diseases.” These two internationally-recognized manuals were specifically requested by the U.S. Embassy in

Baghdad for distribution in Iraq. Both manuals will be translated into Arabic and Kurdish before distribution.

3. Statutory Authority

The statutory authority for this non-competitive action is:

10 United States Code (U.S.C.) 2304(c)(l) or 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1), as implemented by

FAR Subpart 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source.

4. Applicability of Authority

The applicability of this authority is based on DTRA’s requirement for Lifestock International’s two copyrighted field manuals on identification of animal diseases and specimen collection: “A

Field Manual of Animal Diseases by Syndromes, with Emphasis on Transboundary Animal

Diseases” and “A Field Manual for Collection of Specimens to Enhance Diagnosis of Animal

Diseases.” The proposed trainings will revolve around the use of these two copyrighted field manuals from Lifestock International on identification of animal diseases and specimen collection. These two internationally-recognized manuals were specifically requested by the

U.S. Embassy in Baghdad for distribution in Iraq. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad gave DTRA approval to move forward with the “Field Veterinarian and Producer EDP Detection” engagement in Iraq based on the use of the Lifestock International manuals. Both manuals will be translated into Arabic and Kurdish before distribution.

Lifestock International also has unique expertise and experience in conducting trainings on EDP disease recognition and reporting, based around the field manuals, for provincial veterinarians and livestock producers in resource-limited countries. Key personnel working on this project are certified in adult learning and will provide expert knowledge to shape the trainings and workshops within the Iraq-specific context. These trainings will enhance field-level surveillance of EDPs in Iraq. Lifestock International has conducted these trainings and distributed the field manuals in many countries around the world and have conducted multiple successful workshops on EDPs throughout the Middle East Region. In Iraq specifically, they have experience working with the Ministry of Agriculture and have existing relationships with key Government of Iraq

(GoI) and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) stakeholders.

Since the proposed EDP detection field work is integral to the ongoing laboratory renovations in

Iraq, it is in the Government’s interest to execute the work as soon as possible. Lifestock

International’s contacts within the GoI will enable them to quickly gain access to ministry officials and expedite the implementation of project requirements. They have the experience required to navigate the complex requirements of the bureaucracy to gain buy-in from GoI officials. If the EDP detection field work were awarded to any other contractor, they would have to build new GoI relationships to gain buy-in. This would take significant time and lead to unacceptable delays in fulfilling DTRA’s requirements. Using another contractor would also cause work duplication and increased cost since the contractor would have to develop the requested field manuals from scratch. However Lifestocks manuals would require only around

10% of the content for each field manual to be modified or updated before the production and distribution for this effort. This increased cost to the Government is not expected to be recovered through competition. Using Lifestock International’s existing copyrighted field manuals would save an estimated $200,000 for the Government. Additional details on this cost savings is listed in section 8, “Other Facts.”

5. Effort to Solicit Potential Sources

The Contracting Specialist posted a sources sought on Federal Business Opportunities on

December 30, 2019. This notice was open for 30 days and specifically sought performers with the following capabilities:

Identify focal points for engagement with Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) field veterinarians and livestock producers.

Conduct a series of workshops to train provincial-level veterinarians on topics related to transboundary animal disease detection, sample collection, sample transport and reporting in compliance with internationally-recognized biosafety and biosecurity standards.

Provide technical and logistical support for downstream training of field veterinarians and livestock producers throughout Iraq.

Develop, translate, and distribute animal disease field manuals to field veterinarians and livestock producers.

Provide final recommendations to encourage behavioral change and sustainability.

The Government received a singular capability statement from Lifestock International. The

Contracting Officer Representative reviewed the provided capability statement and stated that

Lifestock International addressed all of the required elements. On account of this, the

Government has determined that Lifestock International is the only responsible source for this effort.

The Government will post a Notice to Award prior to awarding this effort on Federal

Business Opportunities a required by FAR 5.2.

6. Fair and Reasonable Costs

The final price of this contract action to the Government will be determined to be fair and reasonable based on the Independent Government Estimate (IGCE) and the use of price analysis during a planned Cooperative Proposal Development (CPD) with Lifestock International. The

Contracting Officer has preliminarily concluded that contract negotiations will lead to a fair and reasonable price and their signature on the resultant document will constitute the determination required by FAR 6.303- 2( a)(7).

7. Market Research

In accordance with FAR Part 10, market research has been conducted for this acquisition. The research sources consisted of prior acquisition information and a review of internet resources as identified below:

a. Historical acquisition: Reviewed the results of recent market research undertaken in the

DTRA Market Research Repository. This review did not identify any recent market research to meet similar or identical requirements (promoting disease surveillance and reporting from livestock producers and frontline veterinarians through the use of field manuals and training). Reviewed active BTRP contracts but did not identify any efforts that meet the requirements for this activity.

b. Government and/or Commercial Databases: BTRP reviewed General Services

Administration’s (GSA’s) services and contracts databases and found that there were no contracts that encompassed all the activities under this statement of work. The GSA eLibrary is a comprehensive source of the latest GSA contract award information and lists the qualified vendors under each contract. No additional qualified performers were identified.

i. GSA eLibrary: http://www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov/ElibMain/home.do http://www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov/ElibMain/home.do

ii. GSA One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services Small Business (OASIS-

