NCATS_ Environment JA_Redacted.pdf

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition

“Source Selection Information – see FAR 2.101 and 3.104”

1. Identification of the agency and contracting activity.

a. Federal agency and contracting activity.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Office of Acquisition (OA)

b. Sponsoring organization.

Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)

c. Project Officer information.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

a. Purpose and objectives.

The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) intends to award a contract on a sole-source basis to Palantir Technologies, Inc. to provide continued support for the NCATS Secure Scientific Platform Environment (the “Environment”).

Award of this contract without providing for full and open competition (see FAR 5.001 and Subpart 6.3) requires justification and approval in accordance with FAR Subpart 6.3.

b. Description

The Environment is a specialized cloud-based data aggregation and analytics enclave that can integrate, manage, secure, and analyze any kind of scientific data, and provide secure, controlled access to internal and external collaborators.

Within the Environment, multiple NIH ICs, Federal agencies, and Federal task forces integrate, manage, secure, and analyze all types of scientific data using dedicated platforms, and, equally important, make that data available in specific and controlled collaborations with each other and with external collaborators.

The Environment is a mission-critical data management and analysis environment. The Environment uses Palantir Technology' Inc.'s platform-as-a-service as the basic operating system for the Environment. The platform-as-a-service addresses the fundamental information security principles of confidentiality, integrity, and availability as described by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Support for the Environment is provided via task orders to a contractor under a single-award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract. The current contract, 75N95021D00029, was awarded on a sole source basis in 2020, has reached its ordering limit, and all task orders as well as the ordering period expire on September 27, 2022.

c. Contractual background.

Contractual support consists of providing a commercial cloud-based software-as-a-service (to include the cloud hosting for that service) and related direct engineering and technical support for the software. This support is provided via a single-award IDIQ, with task orders awarded to support three task areas – NCATS, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a multi-agency international AIDS relief program).

The Environment currently uses Palantir Technologies, Inc.’s Gotham platform configured with the Palantir Foundry platform to support data aggregation, which provides a secure, cloud-based platform-as-a-service.

Since its inception, users of the Environment have integrated hundreds of live intramural and third-party data sources in support of dozens of ongoing, critical scientific projects that rely on continuous access, data, and analyses within the Platform.

The Environment was piloted as an IDIQ in 2018, with award to Palantir Technologies, Inc. after full and open competition. The initial three task orders supported NCATS, NCI, and PEPFAR. The National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) Data Enclave was stood up as an additional task order in May 2020 near the beginning of the COVID emergency.

The 2018 contract expired September 2020. The current IDIQ contract was awarded on a sole-source basis on September 28, 2020, to Palantir Technologies. The contract has an ordering period of one year and an ordering ceiling of $36 million. Six task orders were awarded to support NCATS, NCI, PEPFAR, and N3C with a combined obligation of $35.1 million. Pursuant to a Justification and Approval (J&A) dated September 20, 2021, the ceiling was increased to $60 million, and the ordering period extended by one year to September 27, 2022. Task orders were awarded to support NCATS, NCI, and PEPFAR through September 27, 2022. A contract for N3C support was separately awarded to Palantir pursuant to

COVID emergency authority.

A replacement contract to support all efforts must be in place by September 28, 2022.

3. Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value).

a. Project title. NCATS Secure Scientific Platforms Environment Support

b. Project description.

This contract will allow task orders to be awarded to provide secure scientific platform environments to support NCATS, NCI, and PEPFAR.

Requirement type.

Research & development (R&D) R & D support services Support services (non-R&D) Supplies/equipment

X Information technology (IT) Construction Architect-engineer (A & E) services Design-build Other (specify):

Type of action.

New requirement

X Follow-on

Proposed contract/order type.

Firm-fixed-price Other fixed-price (specify, e.g., fixed-price award-fee, fixed-price incentive-fee):

Cost-plus-fixed-fee Other cost reimbursement (specify, e.g., cost-plus-award-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee):

Time and materials

X Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity

Completion Form Term form

Acquisition identification number

Solicitation number 75N95022R00089

Total estimated dollar value and performance/delivery period.

