Limited Source Justification _Redacted.pdf

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

OFFICE OF FINANCE AND OPERATIONS

OFFICE OF ACQUISITION, GRANTS, AND RISK MANAGEMENT

LIMITED SOURCES JUSTIFICATION

ORDER >SAT

FAR PART 8.405 6

Acquisition Plan Action ID: 1345

(1) Contracting Activity: This justification was prepared by the U.S. Department of Education (Department), Contracts and Acquisitions Management (CAM), for the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) in located at 400 S.W. Maryland Ave., Washington D.C., 20202.

(2) Description of Action: This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Multiple Award Schedule Program (41 U.S.C. 152(3) and 40 U.S.C. 501). The proposed action is to award an interim sole source order for three months with, three, one month options. The total length of the interim order to include the 52.217 8 Option to Extend Services is 12 months. This action is being completed to provide enough time for the Department to take corrective action in response to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims award protest case No. 23 2097. This is a protest of award 91990020A0042 91990023F0378, made by the Department on September 27, 2023, to The Manhattan Strategy Group, Inc. (MSG). MSG is the incumbent contractor for the requirement. The same work needs to be performed by MSG to avoid a break in service. The work is highly technical in nature and critical to the Department.

Services under this action will be provided by issuance of a new order to MSG utilizing Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) 91990020A0042. Services include, administrative, logistical, and/or technical support to provide website maintenance, program monitoring activities and technical assistance. These services have been determined to be critical to the Department and an urgent and compelling needs exists for these services to remain continuous and uninterrupted.

Following the competitive ordering procedures at FAR Part 8.405 3(c)(iii) will result in unacceptable delays. It is imperative that there are no interruptions in the services supporting the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (NCELA). MSG is the only contractor that can provide the uninterrupted services the Department has deemed critical within the required timeframe that the Departments needs for the 91990020A0042 91990023F0378 corrective action.

Order against: BPA Contract Number: 91990020A0042

Name of Proposed Contractor: The Manhattan Strategy Group Unique Entity Identification (UEI): FZY1AQAZ25D7 Street Address: 420 LEXINGTON AVE RM 300 City, State, Zip: NEW YORK, NY 10017 4155 Phone: 301 828 1515

(3) Description of Supplies or Services:

The estimated value of the proposed action is

This requirement serves the Department's NCELA program, managed by OELA, which supports English Language Acquisition and Language Instruction Educational Programs. Section 3202 of Title III of the ESEA establishes a National Clearinghouse to aid state and local implementation of Title III by providing centralized information for educating English Learners (ELs). The clearinghouse aims to enhance a state's capacity to assist districts and schools in improving EL student performance, language instruction programs, and English proficiency and academic achievement, fulfilling mandated responsibilities under Title III of the ESEA.

Aligned with OELA's administration, NCELA performs essential functions, including collecting, analyzing, synthesizing, and disseminating information on language instruction programs for ELs, educational research on EL education, EL related accountability systems, and Title III grant recipients. This requirement involves contractor support for NCELA's website maintenance, knowledge management system enhancements, program monitoring, technical assistance activities, and development and dissemination of tools and resources for English learners.

The services will be provided under a three month basic period of performance with three, one month options as described in the table below. The order will include the clause FAR

52.217 8 Option to Extend Services which would make the total period of performance available under the order being 12 months.

(4) Identify the Authority and Supporting Rationale (see below and if applicable, a demonstration of the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications to provide the required supply or service.

FAR 8.405 6(a)(1)(i)(A): An urgent and compelling need exists and following the ordering procedures would result in unacceptable delays. The Department is facing critical timelines and must act swiftly to ensure vital services are not disrupted. Utilizing our internal Education Grants Management Support Services (EDGMSS) Multiple Award Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) is essential to expedite our competitive acquisition efforts. However, even with this streamlined approach, the standard 90 day timeframe for completion is untenable given the pressing nature of our requirements.

The repercussions of delay would be severe and far reaching, directly impacting our ability to fulfill mandated responsibilities under Section 3202 of Title III of the Every Student Succeeds

Act (ESSA). Our ability to serve English Learner (EL) stakeholders, provide technical assistance, and administer grants hangs in the balance. Moreover, critical initiatives such as Secretary Cardona's Raise the Bar: Pathways to Multilingualism for All would be significantly impeded.

Furthermore, any interruption in our Information Technology (IT) support services, particularly those provided by the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (NCELA), would have devastating consequences. The NCELA website serves as a vital resource for educators and the millions of students with limited English proficiency and their families. A lapse in these services could result in the loss of invaluable data, compromise cybersecurity measures, and leave our systems vulnerable to malicious attacks.

In light of these urgent circumstances, it is imperative that Department take immediate action to ensure continuity of services. MSG stands as the only reliable source capable of providing uninterrupted support within our required timeframe. Failure to take action now would not only jeopardize our ability to meet statutory obligations but also incur significant costs to taxpayers. A new vendor would not be able to obtain the appropriate clearances and bring its staff up to speed to meet the requirements and would cause further delay.

Therefore, it is the Department’s priority to award this interim order to maintain the integrity of the Department’s operations and safeguard the interests of the Government and the public alike. The requested interim order is the only option for the Department to continue NCELA’s availability. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the Government to award this order.

(5) Describe Why You Believe the Order Represents the Best Value consistent with FAR 8.404(d).

There is sufficient historical data and current pricing data for similar efforts. Based on the availability of this data and the Department’s knowledge of the program, the Contracting Officer is confident that the resulting order will be a fair and reasonable price. Although GSA has already negotiated fair and reasonable pricing, additional discounts will be sought in the request for quote. Therefore, the Contracting Officer determines that the anticipated price(s) will be fair and reasonable based on the proposed price evaluation against the Independent Government Estimate (IGE) and BPA’s schedule pricing.

(6) Describe the Market Research Conducted among schedule holders and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

Market research was conducted at the beginning of the procurement process that resulted in the publishing of Request for Quote (RFQ) 91990023Q0061 on or about July 12, 2023.

In accordance with FAR 10.002(b)(1), market research having recently been completed and is still applicable to this proposed action indicates that the competitive ordering procedures at FAR Part 8.405 3(c)(iii) will result in unacceptable delays. There is only one source can provide these services based on the market research which is the incumbent contractor MSG within the

SIGNATURE DATE

NAME

SIGNATURE DATE

NAME

Procuring Activity Competition Advocate

Finale M. Uptegrow

04/08/2024