JEFO for SOAR Lapsed TO During Shutdown FINAL_redacted_Redacted.pdf

b. Project background.

Under the SOAR contract program, contractors provide professional services for a full range of activities, including new and in-progress research projects, program deployment and implementation, and other activities necessary to conduct the business and fulfill the mission of NIH’s biomedical research program. Services support important medical discoveries that improve people’s health, prevent disease, and investigate the causes, treatments, and cures for common and rare diseases.

The SOAR contracts are indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) multiple award contracts with a maximum contract ordering value of $3,600,713,546 and a five-year ordering period. Task order requirements are processed in accordance with FAR 16.507, with services through June 20, 2027.

SOAR Contract-Holders:

75N95021D00010 AXLE INFORMATICS LLC

*75N95021D00019 *22ND CENTURY TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

75N95021D00012 KELLY SERVICES, INC

75N95021D00013 GUIDEHOUSE DIGITAL LLC

75N95021D00011 GAP SOLUTIONS, INC.

During the lapse in appropriation, in accordance with the Office of Management and Budget guidance, a new contract can be signed, and/or a current contract can be modified to add funding, in advance of an appropriation only in limited circumstances, after agency staff have coordinated with agency counsel to establish whether an exception may be appropriately invoked. While NIH fully intended to exercise and continue all critical services under this contract, it could only fund emergency and limited services that imminently threatened the safety of human life or the protection of property. With appropriations now available, and for continuity of services, immediate readiness, only one source is capable of providing the services at the level of quality required.

Since initiation of the predecessor task order, these services have been provided by each respective SOAR contract-holder. Please refer to attachment 1 for breakout of task orders and their respective vendor. Each task order lapsed because the next option period was not exercised timely due to the lapse in federal appropriations. The NIH still has a critical need for these services, and the re-issuance of these task orders will expeditiously provide these services from the date of award of the new task orders through the end of their original periods of performance, but not later than June 20, 2027.

*Note: 22nd Century Technologies is one of the five SOAR contract-holders and is included as part of the background information in this JEFO.

However, no orders lapsed under this contract (75N95021D00019) as a direct result of the lapse in federal appropriation, and therefore, no orders under this specific contract are being reprocured under this acquisition.

3. Description of the Requirement:

a. Project title.

Task Orders under the NIH SOAR Support Services Contract Program

b. Project description.

SOAR task orders provide specialized professional services from qualified and experienced contractor staff to support the NIH in meeting its operational objectives.

c. Requirement type.

X Support services (non-research & development)

d. Type of action.

X Other – Re-procurement of lapsed task orders

e. Proposed order type.

X Time-and-materials task orders X Fixed-priced, level-of-effort task orders

Acquisition identification number.

See Attachment 1

Total estimated dollar value and performance/delivery period.

The total estimated dollar value of the re-procurement of these SOAR task orders, inclusive of options, is $9,136,470 . The estimated performance period, inclusive of options, is the date of the award through no later than June 20, 2027.

4. Market Research.

NIDA OA reviewed the current market, and the acquisition history of the requirement. The predecessor task orders were issued under the SOAR contract, and awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered or exceptions were processed in accordance with FAR 16.507-6. Re-procurement of the lapsed orders under the SOAR contract is the most appropriate contract mechanism to use.

Considering the range of knowledge and the special nature of the work provided by the contractor, there is no other contractor that can realistically fill these needs within the time necessary to avoid disruption to the NIH programs.

5. Identification of the justification rationale [see 16.507-6(b)] for exceptions to the fair opportunity process.

a. Urgent Need. FAR Subpart 16.507-6(b)(1) —The agency need for the supplies or services is so urgent that providing a fair opportunity would result in unacceptable delays.

N/A

b. Only One Source. FAR Subpart 16.507-6(b)(2) – Only the below referenced awardees under this multiple-award, indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract requirement are 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:

i. Name and address of the proposed contractor(s).