The contract will be an IDIQ contract with a minimum ordering limit of $1,000.00, and a maximum ordering limit of $65 million. The estimated ordering period is from September 28, 2022, to September 27, 2025.

The Independent Government Cost Estimate (ICGE) is based on NCATS historical experience with the cost of task orders for this work.

4. Identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

X This acquisition is conducted under the authority of 41 United States

Code (U.S.C.) 3304(a)(1) as set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1.

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of section 4202 of the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996.

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Services Acquisition Reform Act of 2003 (41 U.S.C. 428a).

5. Demonstration that the proposed contractor(s) unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

a. Name and address of the proposed contractor(s).

Palantir Technologies, Inc. 1555 Blake St, Ste 250 Denver, CO 80202-1866

b. Nature of the acquisition and proposed unique qualifications of the contractor(s).

This new IDIQ contract will allow task orders to support three of the instances within the Environment described in paragraph 2.c. above – the NIDAP-NCATS instance, the NIDAP-NCI instance, and PEPFAR – along with other secure platform requirements. Palantir Technologies, Inc. is uniquely qualified to provide the services, for the following reasons:

1. Palantir provides the unique capability to provide the Environment as an integrated commercial service.

The Environment is a specialized cloud-based data aggregation and analytics enclave that can integrate, manage, secure, and analyze any kind of scientific data, and provide secure, controlled access to internal and external collaborators. The Environment is established within the Palantir Platform configured with Foundry, Palantir’s commercial platform-as-a-service.

Users of the Environment (NCATS, NCI, and PEPFAR staff) work within the Environment to design, develop, and execute the collaborations and workflows that allow them to integrate and analyze their data. Palantir experts provide technical support and training to support the users. This ongoing support at the technical level has synergistically developed user expertise in using the Environment and Palantir expertise in supporting the data requirements of biomedical researchers.

The Environment dovetails with NCATS’ comprehensive data management plan. NCATS applies FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles in which balancing practical concerns centered on MOST (Maintainable, Observable, Securable, and Temporal) is critical.

This is even more applicable when developing a modern data mesh infrastructure that requires distinct domains that do not necessarily share ontologies or data structures, but that need to have their data be able to be programmatically combined to enable cutting edge multidisciplinary research. Therefore, to enable this next-generation multi-disciplinary work, the desired data management plan will describe a modern data mesh architecture that combines MOST-FAIR criteria to create an actionable data ecosystem for all the researchers in and external to NIH.

Within the Environment, multiple NIH ICs, Federal agencies, and Federal task forces integrate, manage, secure, and analyze all types of scientific data using dedicated platforms, and, equally important, make that data available in specific and controlled collaborations with each other and with external collaborators.

Palantir is the only commercial platform-as-a-service that NCATS has identified that can provide these functions within its software platform and as a complete package, without the need for custom programming. These functions include:

anonymization of data;

chemical reaction curation dashboards;

data visualizations;

ability to maintain data and scientific provenance and reproducibility of all integrated data sources;

ability to perform advanced analytics and informatics in the user’s preferred coding language;

While much of NCATS work is collaborative, not all collaborators share all their data in any particular collaboration. Collaborators require fine-grained control and accountability over individual data elements, so that they can share only the data they wish to share and restrict visibility of other data.

The Palantir platform provides granular security controls that provide authentication, authorization, access control, encryption, and audit logging at the data level, not just at the platform level.

2. The incumbent has developed unique insights into the data challenges of these users that will be difficult to replicate within a reasonable period of time.

In supporting the Government users, Palantir has administered the Environment to NCATS’ specifications and is intimately familiar with the data that users are integrating, managing, securing, and analyzing. Palantir has supported NCATS, NCI, and PEPFAR users for five years as the users iteratively developed their extensive array of workflows and collaborations, and in doing so has become uniquely familiar with NCATS’ scientific requirements in a way that no other contractor possesses.

