JEFO_15-0208_signed.pdf

Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity Exceeding the SAT pursuant to FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(B)

JEFO No.: FY15-0208

Date: May 6, 2015 PR Number: RSFR-15-00025

1. Agency and Contracting Activity. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Procurement Operations (OPO), on behalf of the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) First Responder’s Group (FRG) proposes to award a task order for continuity of services under an exception to fair opportunity.

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

DHS OPO intends to award a task order without considering other awardees under contract number HSHQDC-13-D-00036 pursuant to FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(B) using the exception FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B); only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized.

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

Currently Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) provides on-site assistance to S&T FRG to support program and technical management, program planning and oversight, financial management, and technical website administration functions across the broad scope of First Responder activities.

Pending the competitive award of a new task order, S&T FRG has a requirement for a bridge task order to continue the level of quality of mission critical Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) support provided by BAH. By issuing a bridge task order for continuity of services, FRG will be in a position to effectively function at full mission capability while the competitive task order is put into place. The total estimated value of this order is $1,447,372, which includes a base period of June 1, 2015 through July 31, 2015 and includes two one month optional periods that the Government may or may not exercise:

Option Period 1: August 1, 2015 through August 31, 2015;

Option Period 2: September 1, 2015 through September 30, 2015.

4. Identify the exception to fair opportunity and supporting rationale, including a demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the exception cited.

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized.

Rationale:

The original task order for this effort, HSHQDC-11-J-00099, was awarded under a single award BPA. The task order was modified September 25, 2014, under the authority of the Continuity of Services Clause, FAR 52.237-3, to allow for a transition. Due to events outside of the program office’s control, the schedule for the re-compete exceeded the initial planned transition period under HSHQDC-11-J-00099. Accordingly, an additional bridge period was needed to maintain the level and quality of services and as a result OPO awarded HSHQDC-15-J-00022 on December 12, 2015. The last option period remaining under this task order (i.e. Option Period 2) will expire on May 31, 2015.

The acquisition strategy to replace the original task order (HSHQDC-11-J-00099) was to compete the requirement under the SETA II multiple award IDIQ and to award a new task order before the bridge task order (i.e.HSHQDC-15-J-00022) expired to allow for transition, if necessary. In line with this plan, DHS awarded a new competitive task order under Task Order Request for Proposal (TORP) HSHQDC-15-R-00011 to Noblis on March 26, 2015. DHS received a GAO protest to this award on March 31, 2015 and immediately issued a stop work order to Noblis on March 31st as well. Nevertheless, the SETA services in support of FRG remain critical and require continued support until the protest is resolved.

In order to provide for continued services while the recompete protest is resolved and to allow for a transition period, if necessary, another bridge task order to the incumbent, BAH under the SETA II IDIQ vehicle, is necessary. Only the incumbent, BAH, is capable of maintaining the necessary support services for the S&T FRG because only BAH has the institutional knowledge, subject matter expertise, and specialized skill and ability to continue to provide the level of quality needed. Additionally, BAH currently manages two vital public facing websites, www.firstresponder.gov and www.communities.firstresponder.gov under the support services contract. Substantial effort is required to transition these websites and their attendant DHS CIO security documentation to another host. Accordingly, BAH’s continued support in the area is critical to avoid a gap in service that would cripple critical FRG mission effectiveness.

More than twenty contractor personnel currently support this effort through on-site and off-site assistance to S&T FRG providing program and technical management, program planning and oversight, and financial management and technical website administration functions across the broad scope of the FRG activities. To ensure FRG is able to perform its mission with minimal impact to productivity, a bridge task order to maintain continuity of services is necessary. This task order is also necessary should a contractor other than BAH win the recompete task order.

The bridge task order will ensure that a new awardee is provided sufficient transition time to allow for uninterrupted service to FRG and the transfer of information necessary to ensure the continuation of the required level of support.

Should this task order for a bridge period not be awarded, FRG will see its mission critical staffing level reduced by approximately 50% for a lengthy period, resulting in crippling http://www.communities.firstresponder.gov/ irrecoverable deficiencies in programmatic, management, and technical effectiveness.

Additionally, the Government would bear the full burden of supporting the transition-in of a new contractor if a contractor other than BAH won the competitive task order.

5. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer determines that the anticipated prices will be fair and reasonable based upon a price analysis of the task order proposal. In determining price reasonableness, the Contracting Officer will consider the level of effort and the mix of labor proposed to perform the specific bridge period services. The pricing under contract number HSHQDC-13-D-00036 was determined through a competitive process and the rates were found to be fair and reasonable at time of award. Accordingly, the Contracting Officer’s analysis will include verifying that the rates in the proposal are less than or equal to the rates in HSHQDC-13-D-00036.

6. Any other facts supporting the justification.

None

7. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the exception to fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

DHS OPO in support of S&T FRG awarded a new competitive task order to Noblis, Inc. under HSHQDC-15-R-00011 that is now under protest. Once the protest is resolved, the award of a new competitive task order will remove any barriers to an exception to fair opportunity.

8. DHS intends to post this requirement on FedBizOpps pursuant to FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(D).