Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity_BARDA sole sourcesigned (1).pdf

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Version 06/14/19

General Services Administration Federal Systems Integration and Management Center

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

UNDER IDIQ CONTRACTS

SOLICITATION 47QFCA20K0077

INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT NUMBER 47QFCA20S0099

The General Services Administration (GSA) makes this Justification for the issuance of an

Exception to Fair Opportunity order pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

16.5.

a. Identification of Agency and Contracting Activity:

Agency:

General Services Administration (GSA)

Federal Systems Integration and Management Center (FEDSIM)

Acting in support of: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR)

Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)

Contracting Activity:

GSA FEDSIM Contracting Office (QF0B)

1800 F Street, NW

Washington, D.C. 20405

b. Nature and/or Description of Action Being Approved:

FEDSIM intends to make a Sole Source award in support of BARDA’s need for technical and analytical public health and medical consequence modeling and visualization subject matter expertise, as well as systems engineering and integration support for BARDA.

This sole source Labor Hours (LH) Task Order (TO) will have a 12-month Period of

Performance (PoP) which will allow time for requirements to be solidified, and for

FEDSIM or a GSA regional office to complete sufficient market research in advance of a competitive acquisition while maintaining continuity of operations during the transition to the competitively awarded TO. The Government’s future competitive strategy after this award includes mechanisms for transition of mission-critical functions supported by

Leidos, Inc. (Leidos). While considering the complexity of the current environment, schedule hindrances and BARDA’s unique mission, multiple meetings were held with the client that drove FEDSIM to begin planning for a sole source acquisition

Located within HHS and ASPR, BARDA is the component of the Public Health

Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise that focuses on the advanced development, manufacturing and acquisition of medical countermeasures against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats, pandemic influenza, and emerging infectious diseases. BARDA oversees the Project BioShield program and

DocuSign Envelope ID: CE2295EC-53D9-4298-921C-B553D67E8A4B

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Special Reserve Fund and is charged by statute with (1) promoting collaboration and communication between the U.S. Government and interested parties in the advanced development and licensure of needed medical countermeasures; (2) directing and coordinating the countermeasure and product advanced research and development activities of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); (3) facilitating medical countermeasure development by providing advice or directing interested parties to the relevant Centers of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA); and (4) supporting innovation through strategic initiatives and investment in technologies and research tools that facilitate countermeasure development.

Currently, BARDA’s support is being provided by Leidos. Leidos was awarded a Time and Materials (T&M) Task Order (TO) (75A50120F33007) on March 29, 2020, consisting of a six-month order period running through September 28, 2020, worth a total value of $2,969,088. The current TO was awarded using an ASPR, competitively-awarded, Single Award, Indefinite Delivery-Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract

(HHSO100201600017I) awarded to Leidos in August 2016. The initial PoP on the IDIQ was set to expire in August of 2021, but in March of 2020, ASPR’s IDIQ hit its ceiling, and as a result, ASPR did a one-time contract ceiling increase. In doing so, ASPR also issued TO 75A50120F33007 in an effort to provide timing to arrange for a competitive procurement. However, as BARDA and its counterparts at ASPR began to adapt to evolving requirements that were heavily focused on the COVID-19 response, it became clear that it was not feasible for the ASPR contracting authorities to both respond to the urgent requirements driven by the global pandemic, as well as, support a competitive procurement for BARDA’s systems engineering needs. Due to the urgency and criticality of this program, BARDA came to FEDSIM for assistance. FEDSIM and

BARDA signed an Interagency Agreement in late June 2020 and agreed to a timeline for which FEDSIM will support a sole source contract directed to Leidos, while BARDA continues to develop requirements for the follow-on competitive procurement.

Additionally, the Leidos and BARDA partnership is at a critical juncture with a system migration planned over FY21. The impact of discontinued work and delayed progress would be detrimental to the BARDA mission to analyze and provide timely data related to the infectious disease, particularly during this public health emergency.