AXLE INFORMATICS LLC

6116 EXECUTIVE BOULEVARD SUITE 400

NORTH BETHESDA, MD 20852-4931

KELLY SERVICES, INC

999 WEST BIG BEAVER ROAD

TROY, MI 48084-4716

GUIDEHOUSE DIGITAL LLC

1676 INTERNATIONAL DRIVE, SUITE 800

MCLEAN, VA 22102

GAP SOLUTIONS, INC.

205 VAN BUREN STREET, SUITE 205

HERNDON, VA 20170-5348

ii. Nature of the acquisition and proposed contractor(s) unique qualifications.

The SOAR task orders listed in Attachment 1 must be issued on a sole-source basis because the incumbent contractor of each order is the only source that is capable of providing the highly specialized services required at the level of quality needed for each respective order without disruption to the program. Please see attachment 1 for proposed sole source vendor for each respective order.

The predecessor contractor of each respective order is uniquely qualified to seamlessly resume these specialized services that were abruptly and unexpectedly stopped. If NIDA were to compete and award the task order to any other contractor, it would be inefficient, disrupt research services, incur more costs, and negatively impact ongoing NIH programs and biomedical research.

Specifically, the loss of these services jeopardizes NIH’s ability to maintain up-to-date compliant policies and delegations of authority, creates the loss of critical benchmark studies, and impacts NIH’s ability to protect current and past investments in research.

Furthermore, it will negatively impact NIH’s ability to fulfill essential responsibilities, directly impacting patient diagnostics and treatments. This will cause scientific staff to re-prioritize and adjust their scientific research pursuits to manage these functions, as well as additional costs to provide required training. Additionally, loss of these services will result in delays and other negative potential impacts, such as compromising scientific productivity, delaying critical milestones, and jeopardizing the return on existing investments in ongoing research efforts focused on advancing the mission of NIH. Without the requested services, both clinical and translational science would be severely disrupted, and in some cases, cease to progress. In conclusion, if the services under this task order are interrupted or do not continue, it would lead to a disruption in essential research activities, a loss of investment in the studies, wasted research funds, and potential delays in critical scientific advancements. The financial and reputational impacts would be significant, and the research may not reach its intended outcomes, ultimately affecting the mission of HHS to advance scientific knowledge and improve public health.

Re-procurement and award of the order to the incumbent contract-holder efficiently resumes critical tasks necessary for advancing the scientific goals of the NIH while ensuring continuity and integrity of the ongoing biomedical research programs.

c. Interest of Economy and Efficiency. FAR Subpart 16.507-6(b)(3) – The order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract, provided that all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order.

i. Name and address of the proposed contractor(s).

NA

d. Minimum Guarantee. FAR Subpart 16.507-6(b)(4); It is necessary to place an order to satisfy a minimum guarantee.

e. Source Authorized by Statue. FAR Subpart 16.507-6(b)(5) – For orders exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, a statute expressly authorizes or requires that the purchase be made from a specified source.

f. Items Peculiar to one Manufacturer (brand-name). FAR Subpart

16.507-7 – Items peculiar to one manufacturer (brand-name)

6. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer will utilize price analysis methods described in FAR Subpart 16.5 and Part 15 to ensure that any resultant award is fair and reasonable.

Analysis methods will include comparison of the proposed prices to prices proposed under the predecessor task order as well as to the price schedules in the parent contract award. The price schedules set forth in Section J of the parent award contain on-site and off-site hourly labor rates for each year of the contract for work to be performed within the continental United States. The hourly rates are ceiling price rates, and the contractor may propose lower hourly rates when responding to a request for a task order. Factors such as complexity of work, geographic locations, and security clearances authorize the Contracting Officer to negotiate Loaded Hourly Labor Rates suited to meet their specific task order requirements.

7. Any other facts supporting the justification.

None.

8. 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.

a. Removal of barriers to competition.

NIDA OA will employ competitive practices to the maximum extent practicable to obtain new services under the SOAR contract program. NIDA OA will closely scrutinize any subsequent acquisition for these services and will ensure that any restrictions to competition are adequately supported and documented.

b. Listing of sources, if any, that expressed an interest, in writing, in the acquisition.

