Justification and Approval - Sr Acquisition and Assistance Advisor Contract Extension.pdf

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION (J&A)

TO: Andrew Reese, Executive Officer

FROM: Albert Carrera, Requesting Office, ROAA

SUBJECT: Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition (J&A) for the Acquisition of Services for a Senior Acquisition and Assistance (S/A&A) Advisor

1. This document sets forth the facts and rationale justifying the use of other than full and open competition, in accordance with USAID Acquisition Regulations (AIDAR) 706.302-70(a)(2), which states that “ (2) Full and open competition need not be obtained when it would impair or otherwise have an adverse effect on programs conducted for the purposes of foreign aid, relief, and rehabilitation.” Further, in accordance with AIDAR 706.302-70(b)(5) the applicability of this authority includes: “(5) An award for the continued provision of highly specialized services when award to another resource would result in substantial additional costs to the Government or would result in unacceptable delays.”

This document was prepared by the USAID/El Salvador Regional Office of Acquisition and Assistance (ROAA).

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This is a request to approve a follow-on extension of the personal services contract (PSC) to Mr.

Ross Hicks, in order to obtain critical services in the A&A field to complete several award processes which are currently in progress. The services are required for the following period, from October 19, 2022 thru January 27, 2023.

3. Description of the supplies or services required, including an estimated value:

Under this contract action, Mr. Hick will provide continuous A&A services to the Mission to ensure that several critical awards, resulting from the Annual Program Statement (APS) No.

72051921APS00001, are awarded on schedule without major disruption.

The Statement of Duties will be the same as that of the current PSC, with emphasis in the award process under the APS addenda, as well as, execution of critical modifications under his purview.

This document is brought to you by M/OAA/ACTS to support USAID’s A&A workforce.

A concise summary of the current duties and responsibilities under his current contract include, but are not limited to the following:

Advises on and backstops foreign development assistance activities in the area of contracting and procurement. Supports contracting and procurement activities by reviewing and analyzing data and providing assistance and advice on contracting and procurement issues. Assists in formulating, coordinating, and managing strategy, policies, concepts, procedures, guidelines and models for establishing and implementing contracting programs. Analyzes constraints to development, both sector-wide and country specific, and recommends courses of action.

Coordinates assigned activities with other USAID organizations, the Department of State, other USG agencies, and host country officials.

Serves as a technical resource, assisting in the planning for a broad range of contracting and procurement activities, including participating in the formation of policies and guidelines to further contracting and procurement activities in the geographic area, and coordinating program development, implementation, and performance monitoring plans. Provides technical guidance and assistance in the negotiation and awarding of contracts and assistance instruments. Acts as liaison with counterparts in other USAID regional and central bureaus, on behalf of the organization, to develop agency-wide policies, strategies, performance indicators, assessments, and evaluations of programs.

In addition, Mr. Hicks will support new arriving Contracting/Agreement Officers to ensure a smooth transition of his portfolio to the new arriving CO/AOs.

The estimated cost for the extension period is $55,782 ($50,337 corresponding to contract costs, and $5,445 corresponding to local support costs).

4. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

AIDAR 706.302-70(a)(2) states : “ (2) Full and open competition need not be obtained when it would impair or otherwise have an adverse effect on programs conducted for the purposes of foreign aid, relief, and rehabilitation.” As indicated above, USAID/El Salvador’s programs would be adversely affected if there is no continuity of these specialized services.

AIDAR 706.302-70(b)(5) states that the applicability of this authority includes: “ (5) An award for the continued provision of highly specialized services when award to another resource would result in substantial additional costs to the Government or would result in unacceptable delays.”