The Alliant 2 GWAC vehicle was selected for this action under the exception to fair opportunity (Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A). The contract type determined to be most appropriate for this acquisition is Labor Hour (LH) with Cost

Reimbursable Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs) for Long-Distance Travel (Travel), Other Direct Costs (ODCs) and Tools. A Labor Hour TO will allow flexibility in responding to the dynamic and changing mission environments.

c. Description of Supplies/Services and Estimated Value:

The scope of this effort is to provide a full range of IT-related services and technical solutions that encompass application administration services, property accountability, asset management, operations, configuration management, change management, incident management, cloud migration, capability backlog remediation, knowledge management, training, project management, problem management, release management, security and

FEDSIM is a Client Support Center housed within GSA, FAS, AAS Page 3 audit management, testing, quality assurance, and sustainment requirements of the agency mission. The contractor is required to perform operational maintenance and systems development services for BARDA’s Division of Research, Innovation, and

Ventures (DRIVe) initiative through standardized industry best practices (e.g., IT Service

Management (ITSM)-based procedures).

The objectives for BARDA DRIVe represent the desired outcomes of the support services being sought with an overall objective of no degradation to the current functional requirements, as well as execution of planned enhancements. The contractor is challenged to provide innovative and cost-effective technical, management, and staffing approaches that meet the following objectives:

1) Managing the Task Order;

2) Operation and Maintenance of the Drive Digital Resource (DDR) Legacy

System;

3) Completion of the BARDA Digital Resources (BDR) System;

4) Data Analytics;

5) IT Support and Implementation Services; and

6) Project Transition

The Government anticipates awarding a 12-month Task Order, with an estimated value of

$9,023,431. Additionally, the Task Order will include the clause 52.217-8 Option to

Extend Services, which could potentially lead to a total contract value increase of

$4,320,291. If executed, the Task Order would have a not to exceed value of

$13,343,722, which is the upper threshold for the Competition Advocate’s signing authority.

d. Identification of the Exception to Fair Opportunity and Rationale:

This TO Justification is being prepared as required by FAR 16.505, Exception to Fair

Opportunity Process.

The rationale is the agency’s need for the supplies or services is so urgent that providing a fair opportunity would result in unacceptable delays (FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A)).

By March 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic dealt an unexpected blow to an already aggressive acquisition schedule and presented additional performance constraints, increasing the likelihood of a lapse in service. A typical FEDSIM acquisition of this size and complexity ranges from seven to nine months from kickoff to award. Therefore, if we were to have started a competitive acquisition in July 2020, a best-case scenario award wouldn’t be made until roughly January 2021. Factoring in a transition period of 120 days, any follow-on contractor would not be expected to be up-to-speed in the existing system until (at best) May 2021, in the midst of a global pandemic that has wreaked havoc on the U.S. public health and economic infrastructure. Given that the current PoP expires in September of 2020 that would result in an eight month gap in service. As

BARDA’s role is to be a Government leader in response and prevention to global pandemics, and the systems supported by the existing contractor support the IT functions which allow for BARDA to achieve its mission, a gap in service would have an

FEDSIM is a Client Support Center housed within GSA, FAS, AAS Page 4 incalculable impact on BARDA’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and would lead to loss of life and safety of the American population. The current contractor has hands on experience providing all IT and communications services and support necessary for

BARDA to maintain operational readiness when responding to global disasters.

Furthermore, the BARDA Digital Resources (BDR) System under development by

Leidos will streamline the process for developing public-private partnerships by modernizing application processing; efficiencies gained by implementation will provide federal funding to medical and scientific communities to support innovative technologies and solutions. A gap in service would result in an unacceptable lapse in BARDA services critical to its mission, and to its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A new contractor would be at a severe disadvantage in assuming full operational duties within the required timeframe.