The platform is a foundation upon which these organizations have built an entire data ecosystem, from the tools deployed to the support and training required around the use of those tools. These respective ecosystems have since thrived for several years, and any transition to another environment would require a complete rebuild from the ground up, disrupting hundreds of users and putting the continuity of science at risk for multiple ongoing projects.

3. This is the continuation of a program for which Palantir was the only vendor capable of meeting all NIH requirements.

This requirement was originally solicited in 2018 and subject to a full and open competition, with multiple vendors responding. Palantir Technologies’ offer was determined to be the only fully technically acceptable proposal and was determined to be the most advantageous to the Government. The Government determined that each of the other offers would have had to propose a new solution in order to satisfy the Government's requirements.

Market research in subsequent years has not identified a capable commercial platform that meets NCATS’ requirements. NCATS continuously monitors the marketplace through communications with industry, attendance at conferences, trade publications and fora, and consultation with subject matter experts. NCATS has not found a secure platform environment capable of meeting its needs.

As part of market research to support the ceiling increase and extension of the ordering period in September 2021, the Government issued a sources sought notice on 7/21/2021. No responses were received other than from the incumbent.

On 5/18/2022 a special notice was published on SAM.gov. No responses were received.

On 6/23/2022, a small business sources sought was posted to SAM.gov.

No timely responses were received in connection with this notice. There was one capability statement received after the deadline whereby the vendor was deemed incapable of supporting this requirement.

A notice of intent was posted to SAM.gov on 08/02/2022 with a closing date of 08/08/2022. No responses were received.

4. Competing this requirement would result in unacceptable delays and duplication of cost in transition.

NCATS’ requirements are continuous and ongoing. Transition to a new contractor would result in substantial duplication of cost to the Government, and lapse of the current task orders during transition to a new contract would pose unacceptable delay consistent with FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii). An incoming contractor would have to study the data structures, security, user access, workflows, and all other aspects of the existing Environment;

provide a secure, cloud-based, FedRAMP authorized environment; obtain an Authorization to Operate (ATO) for its specific implementation; develop a transition-in plan; and replicate the workflows, all while ensuring that access to the Environment continues uninterrupted.

NCATS, NCI, and PEPFAR users have used this system for five years and have developed extensive workflows, collaborations, and expertise.

Government users have developed expertise in using the platform to accomplish their work. Replication of this work and training the Government’s scientific users on a new platform would amount to a new investment in technology and training. Implementation would require a complex transition that could take years. To ensure continuity of science would require implementation of a parallel system before changeover, with the associated duplication of effort and cost.

6. Description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable. Indicate whether a SAM.gov Contract Opportunities notice was or will be publicized as required by FAR Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under FAR 5.202 applies.

This opportunity was advertised three times on SAM.gov Contract Opportunities between May and August 2022.

A special notice, including the full SOW, was published on 5/18/2022.

A small business sources sought was published on 6/23/2022. One party submitted a response on 8/15/2022, six weeks after the close of the notice. The capability statement was evaluated, and the vendor deemed incapable of supporting this requirement, as discussed in Section 10 below.

A Notice of Intent (NOI) was posted to SAM.gov on 08/02/2022. No responses were received.

7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost/price to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The contracting officer will confirm that the pricing is fair and reasonable based on the requirements of this acquisition, the ICGE, any additional cost due to inflation, and other available information such as comparison to the vendor’s prices provided via its GSA schedule contracts.

8. Description of the market research conducted (see FAR Part 10) and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted.

In accordance with FAR 10.001(a), the Government conducted market research appropriate to the circumstances.

Discussed this requirement with the NCATS office to determine market capabilities and potential vendors.

NCATS continuously monitors the marketplace through communications with industry, attendance at conferences, trade publications and fora, and consultation with subject matter experts.

