JA Sole-Source signed.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Office of Acquisition Operations Strategic Acquisition Center – Frederick

5202 Presidents Court, Suite 103 Frederick, MD 21703

Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition IAW FAR 13.501(a) and 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 in Frederick, Maryland on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Employee Education System (EES).

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

The proposed action is for the issuance of firm-fixed-price award on a non-competitive basis (sole source) to Coley & Associates, Inc. for the acquisition of the Joint Pain Education Program (JPEP) Module Development.

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

Using a review process outline in the PWS, the vendor shall collaborate with the JPEP Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), VA Project Manager and the VA eLearning Producer to develop runtime versions of the 29 modules in the JPEP curriculum, in accordance with the approved Storyboards.

The total estimated value for this acquisition is $483,387.24.

The Period of Performance is 12-month from date of award.

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition for this procurement 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 (PL) 109-461, “Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006” specifically, the “Veterans First Contracting Program, as codified at 38 U.S.C. 8127(c) and 8128 and implemented at Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) Subsection 819.7007(c).

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

38 U.S.C. 8127(c) permits a contracting officer to award a contract to a verified SDVOSB using procedures other than competition if:

Strategic Acquisition Center – Frederick

(1) such concern is determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance of such contract opportunity;

(2) the anticipated award price of the contract (including options) will exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (as defined in section 134 of title 41) but will not exceed $5,000,000; and

(3) in the estimation of the contracting officer, the contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States.

The proposed action meets all three of the requirements of 38 U.S.C. 8127(c). First, Coley & Associates, Inc. has been verified by VIP as owned and controlled by a veteran. Coley & Associates, Inc. possesses the capability to develop the runtime version of the JPEP modules as required by this Statement of Work. Further, Coley & Associates, Inc. has successfully provided services to the VA that are like the required services, most recently for VHA. Coley & Associates, Inc. is also registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) as a small business under the applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code. As such, Coley & Associates, Inc. is determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance of this opportunity.

Second, the anticipated award price of the contract is $483,387.24 and, therefore, does not exceed the statutory threshold.

Finally, the contracting officer estimates the award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States Veterans. The VA possesses ample historical pricing information that can be used to determine whether the proposed price is fair and reasonable and, depending on the contracting officer’s analysis of the proposed price, to further negotiate the proposed price. Most importantly, the contracting officer will not award a contract without first determining that the proposed price is fair, reasonable and represents the best value to the Government.

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.

In accordance with 819.7007(b), the determination to make a sole source award to an SDVOSB is a business decision wholly within the discretion of the contracting officer; therefore, the requirement to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable is not applicable to this procurement. In addition, 819.7007(c) further authorizes the contracting officer to make the award without first determining that only one SDVOSB source can meet the requirement.

A notice of the proposed action will be synopsized via the Government Point of Entry (GPE) in accordance with FAR Section 5.201, and the agency will make publicly available the justification required by 6.305(a) within 14 days after contract award.

http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/far2afmcfars/fardfars/far/06.htm#P270_38161

Strategic Acquisition Center – Frederick

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 costs to the Government to be fair and reasonable. This determination will be based on a comparison of current contract pricing and historical pricing data agreed to in one or more VA contracts for the same or similar services.

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.

The program office reviewed all price contract-holders on the VECTOR IDIQ contract and reviewed each vendor’s website, capabilities statement, and self-reported current and past performance to determine ability to design, develop, and implement Web-Based training (WBT). EES put particular emphasis on prior experience working with the VA. Based on their analysis, Coley & Associates, Inc is best suited to meet the requirements of the PWS.

Coley & Associates, Inc. has been determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance.

They are a registered and certified in VetBoz.gov as a SDVOSB with the NAICS code for this requirement, 611430 – Professional and Management Development Training, 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 Coley & Associates, Inc. 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 Coley & Associates, Inc. that would indicate defective pricing, instances of contractor fault or recipient not-qualified, terminations for cause, default or material failure to complete, or non-responsibility of the contractor.

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

Pursuant to FAR 13.501(a)(1)(ii) this sole source justification is prepared using the format at 6.303-2, modified to reflect that the procedures in FAR subpart 13.5 were used in accordance with 41 U.S.C.

1901.

In accordance with Public Law 109-461, codified at 38 USC 8127, in order to increase contracting opportunities controlled by veteran and small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans with service-connected disability, contracting officers for 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.

Strategic Acquisition Center – Frederick

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

Coley & Associates, Inc.

140 Heimer Road Suite 400 San Antonio, Texas 78232

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.

The VA will continue to conduct market research and will consider competing similar future requirements. Towards 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.

Kenneth Andrews Date Contracting Officer Certification/ Approval:

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

Corey Mann Date Contracting Officer Strategic Acquisition Center – Frederick (SAC-F)