JOFOC_No JAFY20J05_(NNA13AC87C)_REDACTED.pdf

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA)

Ames Research Center (ARC) Moffett Field, CA 94035-0001

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (JOFOC)

For Project and Engineering Support Services (PESS)/NNA13AC87C

1. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303-1(b)(1) – Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition.”

This document is justification for other than full and open competition (JOFOC) prepared by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Ames Research Center (ARC), in accordance with the requirements of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303 and NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) 1806.303.

The procuring agency is NASA and the contracting activity is ARC. This JOFOC is recorded in the ARC JOFOC Log as JA-FY20-J05.

2. FAR 6.303-2(b)(2) – The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This justification provides the rationale for contracting by other than full and open competition to award a modification for new work that extends Contract Number NNA13AC87C with Millennium Engineering and Integration Services, LLC (MEI), located at 1400 Crystal Drive Suite 800, Arlington, VA 22202. The awarded modification will extend the current period of performance (POP) for Project and Engineering Support Services (PESS) for up to twelve months. The POP of the cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF) Core and ordering period of the CPFF indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) will be extended from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021, if all options are exercised; this includes an eight-month base period, and two (2) two-month option periods. The CPFF Core will increase by FOIA Ex. 5; while the ordering period of the IDIQ will be extended, the maximum ordering value is not increasing. The purpose of the extension is to provide on-going engineering support services for mission critical requirements at NASA pending completion of a competitive follow-on procurement, PESS II.

NASA ARC conducted a competitive procurement that resulted in the award of the contract on September 11, 2013 with a POP of October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2018 (after exercising all of the options). In 2018 the PESS performance period was extended eighteen months through March 31, 2020; this the second request for an extension to increase scope and POP.

Procurement efforts for a follow-on to the PESS contract began in February 2017. This JOFOC documents the basis and authorities to increase the contract value and enters into an extension period for a maximum of twelve months. This extension will allow time to complete the competitive procurement for the PESS II procurement, which includes the

JOFOC Number JA‐FY20‐J05 solicitation, source selection, contract award, debriefings, and preparation for phase-in/phase-out.

ARC has prepared a Request for Deviation that is being routed to NASA Headquarters requesting approval from the Associate Administrator for Procurement to extend the PESS contract beyond its current six and one-half years POP (inclusive of the original five years plus the current eighteen-month extension).

3. FAR 6.303-2(b)(3) – A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the Agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

The PESS contract, initiated and managed by the Engineering Directorate (Code R), provides critical engineering support to ARC in the following areas:

• Project Management Support

Work Breakdown Structure Development Resource Coordination to Meet Technical, Schedule and Budget Requirements Technical Planning Cost/Schedule Estimation and Tracking

• Mission Design Research & Development (R&D), Pre-Phase A and Phase A:

Mission Design Tools and Capabilities Technology Incubators Proposal Development

• Engineering Systems (Some R&D, and Phases B, C and D):

Integrated Engineering Services (Systems, Mechanical, Electrical, Avionics, Bio-, and Thermal Engineering)

• Advanced Manufacturing, Testing, and Operations: (Some Pre-Phase A, and Phases C, D and E):

Fabrication and Hardware Prototyping Services Engineering Evaluation Laboratory (EEL) and the Flight Processing Center (FPC) Integration and Test Services Multi-Mission Operations Center (MMOC)

The PESS contract provides support services to NASA ARC for all flight and mission projects, and to NASA ARC advanced engineering capabilities and facilities needed to support the research and development mission of the Center. For flight and mission projects, the PESS contract will perform requirements supporting all phases of engineering and project management in a project life cycle as defined in NASA Procedural Requirement (NPR) 7120.5.

The current contract POP is from October 1, 2013 to March 31, 2020; the contract will be extended from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021, if all options are exercised. The one-year extension includes an eight-month base period, and two (2) two-month option periods. The estimated value of this action is FOIA Ex. 5. The current estimated value of the original contract plus the current twelve-month extension is FOIA Ex. 5 and includes Phase-in

FOIA Ex. 5, CPFF Core FOIA Ex. 5, and CPFF IDIQ maximum FOIA Ex. 5. These estimates are consistent with the IGCE for the extension period which was based on historical costs under the PESS Contract and an estimate of the labor and material necessary to perform all requirements projected to be completed under the twelve-month extension.

