M04 Justifications and Approval Redacted.pdf

(FAR) 6.302-2, “Unusual and compelling urgency.” Specifically, as implemented at FAR 6.302-2(a)(2), “When the agency’s need for the supplies or services is of such an unusual and compelling urgency that the Government would be seriously injured unless the agency is permitted to limit the number of sources from which it solicits bids or proposals, full and open competition need not be provided for.” Further, as required by 10 U.S.C. 2304(l) as implemented by FAR 6.305, the approved justification will be publicly available at the Government Point of Entry

(GPE) www.sam.gov within 14 days after award.

REASON FOR AUTHORITY CITED: DoD customers' usage of the data mining vehicle during ordering period four has consumed much of the ceiling. Of the IDIQ ceiling amount only , remains;

if the upcoming Data Mining task orders are awarded as estimated, the IDIQ ceiling will be breached. The ceiling increase is urgently needed to accommodate all orders that may be executed over the next nine months. The need to increase the maximum ceiling of the Data Mining IDIQ contract is a pressing interim solution until the anticipated award of the follow-on Data Mining IDIQ contract in FY25.

To avoid a break in services, WHS/AD plans to exercise the 6-month option under FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend

Services to extend the current ordering period beyond December 10, 2024, using FAR 6.302-2 "Unusual and compelling urgency." authority. Market research and discussions with the customers did not result in credible sources other than the current Data Mining IDIQ contract holder that could support the anticipated in-house FY2024 task order request requirements.

An unusual and compelling urgency precludes full and open competition. WHS/AD has various task order requirements in-house worth approximately in expiring Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 funds that must be awarded by

September 30, 2024. These task orders contribute to over 20% of the ceiling increase and these requests have no other timely acquisition pathways. The potential loss of approximately in expiring FY2024 funds is a significant risk if a bridge contract is not executed in time.

A delay in the ceiling increase will result in serious injury, financial or otherwise, to the Government. The Data

Mining Contract is of utmost importance for critical acquisition missions. It provides essential capabilities, including counter-threat finance analysis by the Security Assistance Group - Ukraine (SAG-U), Naval surface ship acquisition, including the digital mapping of common parts used across hulls, parts pricing analysis, weapons system readiness analyses, diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages avoidance. The data accessed via the SaaS platform is necessary to help prevent schedule delays and cost overruns in Defense Acquisition Programs by using advanced analytics and analysis to provide predictive capabilities for program managers. Without data mining capabilities, defense acquisition program managers will not be able to map and monitor elements of the

Defense Industrial Base that are important to their programs, including mapping individual components to weapon systems, suppliers of those components, and the components' supply chains.

The time to perform market analysis, such as identifying recipients of funding, funding offices, and historical spending trends, will triple in comparison to the time savings enabled by the SaaS platform. Integrated Portfolio

Analysis of DoD investments to determine actual business cost, opportunities for savings, return on investment, and opportunities to increase DoD buying power will become manpower-intensive and unable to be completed at the speed of relevance without the capabilities access via the Data Mining IDIQ. Without maintaining the current support services under the current IDIQ, the price and risk to the Government increases daily. A lapse in service would threaten the mission of the various organizations utilizing this IDIQ.

The requirement at DFARS PGI 206.303-2 (d) is not applicable. DFARS 206.302-1(d) requires that the “procedures

[be followed] at PGI 206.302-1 (d) prior to soliciting a proposal without providing for full and open competition under this authority.” This increase to the IDIQ ceiling will not require a solicitation for proposals.

5. EFFORTS TO OBTAIN COMPETITION: As previously noted in Section 4 above, per FAR 6.302-1(a)(2), “When the supplies or services required by the agency are available from only one responsible source, or, for DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard, from only one or a limited number of responsible sources, and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, full and open competition need not be provided for.” A notice of the proposed contract action to increase the ceiling was published, in accordance with FAR 6.302-1(d)(2), on

SAM.gov on August 23, 2024 for seven days, as required by FAR 5.201(b)(1)(ii). No responses were received as a result of this announcement. Further, the reviews and discussions with the customers and other contracting colleagues did not result in credible sources other than the current Data Mining IDIQ contract holder who can support the anticipated tasks.

7. FAIR AND REASONABLE COST DETERMINATION: The Contracting Officer determines that the anticipated increase in ceiling price for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. The techniques identified at

FAR 15.404-1(b)(2) will be used to ensure new task orders and task order modifications are awarded at fair and reasonable prices. All modifications to extend services will utilize the pre-negotiated schedule pricing which was established with the current IDIQ vehicle was awarded. Certified Cost and Pricing Data will not be obtained.

8. MARKET RESEARCH: The ceiling increase is based on a determination that the IDIQ holder is the only responsible source to perform the Data Mining SaaS requirements as it is the only current source that have all the expertise required by the Government. The IDIQ Market Research Report was updated on July 20, 2024. The negotiated price per license has remained constant from the base award IDIQ to the current option. Furthermore, Govini’s pricing on similar licenses under GSA MAS 47QTCA23D0063 shows per license, which is only above the IDIQ pricing. Prices are current and in accordance with the negotiated and agreed upon rates that included review of strategic source vehicles/alternate procurement vehicles, prime contractor’s performance, open market consideration, and small business compliance. The negotiated price per license has remained constant from the base award IDIQ to the current option.

9. OTHER FACTS: This ceiling increase of covers task orders anticipated to be issued throughout the remaining IDIQ period of performance. The work included is time sensitive and critical to DoD’s mission.

Furthermore, a re-compete effort for a follow-on contract is ongoing and will be awarded in 2025.

The current contractor, Poplicus Incorporated (dba Govini), provides unique and unparalleled capabilities and resources that are unavailable from any other contractor in the timeframe needed. Although other firms may have the resources and capabilities to meet the required technical services, none are capable of doing so within the short time period required, which would also result in the loss of expiring FY2024 funds.

The Data Mining Software-as-a-Service Platform with Data and Analytics Solutions IDIQ holder, Govini, plays a critical role as the only contractor that can satisfy the agency's minimum needs of providing uninterrupted Data

Mining Software-as-a-Service Platform with Data and Analytics without further competition. Govini is the only contractor that can continue to provide these services with no interruption or degradation to services during the on-going acquisition process for the follow-on contract.

10. INTERESTED SOURCES: To date, no other sources have expressed the ability or interest to satisfy the requirements of this acquisition. The discussion in Section 6 detailed efforts performed to obtain competition, and

WHS AD gauged industry interest and capabilities.