Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition 1_Redacted.pdf

This is a Justification and Approval (J&A) document for a sole-source bridge contract award to Simon Everett Ltd., located in Arlington, Virginia, for specialized instructional support services to the National Foreign Affairs Training Center (NFATC), Diplomatic Tradecraft & Emerging Technology Directorate, Area Studies Division.

The Department of State Acquisition Management office is requesting approval to award a nine-month firm-fixed-price (FFP) bridge contract to prevent a critical lapse in mission-essential operations during the transition to a long-term competitive procurement. Core services include course instruction encompassing full lifecycle Area Studies course delivery with curriculum engineering, facilitator guidance, and syllabi development; comprehensive course administration including resource management, attendance tracking, and student evaluation coordination; and guest speaker management including administrative and financial processing of honoraria and speaker fees. The contract is justified under 41 USC 3304 (unusual and compelling urgency) due to organizational realignment, requirement refinement, industry feedback from a prior Request for Information, and technical validation of new training content. Market research confirmed Simon Everett is the only viable source capable of maintaining uninterrupted continuity for active language-integrated regional program cohorts (including East Asian Pacific, Africa, Europe, Near East Asia, South Caucasus, Western Hemisphere, and emerging programs) without performance ramp-up risk, citing incumbent institutional knowledge, specialized functional management of complex honorarium systems, mid-cycle academic continuity requirements, and security clearance requirements that would create unacceptable transition delays for alternative vendors. The Government will not publicize this action per FAR 5.101(b) exception but will post the J&A publicly on SAM.gov within 30 days of award. The Government anticipates issuing a competitive follow-on solicitation under the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) to support long-term operational needs while maintaining the existing dual-vendor framework during this bridge period.