JOFOC_-_MITRE_Decennial_FINAL_(All_signatures).pdf

Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) U.S. Census Bureau Decennial Capability Development Services with MITRE Corporation

Upon the basis of the following justification, I hereby approve the award of the contractual action described below using other than full and open competition, pursuant to the authority cited herein.

1. Contracting Activity

Department of Commerce U.S. Census Bureau Acquisition Division

2. Nature of Action Being Approved: This justification and approval sets forth the facts and requests approval for the award of a sole source task order with MITRE, Inc. to provide the Associate Director for Decennial Programs contractor support in defining and implementing the modernization and transformation services required for achieving the directorate vision, goals, and objectives. Specifically, assistance is required in areas of support including strategic management, procurement (support and evaluation), program and project management, technical management, evaluation and audit, and research and development activities with a Center for Enterprise Modernization (CEM)/MITRE Corporation, a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), utilizing the Internal Revenue Service Government-Wide Agency Contract (GWAC) Master Contract Number: TIRNO-99- D-00005. The CEM/MITRE FFRDC, meets a special research or development need which cannot be met as effectively by existing in-house or contractor resources. An FFRDC, in order to discharge its responsibilities, has access beyond that which is common to the normal contractual relationship to Government and supplier data, including sensitive and proprietary data, and to employees and installations equipment and real property. The FFRDC is required to conduct its business in a manner befitting its special relationship with the Government, to operate in the public interest with objectivity and independence, to be free from organizational conflicts of interest, and to have full disclosure of its affairs to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the sponsoring agency.

3. Description of Services and Supplies:

The scope and requirements of this Task Order are to assist the Census Bureau and the Associate Director for Decennial Programs and Executive Staff in defining and implementing the modernization and transformation of strategic initiatives required for achieving the strategic vision, goals, and objectives of the 2020 Census Program.

Specifically, the Census Bureau requires contractor support to assist with the following:

• Strategic Management includes strategy development and planning, integrated directorate planning and architecture, disciplined capital planning and investment management, resource management, and transition and change management.

• Procurement (Support and Evaluation) includes practical strategic acquisition development and support, assistance with requirements development, and design and conduct of solicitations and source selection.

• Program and Project Management includes facilitation of effective governance, program management, cross–project integration, performance monitoring, financial management and cost control, and project management.

• Technical Management includes technical and systems engineering guidance, ad hoc technical expert advice, technology assessment (research and proof–of–concepts), as well as advice on logistical support, operations, and customer functions.

• Evaluation and Audit includes assessment of contractor and agency performance and technical documents, independent verification and validation, risk management, conformance to requirements, systems analyses, business process analysis, and cost analysis.

• Research and Development includes conducting independent research and development (IR&D), technology adoption, cross agency integration, analysis and techniques, and research transfer.

4. To assist with the achievement of this effort, the Census Bureau has an immediate need for independent and objective advice and support in the above subject areas from a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC). The Census Bureau has identified the MITRE Corporation (MITRE), an operator of three FFRDCs, as the appropriate source for the needed support. The Census Bureau has determined that this effort is within the scope of MITRE’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) FFRDC contract and is fully aligned with the FFRDC’s core competencies and its mission to assist federal agencies with modernizing information systems and associated business processes.

Period of Performance: One year from date of award

Estimated Contract Value: $4,999,461.86

Contract Type: Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF)

5. Statutory Authority: The statutory authorities for this justification are in accordance with FAR 35.017-3 and FAR 6.302-3.

6. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above:

It has been determined that the item being acquired is the services of the CEM/MITRE FFRDC to which FAR 10.002(b)(1)(iv) applies - “The requirements of any laws and regulations unique to the item being acquired.” The regulation unique to the acquisition of CEM/MITRE FFRDC services is FAR 35.017 – Federally Funded Research and Development Centers. CEM/MITRE FFRDC is the only service provided that will satisfy this requirement.

Contract No. TIRNO-99-D-00005, awarded to the MITRE Corporation for the operation of the IRS' CEM/ MITRE FFRDC, is available for task order issuance for all Treasury Bureaus as well as other Government Agencies (upon approval by the IRS Contracting Officer). The overall focus of this technical support is for Directorate Strategic Transformation in the areas of: 1) Strategic Management, 2) Procurement (Support & Evaluation), 3) Program and Project Management, 4) Technical Management, and 5) Evaluation and Audit. Some of the more critical areas of Directorate Strategic Transformation support services include cost estimation and activity based management, governance, strategic acquisition, and performance models for the decennial census.

Approval has been received from the IRS Contracting Officer indicating that the work is within the scope of the established contract (TIRNO-99-D-00005), authorizes the issuance of the proposed task order, and authorizes the Census Bureau to directly contract with MITRE Corporation. As a result, the Census Bureau is issuing this JOFOC in accordance with FAR 35.017-3 and 6.302-3.

For this requirement, the CEM/MITRE FFRDC meets a special research or development need, which cannot be met as effectively by existing in-house or contractor resources. This FFRDC enables a Non Sponsoring agency to use private-sector resources to accomplish tasks that are integral to the mission and operation of a Non-sponsoring agency. This FFRDC has access beyond that which is common to the normal contractual relationship, to Government and supplier data, including sensitive and proprietary data, and to employees and installations equipment and real property.

The FFRDC is required to conduct its business in a manner befitting its special relationship with the Government, to operate in the public interest with objectivity and independence, to be free from organizational conflicts of interest, and to have full disclosure of its affairs to the sponsoring agency. It is not the Government’s intent that an FFRDC use its privileged information or access to installations equipment and real property to compete with the private sector. A FFRDC is expected to maintain currency in its field(s) of expertise, maintain its objectivity and independence, and preserve its familiarity with the needs of its sponsor(s), and provide a quick response capability.

7. Efforts to Solicit Potential Sources:

The Market Research team reviewed a listing of all available FFRDC contracts as provided by the National Science Foundation master list of available FFRDC’s in the government. Market research determined that the IRS FFRDC with MITRE was the only FFRDC contract with a scope of work that encompasses the strategic, technical and program management advice, guidance, and expert technical and research capability for modernization and general operation of information systems required by the Census Bureau. No other market research was conducted because a FFRDC contractor is required to conduct its business with objectivity and independence and to be free from organizational conflicts of interest. Based on the market research above, the Census Bureau has concluded that only MITRE offers the required services to satisfy the requirements.