The funded value of the Core to date is FOIA Ex. 5 and IDIQ task orders issued to date is FOIA Ex. 5. It is anticipated that by the end of the current POP of six years and six months, the Core value will be almost fully utilized and the value of the IDIQ task orders will increase to FOIA Ex. 5.

ARC anticipates that the value of the Core will need to increase by FOIA Ex. 5; FOIA Ex. 5 for the eight-month extension and FOIA Ex. 5 for each of the two (2) two-month options; for continuation of the existing core requirements during the twelve-month extension. The Core consists of the Core Management Task, Core Applied Manufacturing Division Production Planner and Labor Services and Core Engineering Evaluation Lab. The Government will negotiate the increase with the contractor. The total estimated cost for the extension of the combined Core and IDIQ task orders is FOIA Ex. 5, FOIA Ex. 5 for Core and FOIA Ex. 5 for IDIQ. The Government’s total estimated contract costs from the award of the original contract through the proposed extended period, if all options were exercised, and all tasks were extended, is FOIA Ex. 5. The Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) of both the Core and IDIQ for the extended period is based on historical costs and a review of labor, materials, and a technical review of the maximum value of continuing requirements for twelve months of routine work.

4. FAR 6.303-2(b)(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 contract extension is 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(1); and 10 U.S.C.2304(d)(1)(B), Continued Provision of Highly Specialized Services Available only from the Original Source, as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)(B).

5. FAR 6.303-2(b)(5) – A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

The rationale supporting the use of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) is based on the presumption that the services required by NASA are only available from one responsible source and no other services will satisfy the agency’s requirements as described below. In accordance with FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)(A) and (B), for DoD, NASA and Coast Guard, services may be deemed to be available from the original source in the case of follow-on contracts for the continued provision of highly specialized services when it is likely that award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition, or unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements. Based on the rationale set forth below, MEI, the incumbent contractor, is the only responsible source that can reasonably satisfy the scope of work required during the contact extension given the projected follow-on award schedule.

The potential twelve-month extension to the current contract is necessary to provide continued coverage for the support projects currently underway pending completion of the competitive PESS II procurement. The standard acquisition lead time for a procurement of this size is estimated to take between eight to twelve months. If these requirements were acquired via a separate competition for a separate twelve month contract rather than via the extension provided for herein, the result would be a substantial duplication of costs of several hundred thousand dollars to the Government that would not be recovered through competition. This duplication of costs would include not only those costs associated with competing a separate procurement for the extension period, but also the costs associated with phase-in activities for the separate short-term contract, which would be necessary to ensure that the new, possibly different, contractor has proper knowledge of work requirements necessary to support PESS requirements. Again, these costs would be duplicative of costs that already will be incurred as part of the follow-on requirements anticipated for award in early September 2020. The remaining four-months of the extension is necessary to account for procurement delays associated with possible protests, as well as accounting for the 60-day phase-in to the follow-on contract.

Failure to extend the contract would also result in disruption of critical requirements which will continue to be performed under the PESS II contract. A gap in performance of this requirement would cause harmful consequences for ARC projects, missions, and critical R&D facilities at great cost to the government. Further, award of a separate short-term contract would generate unacceptable delay due to the unavoidable start-up and related learning curve that would be associated with a new contractor. The current PESS contractor, MEI, has the base of knowledge and experience with the systems of each ARC customer organization that are necessary to successfully perform the on-going PESS requirements.

MEI has obtained management and corporate knowledge to provide PESS support to the various organizations. A separate competition and award, potentially to a different Contractor, for a twelve-month period, would neither be feasible nor reasonable, given the current and on-going competitive PESS II procurement.

A maximum twelve-month extension to complete the PESS II competition, rather than a new procurement for the same period, is the only feasible approach and most prudent course of action for NASA to take, such that it may continue to obtain the NASA ARC mission essential services provided under the PESS contract in the most cost effective manner. This makes the incumbent the only responsible source that can reasonably satisfy the subject requirements pending completion of the competitive PESS II procurement.

The Government has determined that MEI is highly qualified to continue performance of this contract with ARC. MEI has performed highly specialized services in performance of requirements that support numerous projects and technical organizations on the current PESS contract during the current POP. Examples of highly specialized services under PESS include: support for the Multi Mission Operations Center (MMOC), Flight Processing Center (FPC), ARC Power Monitoring System (APMS), Engineering Evaluation Laboratory, Arc Jet Facility Modernization, and the Mission Design Center. MEI has repeatedly and consistently performed contractual requirements in support of the projects and technical organizations and meets deliverables in a timely manner.