The action that is requested involves the continuity of highly specialized services in order to avoid unacceptable delays affecting various activities that are in the award process.

https://www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/300/aidar https://www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/300/aidar

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition that requires use of the authority cited:

Mr. Hicks served as an Foreign Service Officer for over 18 years with USAID, with seven years in the capacity of a CO/AO. His prior experience includes serving in El Salvador, and as the USAID/Nicaragua Contracting Officer, managing a $120 million dollar portfolio for three years while simultaneously managing new awards and administrative actions. His experience involved the portfolios from the Economic Growth Office as well as the Democracy and Governance Office in El Salvador. Both portfolios added over $525 million and involved a wide variety of A&A instruments, such as cost-plus fixed fee completion contract, purchase order, task orders, APS, cooperative agreement, Public International Organizations agreements, etc. He also served as Executive Officer for over 10 years in several missions.

Further, Mr. Hick’s contractual expertise and experience in the region will provide efficiency and continuity of the procurement process through to award as he has provided specific guidance to activity design teams and selection committees and rendered key decisions in the development of key procurement documentation. On the other hand, incorporating a new Agreement Officer in existing procurements might result in potential delays because of the learning curve, the specific decisions taken by the incumbent Agreement Officer that will lead the process up to the point of negotiation and final award. Therefore, Mr. Hicks’ continued A&A services on existing awards will be beneficial to the USAID/El Salvador Mission to ensure efficient and timely awards.

Based on the above, it is considered that Mr. Hicks has the required technical expertise, experience, and education for the Contracting Officer/Agreement Officer position that is required to accomplish the tasks for the timely execution of the several awards that are currently in process.

6. Description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was publicized as required by

FAR 5.2 [AIDAR 705.2].

The initial PSC solicited expressions of interest from potential qualified CO/AOs and also sought sources via internal agency channels and third party sources. Contacted candidates either declined to participate in the process or were non-responsive. Mr. Hicks was responsive to the inquiry to service in USAID/El Salvador and has expressed interest to continue the support to the Mission for this period of approximately three additional months.

7. A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The costs paid under the current PSC contract, were used as the basis for the estimated costs for this new contract. Therefore, the costs are determined fair and reasonable and considered in the best interests of the US Government.

8. Description of the market research conducted, and the results or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted:

A market research was not conducted for this extension, nevertheless, the initial PSC solicited expressions of interest directly from potentially qualified CO/AOs. For this new award, the main reason why this action is requested is to ensure the continuity of services provided by Mr. Hicks as he was responsible for several addenda issued under the APS and the number of new awards which are now in the final stage for negotiation and award execution. Therefore, a new market research to cover three months of services would not be beneficial since it will not guarantee the provision of the services required at this critical point in time to ensure timely execution of awards.

9. Other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

As indicated above, the continuity of the services provided by the Sr. A&A advisor are critical to guarantee the successful and expeditiously finalization of several awards resulting from the APS issued addenda. The awards anticipated under these addenda include activities that are directly related to reducing the irregular migration and which are time sensitive given the current context in El Salvador.

10. Sources, if any, that expressed an interest, in writing, in the acquisition:

No sources expressed interest for the initial award and no new sources were sought for this three-month extension because it would not yield the required results of continuity of technical expertise to manage the award process the incumbent has performed under the original PSC.

11. The actions the Agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

USAID/El Salvador will initiate acquisition planning as far in advance as possible, based on the needs of the Mission, and publicize any future requirements using full and open competition to the maximum extent practicable.

12. Technical or Requirements Personnel Certification:

In accordance with FAR 6.303, I hereby certify that the technical statements included above and which form a basis for the justification are complete and accurate.

Signed by Albert Carrera ___________ _____ October 14, 2022 ___________ Albert Carrera, Regional Office of Acquisition & Assistance Date

13. Clearances:

I clear _____________________________ _____Oct. 20, 2022_________ Alexis Taylor-Granados, Resident Legal Officer Date

_____Cleared MDR______________ _______Oct. 21, 2022_________ Matthew Rees, Deputy Mission Director Date Mission Competition Advocate

14. Contracting Officer Certification:

In accordance with FAR 6.303, I hereby certify that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Andrew Reese Date Executive Officer