None

Attachment 1: SOAR Task Order List

SOAR Order- Position Number

Task Order Title

Predecessor Vendor and

Recommended Sole Source

Vendor

Predecessor SOAR Order

Start Date

SOAR Order End Date

(Including All Options)

NHGRI-210336-1 Bioinformatics Scientist Services Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NLM-211441-1 Shuttle Driver Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NLM-212056-1 Property Technician Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NCATS-245808-1 Computer Programmer Gap Solutions 10/21/24 6/20/27

NCI-245857-1 Operations Coordinator Gap Solutions 10/21/24 6/20/27

NICHD-234743-1

Nurse (Certified Nurse

Practitioner) Axle Informatics 10/23/23 6/20/27

NIAMS-234924-1 Scientist Kelly Services 9/25/23 6/20/27

NIAID-234906-1 Project Manager Axle Informatics 10/30/23 6/20/27

NIAMS-234331 Scientific Program Analyst Kelly Services 5/1/23 6/20/27

NINDS-222935 Management Analyst Kelly Services 5/2/22 4/1/27

NIDA-245803 Scientific Program Manager Kelly Services 11/4/24 6/20/27

NHLBI-222761 Policy Analyst Gap Solutions 3/7/22 3/1/27

NIAID-234599 Senior Advisor Gap Solutions 8/7/23 6/20/27

NIAID-245780 Data Analyst Gap Solutions 9/9/24 6/20/27

NCI-211602-1 Clinical Protocol Coordinator Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NCI-212114-1 Clinical Protocol Coordinator Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIAAA-210468-1 Clinical Research Coordinator Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIAAA-210480-1 Clinical Operations Manager Axle Informatics 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIAID-210569-1 Database Administrator Kelly Services 9/13/21 7/12/26

NIAID-210585-1 Operations Coordinator Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIAID-210650-4 Clinical Program Manager Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIAID-210669-1 Operations Coordinator Kelly Services 9/13/21 7/12/26

NIAID-210682-2 Clinical Protocol Coordinator Guidehouse 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIAID-211814-1 Clinical Program Manager Guidehouse 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIAID-211818-2 Clinical Research Coordinator Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIAID-211818-4 Clinical Research Coordinator Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIDA-210907-1 Operations Coordinator Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIEHS-234919-1 Computer Programmer Kelly Services 11/13/23 6/20/27

NIMH-211168-1 Clinical Operations Manager Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIMH-211195-1 Clinical Operations Manager Axle Informatics 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIMH-211224-1 Operations Coordinator Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIMH-235072-1 Operations Coordinator Guidehouse 11/13/23 6/20/27

NCI-212250-1 Scientific Program Manager Kelly Services 9/13/21 6/12/26

NIAAA-210483-1 Editor Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIAID-210617-1 Editor Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIAID-210617-3 Editor Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIAID-210621-2 Database Administrator Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIAID-210664-1 Scientific Program Manager Kelly Services 9/13/21 7/12/26

NIAID-212405-1 Management Analyst Gap Solutions 9/13/21 8/29/26

NIDDK-211005-1 Clinical Protocol Coordinator Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NINDS-211353-1 Operations Coordinator Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NINDS-211435-1 Management Analyst Guidehouse 9/13/21 9/12/26

NCI-211605-1 Genetics Counselor Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NCI-223813-1 Senior Advisor Kelly Services 11/14/22 6/13/27

NIAID-245637-1 Management Analyst Kelly Services 7/15/24 6/20/27

NIAID-245637-1 Management Analyst Kelly Services 7/15/24 6/20/27

NCATS-245978-1 Operations Coordinator Kelly Services 11/18/24 6/20/27

NCI-245926-1 Scientific Program Analyst Kelly Services 11/18/24 6/20/27

NIAID-210655-5 Project Manager Kelly Services 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIAID-211832 Laboratory Assistant Guidehouse 9/13/21 9/12/26

NIEHS-211011-7 Bioinformatics Scientist Gap Solutions 9/13/21 9/12/26

NCI-223813-1 Senior Advisor Kelly Services 11/14/2022 6/20/27

NIAID-245637-1 Management Analyst Kelly Services 7/15/2024 6/20/27

NIAID-224090 Management Analyst Kelly Services 2/27/2023 6/20/27

Od-2454034 Scientific Program Analyst Guidehouse 4/29/2024 6/20/27