Searched the Interagency Contract Directory using multiple relevant keywords.

Reviewed catalogs and literature of vendors in the field of cloud-based data aggregation.

Searched relevant keywords in FPDS.

Searched SBA.gov using NAICS and relevant keywords.

Searched GSA using relevant keywords.

A special notice was posted to SAM.gov on 5/18/2022. No responses were received.

A small business sources sought was posted on SAM.gov on 6/23/2022. No timely responses were received. There was one untimely response that was determined incapable of supporting this requirement; see Section 10 below.

A Notice of Intent was posted to SAM.gov on 8/02/2022. No responses were received.

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

In addition to the current use of the Environment described above, the availability of a tested, approved, secure operational environment provides a valuable resource that can be tapped immediately in the event of a public health emergency while the Government’s full response is developed.

10. Listing of sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

Small Business Sources Sought notice no. 75N95C22R00056 was posted to SAM.gov Contract Opportunities on 6/23/2022. The notice included the NCATS Secure Platforms statement of work (SOW) and required that interested parties reply by July 2, 2022. No responses were received by the due date.

Interested parties were to provide the following information in outline form:

“Respondents must provide a capability statement that provides information regarding respondents’: (a) staff expertise, including their availability, experience, and formal and other training; (b) current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work; (c) prior completed projects of similar nature; (d) corporate experience and management capability; and (e) examples of prior completed Government contracts, references, and other related information.”

Respondent submitted its response on August 15, 2022. Its response consisted of a cover letter, three examples of past performance, a generic overview of its services, and a page showing a current SAM.gov registration. Its response did not address any elements of the SOW. It claimed organizational experience providing general IT services and products, but (a) did not identify any particular staff expertise related to the SOW; (b) did not discuss in-house capability and capacity related to the SOW; (c) the database project offered as a project of a similar nature was not in fact comparable to the secure platforms environment described in the SOW and the technical requirements document provided with the SOW; (d) presented corporate experience but did not relate it to the requirements of the SOW or NCATS; (e) provided three examples of federal government contracts (two of which were related to the same requirement) but did not relate them to the SOW, nor is it evident from the description.

11. Statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the required supplies or services.

The significant barrier to competition for this requirement is the inescapable complexity of the data, the complex data use requirements of the users, and the wide variety of data types and sheer quantity of data involved. This cannot be simplified, nor can compliance with the extensive security requirements of FISMA.

NCATS can avoid (and has avoided) unnecessarily restrictive statements of work and unnecessarily detailed specifications that would inhibit competition. NCATS adheres as closely as possible to the commercial marketplace for these services while observing the unique requirements of the Government, in accordance with FAR Part 12.

NCATS has taken measures throughout this engagement to prevent contractor technical lock-in due to proprietary restrictions (e.g., restrictive licensing, trade secrets, proprietary file formats or communications protocols, etc.). NCATS has ensured that these services be provided using an open data architecture, where data always remains under the full control of NCATS and can be easily exported in open, non-proprietary data formats. Additionally, the base Palantir platform is a commercial product governed by a commercial software license. Programming performed by NCATS remains the property of NCATS.

NCATS will continue to monitor the commercial marketplace to identify products and services that may contribute to meeting this requirement in the future. To introduce competition into the subsequent acquisition in 2025, the Government will have to allow a substantial lead time and engage with industry via requests for information, industry days, and presolicitation conferences in order to ensure that potential offerors are fully familiar with this complex requirement.

12. Program office certification.

This is to certify that the portions of this justification that have been developed by the undersigned program office personnel, including supporting information and/or data verifying the Government’s minimum needs, schedule requirements and other rationale for other than full and open competition, are accurate and complete.

13. Contracting Officer certification.

This is to certify that the justification for the proposed acquisition has been reviewed and that to the best of my knowledge and belief the information and/or data provided to support the rationale and recommendation for approval is accurate and complete.