JOFOC - Hygeia 2777 Bridge FINAL SIGNED.pdf

U.S. Department of Justice Justice Management Division Procurement Services Staff Washington, DC 20530

Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity –Civil Division OIT JCON Support Services

Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity FAR Part 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(B)

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

This justification was prepared by the United States Department of Justice (herein after Department or DOJ), in accordance with the requirements of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)16.505(b)(2)(ii)(B).

The requiring organization is the Civil Division (CIV), Office of Information Technology (OIT). The contracting activity is the Justice Management Division, Procurement Services Staff (PSS).

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

The Department intends to establish a sole-source bridge task order against NIH Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) Chief Information Officer – Solutions and Partners 3 (CIO-SP3) Contract Number HHSN316201200027W for services currently being performed by Hygeia Solution Partners, LLC. The current task order #DJJ17-G-2777 was competitively awarded under the NIH NITAACCIO-SP3and expires on March 31, 2023. This bridge task order will be for a period of three months with two one-month option periods, not to exceed five (5) months to allow CIV’s Help Desk Operations and Support services to continue uninterrupted while the Department of Justice completes a follow-on competitive procurement.

3. Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs, including the estimated value.

The proposed sole-source bridge contract will provide mission-critical services to CIV OIT in the area of Help Desk Operations which includes the three (3) sub-tasks listed below:

• Sub-Task 1: Help Desk Operations: Off-site JCON Help Desk Call Center Operations serve as the single point of contact to answer phone calls, web request and emails for 2,700 Civil Division end users;

Desk-side Support provides troubleshooting and resolution of IT issues related to hardware and software, installation of hardware and software, performing ticket documentation and quality assurance checks of assigned tickets; Account administration provides user account administration, e-mail accounts administration/provisioning, e-mail archiving/vaulting, and data files management (creation, deletion, backup and restoration); Mobile Support provides iPhone and iPad support to Civil Division end users;

Asset Management plans the distribution and retirement of devices, monitors and tracks inventory, analyzes availability and demand, manages software license usage and installation.

• Sub-Task 2: JCON IT Engineering and Operations Support: Provides infrastructure, systems, and virtual desktop infrastructure support including zero client, thin clients and desktop image development, file and print services, mobility services including device management, security services, network services including wireless and WAN connectivity and remote access, storage area network and file services, VoIP telephony and messaging services including instant messaging and email, database and data center management, business continuity/disaster recovery services, application development, configuration management, and audio/visual support.

• Sub-Task 3: JCON IT Security Support: Provides management and operation of information system security program to include system Authority to Operate (ATO) and vulnerability management.

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The total estimated value of this 3-month (plus two 1-month options) sole-source bridge extension period is approximately $5.1 million.

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

The Department is limiting consideration to Hygeia Solution Partners, LLC. as authorized by FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A) and (C). Specifically, the need for services is urgent and the contractor is uniquely qualified to continue critical services at the level of quality required by the Department in the interest of economy and efficiency as a logical follow-on while a competitive re-procurement is completed.

Conducting a fair opportunity competition for the bridge order would result in unacceptable disruptions to the Civil Division’s workforce and IT operations. The need to issue a sole-source bridge contract is necessary to sustain the critical operations of CIV OIT task priorities without experiencing a gap for the following reasons:

a. Hygeia Solution Partners, LLC. currently provides help desk support for the full spectrum of OIT’s IT environment, to include Justice Consolidated Office Network (JCON) IT systems such as JCON’s Microsoft Suite of product applications, VMWare, Network Data Center support, and other software environments. In order for these systems to function properly, the help desk must be fully operational at all points in time with qualified individuals. These contractor employees assist with managing the IT resources and provide troubleshooting with all IT problems (both hardware and software) for the Civil workforce, which heavily relies on these systems and equipment. Transitioning to a new vendor under a short-term bridge contract invites substantial risk of rapid turnover of Help Desk staff, resulting in unanswered calls for assistance, longer-than-normal resolution of system problems, and unacceptable delays caused by a burgeoning workload that will have to be handled by fewer and most likely, less qualified contractor employees.

b. Award to any other source would likely result in substantial duplication of cost to the

Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition. The number of contractor personnel currently supporting this requirement is seventy-five (75) individuals. Processing new contractor personnel through security screenings costs the Government approximately $5,410 (for high risk) per individual and a timeframe of approximately one to two months. This necessitates keeping the incumbent staff in place during a transition period while the new contractor’s employees are cleared through security. The Government cannot justify the added cost and time associated with this transition that could be offset by any demonstrable savings resulting from a bridge order competition awarded to another vendor.

c. Award of the order to a different source would cause unacceptable delays in meeting the

Government’s requirements. As described above, transitioning of contractor personnel from the incumbent contractor to a new bridge contractor requires a minimum of 2 months before the new bridge contractor is able to provide the necessary services to the Government. There is a substantial risk of a gap in services due to the inability to quickly on-board the new contractor’s workforce because of security considerations. This could lead to a significant degradation in IT operations and support provided to the Civil workforce and the unavailability of IT systems, equipment and assets that are necessary for Civil employees to perform their mission functions.

This risk is mitigated through the use of a sole source bridge contract.

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d. Finally, conducting a competition for a short-term bridge contract is not feasible, practical, nor in the best interests of the Government given the complex nature of the requirements and the lack of time to conduct such a competition. The Government would have to issue a solicitation, give offerors time to prepare quotations, conduct an evaluation, make an award, and possibly transition the services to a new contractor. The Civil Division is already in the process of a competitive action under FAR Part 16.505 for the continuation of these services, the RFP closed on Friday, January 20, 2023. This bridge will provide the necessary time to transition from the incumbent to the awardee from the re-compete. Also, competing a short-term bridge contract would take scarce contracting resources away from the follow-on procurement efforts, which would further delay the award.

For these reasons, the Department concluded it was not in its best interests to conduct a competition for a short-term bridge contract because its need for the services is urgent and engaging in a competition would result in unacceptable delays.

5. Determination by the contracting officer that anticipated cost to Government will be fair and reasonable consistent with FAR 16.505.

Labor rates and unit prices for NITAAC CIO SP3 GWACS have been established competitively and are determined fair and reasonable at the contract level. Additionally, the labor categories and hours proposed for this sole-source bridge contract are the same being used in the current task order, which was competed using Fair Opportunity procedures under the NITAAC CIO SP3 program. Based upon this information, a determination will be made by the contracting officer that the prices for the bridge efforts are fair and reasonable. In addition, the Government will seek a discount from these prices.

6. Any other facts supporting the justification

N/A

7. Statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

The Department is currently conducting evaluations of competitive proposals received in response to the RFQ issued to continue support of CIV OIT for an award based on best value.

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8. Certifications, Concurrence and Approvals.

Technical/Requirements Personnel Certification:

I certify that the information contained in this document for which I am responsible is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Todd Miller, Chief Information Officer Office of Information Technology, Civil Division

Contracting Officer Certification:

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

Sakura Higa, Contract Officer Procurement Services Staff, Justice Management Division

Concurrence:

Subsection 2806.304 of the Justice Acquisition Regulation requires concurrence by the Bureau Procurement Chief.

Tom Naccarato, Director Procurement Services Staff, Justice Management Division

Approval:

Subsection 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(C)(2) of the Federal Acquisition Regulation requires approval by the Advocate for Competition of the activity placing the order.

Tara Jamison, Competition Advocate Justice Management Division