The System for Award Management (SAM) Exclusion Summary contains no active exclusion records for MEI. Their latest Contractor Performance Assessment Report (CPAR) ratings for the current contract were mostly Very Good with two ratings of Exceptional.

6. FAR 6.303-2(b)(6) – A description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as 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:

A notice to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) website (beta.SAM.gov) was published on December 23, 2019, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2. This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source extension to MEI. The results of this synopsis are summarized in Section 10 below.

7. FAR 6.303-2(b)(7) – A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The Contracting Officer’s signature on this document indicates that the Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. The Contractor shall be required to submit a proposal to be evaluated and negotiated by the Government. Prior to execution of the contractual instrument, a proposal analysis will be performed. The proposal analysis will ensure that the final agreed-to price for the contract action is fair and reasonable.

The cost evaluation proposal analysis techniques will include comparing the proposal to historical actuals for similar work previously performed on the PESS contract, completing a detailed cost element analysis, and completing a price analysis by comparison of proposed price to the IGCE to ensure that the final agreed-to costs for Core requirements and any task orders issued during the extension period are fair and reasonable. The objectives will be developed and documented in a Pre-Negotiation Position Memo (PPM) prior to the initiation of negotiations and will be approved in accordance with FAR 15.406 prior to conducting negotiations. A Price Negotiation Memorandum (PNM) will be completed to document the settlement agreement after the conclusion of negotiations.

8. FAR 6.303-2(b)(8) – Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons a market research was not conducted:

ARC conducted market research in support of the decision to award this extension to MEI.

Based on the Contracting Officer’s Representative’s (COR) technical knowledge of the current PESS requirements, and for all of the other reasons stated herein, market research supports that MEI is the sole responsible source able to fulfill the short-term PESS requirements.

Market research was performed in December 2019 and January 2020 which included a synopsis posted on December 23, 2019 on the Contract Opportunities site located on www.beta.SAM.gov. The purpose of the synopsis was to (1) notify industry of NASA’s intent to extend the contract on a sole source basis and (2) solicit information about interested sources that are capable of providing the required support during the extended POP. Interested organizations were requested to submit their capabilities and qualifications in writing. The Contracting Officer received no capability statements in response to the synopsis.

Additional research was completed which included reviews of the following Government databases: the Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) and the NASA Vendor Database (NVD). These market research tools revealed several firms that can provide various types of engineering support. However, only MEI would be able to perform the work without adversely impacting important schedules of work currently being performed on the contract.

Additional research performed by the COR and the Contracting Officer (CO) to determine whether there were sources capable of performing the above stated requirements for extended to NASA’s project and engineering support services. The research included a series of meetings with the COR and members of Code R management and other requirements owners. Based on those discussions, it was clear that while there are numerous firms in the industry, the scope of highly specialize work required can only be accomplished by the current contractor under the proposed extension without creating substantial duplication of work efforts performed and cost incurred to date. Failure to extend the contract within a short timeframe would cause significant disruption and impacts to NASA ARC missions and to the R&D facilities. The extension to the existing contract has shown that there is substantial competition for the follow-on competitive contract.

Market research indicates that in accordance with FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)(A) and (B), MEI is the only responsible source that can provide the highly specialized services without substantial duplication of cost to the Government that will not be recovered through competition and unacceptable delays in meeting agency requirements. There has been no significant interest in this proposed contract extension.

9. FAR 6.303-2(b)(9) – Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

None

10. FAR 6.303-2(b)(10) – A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in writing in the acquisition:

A notice of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source action was synopsized on the GPE website (beta.SAM.gov), per FAR Subpart 5.2 (See Section 6 above). The synopsis provided instructions for interested organizations to submit capabilities and qualifications to perform the effort to the CO. The synopsis was posted on December 23, 2019 for a seventeen-day duration with a response date of January 9, 2020. The Government received no written capability statement submissions in response to the proposed action.

11. FAR 6.303-2(b)(11) – A statement of 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:

ARC is currently in the process of evaluating offers received in response to the competitive follow-on procurement – PESS II. A copy of the Request for Proposal (RFP) is currently available at the GPE Contract Opportunities website (https://beta.SAM.gov).

This sole source award of a potential twelve-month extension to the PESS contract is necessary to provide additional time needed to complete the PESS II procurement and to provide continued support services. Since the PESS II RFP is a competitive procurement, there are no actions the agency needs to take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for these services.