Justification and Approval for Other Than Full and Open Competition

This document is a Justification and Approval (J&A) for a sole-source bridge contract award to Systems Plus, Inc. in Rockville, Maryland for the National Foreign Affairs Training Center (NFATC).

The Department of State's Acquisition Management division seeks approval to award a 12-month labor-hour bridge contract on a sole-source basis under the unusual and compelling urgency exception (41 USC 3304, implemented by FAR 6.103-2). The contract will provide mission-critical training, digital learning, instructional support, and operational support services to NFATC's Campus Operations unit. Services include support to Training Operations Support (TOPS), which develops and delivers technology-based training products including eLearning multimedia courses, webinars, performance support tools, and multimedia labs; and Campus Operations support, which provides operational coordination, business process support, workload management, knowledge management, and reporting. The estimated contract value is redacted. The contract is necessary to prevent service interruption while the Government completes acquisition planning for a competitive follow-on requirement under a GSA Multiple Award Schedule using revised NAICS codes. Task Order No. 19FS1A20F0049 was competitively awarded under the NIH NITAAC GWAC.

The Government published a Notice of Intent on SAM.gov on July 21, 2026, inviting capability statements from alternative sources by August 5, 2026 at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Market research identified 26 responsive vendors representing diverse business types including small businesses and disadvantaged small businesses, confirming adequate competition exists for the future competitive acquisition. The Contracting Officer determined that the incumbent's pricing is fair and reasonable based on benchmarking against comparable GSA Schedule labor categories and rates from the prior competitive award. The justification cites organizational restructuring and removal of enterprise IT functions from the requirement as necessitating the bridge period, as the 90-day transition period required under the current contract would consume a substantial portion of the 12-month bridge period and create unacceptable service disruption.