SB) multiple award, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ):

http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/161367 http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/161367

c. Knowledgeable people: Contacted knowledgeable individuals in Government and industry, including Contracting Officer’s Representatives (CORs) and implementers from other Iraq work, regarding market capabilities to meet requirements. The only qualified provider identified was Lifestock International.

d. Government-wide databases: Queried database of contracts and other procurement instruments intended for use by multiple agencies available at https://www.contractdirectory.gov/contractdirectory/ and other Government and commercial databases that provide information relevant to agency acquisitions. No additional qualified performers were identified.

e. Catalogs and literature: Reviewed relevant literature published by various professional sources online. Review found that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) does offer guidelines for sample collection, but they do not fully meet the requirements for this procurement. The APHIS resources are high level reference sheets (written in English) that require the user to have existing competencies in sample collection as they do not include supporting training materials. Review also found that the United Nations Food and Agriculture

Organization (FAO) has trained veterinary officers in Africa on epidemiological skills through the In-Service Applied Veterinary Epidemiology Training (ISAVET) program, but they do not fully meet the requirements for this procurement. The ISAVET program is designed to strengthen the epidemiological competencies of fieldworkers but does not address requirements related to enhancing clinical competencies and improving sample collection. The only qualified provider identified was Lifestock International. Some specific sources reviewed were:

i. A Field Manual of Animal Diseases by Syndromes:

http://www.ccardesa.org/knowledge-products/field-manual-animal-diseases-syndromes

ii. A Field Manual for Collection of Specimens to Enhance Diagnosis of Animal

Diseases:

https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Field_Manual_for_Collection_of_Speci me.html?id=LaFsPgAACAAJ

iii. Collection of Diagnostic Specimens:

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/lab-info-services/sa_diagnostic_tests/ct_collection_submission

iv. ISAVET https://iiad.tamu.edu/frontline-isavet/ http://www.fao.org/emergencies/fao-in-action/stories/stories-detail/en/c/1193243/ http://www.fao.org/emergencies/fao-in-action/stories/stories-detail/en/c/1161401/This research found no sources were capable of meeting this requirement other than Dr. Corrie Brown and her team at Lifestock International.

8. Other Facts

If the Government were to award this effort to another contractor this would result in approximately $200,000 in additional costs to the Government as well as cause a delay to the schedule to allow for a new contractor to develop these manuals. This potential duplicative cost to the Government is based on the cost to develop two new field guides similar to Lifestock

International’s field manuals on identifying animal diseases and conducting specimen collection http://www.contractdirectory.gov/contractdirectory/ http://www.ccardesa.org/knowledge-products/field-manual-animal-diseases-syndromes http://www.ccardesa.org/knowledge-products/field-manual-animal-diseases-syndromes http://www.ccardesa.org/knowledge-products/field-manual-animal-diseases-syndromes http://www.ccardesa.org/knowledge-products/field-manual-animal-diseases-syndromes http://www.ccardesa.org/knowledge-products/field-manual-animal-diseases-syndromes https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Field_Manual_for_Collection_of_Specime.html?id=LaFsPgAACAAJ https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Field_Manual_for_Collection_of_Specime.html?id=LaFsPgAACAAJ https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Field_Manual_for_Collection_of_Specime.html?id=LaFsPgAACAAJ https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Field_Manual_for_Collection_of_Specime.html?id=LaFsPgAACAAJ https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Field_Manual_for_Collection_of_Specime.html?id=LaFsPgAACAAJ https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/lab-info-services/sa_diagnostic_tests/ct_collection_submission https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/lab-info-services/sa_diagnostic_tests/ct_collection_submission https://iiad.tamu.edu/frontline-isavet/ https://iiad.tamu.edu/frontline-isavet/ http://www.fao.org/emergencies/fao-in-action/stories/stories-detail/en/c/1193243/ http://www.fao.org/emergencies/fao-in-action/stories/stories-detail/en/c/1161401/ http://www.fao.org/emergencies/fao-in-action/stories/stories-detail/en/c/1161401/

($100k each). Lifestock International has already done the research, writing, and publishing for their field guides. DTRA can save money by utilizing these existing field guides. These cost saving estimates are derived from past development of field manuals.

-05'00'

9. Interested Sources

The only capability statement submitted to the Government in response to the Sources Sought solicitation was from Lifestock International. As detailed above, Lifestock International is fully capable of completing all of the tasks as identified in the SOW.

10. Subsequent Actions

No follow-on activities are currently contemplated by DTRA for this or related efforts. In the event that additional requirements arise, DTRA/BTRP will develop a plan to allow for this effort to be full and open.

Technical Certification

I certify that the data and information forming the basis for this justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Digitally signed by

KLUCHKO.LUKE.J.1229146510

.J.1229146510 Date: 2020.03.02 14:59:25

Program Manager Date

Contracting Officer Certification

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

Digitally signed by

LEVAC.GAGE.N.1019304104

Date: 2020.03.10 12:33:02 -04'00'

Contracting Officer

General Counsel Coordination

This justification is/is not legally sufficient.

Date

Attorney Date

KLUCHKO.LUKE

Approval

Based on the above justification, I hereby approve accomplishment of this acquisition by means other than using full and open competition.

Competition Advocate ($700 thousand to $13.5 million) Date