A sole source is needed for making a timely award while avoiding unacceptable delays prior to the current TO expiration, and therefore no other contractor would be able to come up to speed and obtain the necessary clearances required before September 14, 2020. This sole source TO will have a 12-month (PoP). This PoP will allow time for

FEDSIM or another GSA Assisted Acquisition Regional Support Center to complete sufficient market research for the competitive action and maintain continuity of operations during the transition to the competitively awarded TO. The Government intends to include the clause at FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services in the event that the COVID-19 pandemic response further consumes any more of the timeline which, in a steady-state, is achievable.

e. Determination That the Anticipated Cost is Fair and Reasonable:

The Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. The expectation of reaching a fair and reasonable price was determined through analysis of an Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) for the bridge TO which was jointly developed by FEDSIM and BARDA. The Government mapped the existing IDIQ rates in the ASPR-administered contract to the Government

Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) Alliant 2, and compared those Alliant 2 rates to the current Task Order for reference. The Government then built levels of effort for those positions in accordance with the current levels of effort in the existing TO. This IGCE is predicated on the assumption that the scope of support reflected in the current order will remain unchanged and carry forward into the sole source bridge TO. The Government has also planned for the contingency that if further funding is provided to BARDA in relation to COVID-19 response, that there will be capacity under this TO to support increased levels of effort while accomplishing the same steady state tasks. Further cost and price analysis will be conducted to ensure fair and reasonable pricing upon Leidos’s cost proposal submission in response to the forthcoming sole source Task Order Request.

The total amount of funding required for the total estimated period of 12 months is approximately $9,023,431.

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f. Other Facts Supporting the Justification:

Given the complications of selecting a new contractor for a short-term, interim effort, which is needed in order to avoid a lapse in DRIVe Digital Resources and supporting services the incumbent is the only practical, potential source.

The incumbent has a proven record of satisfactorily providing the required services and has the infrastructure, human resources, and highly specialized technical expertise in place to execute the requirements of the contract. The incumbent contractor’s staff already has the necessary background investigations, PIV cards, and computers to access systems, which are mandatory, non-waivable requirements to perform the work required. The Government requires a minimum of three months to effectively conduct background checks and to issue

PIV cards and issue the necessary systems and access to a new contractor. Because of this, the Government will experience significant delays in quality, service delivery and program oversight if it attempts to solicit this short term requirement, as well as increased costs, both in funding and public confidence in its ability to implement and oversee programs intended to serve the public.

Additionally, BARDA is in the process of developing and launching the BDR System solution which is anticipated to be ready for use by March 2021. During the process of creation and launch, in addition to the unanticipated and immediate reallocation of resources to respond to a global pandemic, BARDA has encountered unanticipated delays in acquiring the necessary, underlying approvals for their internally-hosted solution which then led to delays in creating, testing, and deploying the replacement. In order to avoid a lapse in service, and mitigate risks associated with testing and deploying the new internally-hosted system, this contract will include the option for possible extension of 6 months beyond the initial 12 month base period; however, HHS estimates that only the initial period will be used.

The required services are complex and require a transition period to any new contractor to ensure that staff are cleared by HHS security and oriented to daily operations. The incumbent contractor has specialized skills in the performance of the work that cannot be transferred to a new contractor without an extensive transition period. Soliciting an interim contractor would result in substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition and the potential for unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements, given the mission critical nature of the work required.

g. Statement of Actions:

This sole source is anticipated to be awarded in September of 2020. A subsequent competitive acquisition will commence once the sole source is awarded. The TO award resulting from that competitive acquisition is targeted to occur in May of 2021.

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h. Certification by Technical or Requirements Personnel:

I hereby certify that the supporting data is accurate and complete.

Kelsey Davis Date

Acquisition Project Manager

The COR Technical and Requirements Personnel assertion is provided as an Attachment.

i. Signature of Authorized Officials:

I hereby certify that the Justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief, and I determine on the basis of the findings above that the exception to fair opportunity is in accordance with the requirements, and is in the best interest of the Government.

Brendan Miller Date

Contracting Officer

FEDSIM Acquisition, Civilian

I hereby certify that the Justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief, and I determine on the basis of the findings above that the exception to fair opportunity is in accordance with the requirements, and is in the best interest of the Government.

Pete Burr Date

Competition Advocate

DocuSign Envelope ID: CE2295EC-53D9-4298-921C-B553D67E8A4B

7/21/2020

7/22/2020