JA_Redacted.pdf

CONTROL NUMBER VA-24-00086474

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics Technology Acquisition Center

23 Christopher Way Eatontown, NJ 07724

2. Description of Action: The proposed firm-fixed price (FFP) sole source contract action is for digital product delivery support focused on creating an in-person identity proofing pilot at VA as part of VA’s modernization of the multi-factor authentication experience for VA.gov and the VA Health and Benefits Mobile application. The proposed contractor is Magnum Opus (MO) Studios, LLC, 5792 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA.

3. Description of Supplies or Services: The proposed action provides support to VA to retire the DS Logon and My HealtheVet (MHV) credentials on its unified sign-in page (https://www.va.gov/sign-in/), which VA intended to complete by January 31, 2025. As a result, there are many users that need to migrate to one of the remaining credentials – Login.gov or ID.me -- prior to the retirement date. VA’s OCTO is looking to create as seamless a transition as possible, with little disruption to VA staff and Veterans. Additionally, the DS Logon credential will not be fully sunset until September of 2025, requiring additional support to transition users throughout FY25.

In order to do this, VA needs to provide additional support to populations who may have difficulty making this transition on their own. This includes Veterans who rely on on-the-ground staff for help around digital tasks. These key tasks will be accomplished by Identity Scrum Teams. This proposed FFP contract is for a 12-month base period. The total estimated value of the proposed action is

4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition for this acquisition is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(5), “Authorized or Required by Statute”, as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-5. For this action, 38 U.S.C. 8127(c), known as the Veterans First Contracting Program provides the authority to directly contract with a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) or a Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB).

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: The proposed source for this acquisition is Mo Studios, LLC. Mo Studios is a certified SDVOSB and is technically qualified to support the requirements.. Mo Studios won a competitive task order on August 18, 2022 to perform this work and has performed successfully to date. The existing task order expires on August 18, 2024, however, the need for continued support to ensure a smooth transition for Veterans from legacy credentials, DS Logon or MHV, to one of the remaining options, Login.gov or ID.me, is an ongoing need beyond this task order, which must be met by continuation of Identity Scrum Teams. Any break in service for the current contract would lead to some Veterans, specifically those populations who require additional support for the transition in

Identity Scrum Teams Follow-on Control Number: VA-24-00086474 authentication options, to lose access to VA.gov and the VA mobile application and the well-earned benefits they access through those portals. Additionally, the fast pace of the current timeline to create the unified sign-in page would be jeopardized by switching vendors in August.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted in July 2024, as discussed in Section 8. Upon the determination that a sole source award to Mo Studios was in the best interest of the Government, the Contracting Officer confirmed that Mo Studios meets all of the requirements detailed in VAAR 819.7008.

Consistent with the guidelines of the Veterans First Contracting Program, the proposed action described herein will be synopsized and this justification will be posted on the Contracting Opportunities Page in accordance with FAR Part 5.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: The current task order was competed and awarded on the Customer Experience, DevOps, Agile Releases (CEDAR) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The contract ceiling of CEDAR is accounted for, and therefore the continued requirements cannot be obtained via the CEDAR IDIQ. A new IDIQ, the Secure, Performant, Reliable, and User-Centered Experiences (SPRUCE) contract is planned to replace CEDAR and is currently in the evaluation phase. Continued support for Veterans to transition to the VA’s new authentication options ahead of the 2025 deadline is ongoing and needed to bridge the gap between the CEDAR and SPRUCE contracts. It is expected that future needs for this work will be competed on the new IDIQ contract in fiscal year 2025.

CEDAR (and SPRUCE, once awarded), are the preferred vehicles to acquire the type of software development services under this action as they are 100% set asides for SDVOSBs and the awardees have proven software development capability.

8. Market Research: Market research was conducted in July 2024. The Contracting Officer considered whether there are other capable contractors in the marketplace.

Given that the CEDAR contract is nearing its ceiling and is no longer a viable vehicle for this work, and the follow-on IDIQ contract, SPRUCE, is not yet awarded, it is not in the Government’s best interest to compete for a short-term bridge effort as it may result in a transition to a different contractor, and then a transition to a third contractor once SPRUCE is awarded. The potential for three different contractors to have to transition this work in roughly 12 months would likely result in disruptions to the services being performed. Such a disruption would severely impact VA’s ability to access their benefits and manage their VA healthcare on VA.gov and the VA mobile application. Therefore, it is in VA’s best interest to award this action to the contractor currently performing the work, Mo Studios, with the planned follow-on action to be competed under SPRUCE.

The Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) database was accessed on July 29, 2024. This search concluded that Mo Studios is registered and certified and qualifies as a SDVOSB in accordance with the federal small business size standard for the applicable North American Industry Classification System Code 541519. It was verified on July 29, 2024 that Mo Studios is registered in the SAM.gov database and is eligible to receive a Government contract.

Additionally, the Contracting Officer reviewed all six (6) of Mo Studio’s performance ratings in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). Mo Studios had no rating lower than “satisfactory” for all rating categories, with one being rated “exceptional” under the Quality category, demonstrating it is a responsible contractor with respect to performance.

9. Other Facts: The Procuring Contracting Officer has determined that this proposed action meets all the requirements of 38 U.S.C. 8127(c) and VAAR 819.7008. This acquisition is below the $5,000,000.00 threshold, Coforma is a responsible SDVOSB for performance of the services described herein, the proposed contract can be awarded at a fair and reasonable price, and award to Coforma is in the best interest of the Government.

10.Technical/Requirements Certification

I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in this justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

11.Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination

I hereby determine that the anticipated price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable based on an analysis of historical prices paid by the Government for the same services. The contracting officer will use existing CEDAR labor rates, which have previously been determined to be fair and reasonable, to verify Mo Studio’s proposed price is fair and reasonable per FAR 15.404-1(b)(2)(ii).

12.Contracting Officer Certification

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