NECTEP TO 3 JOFOC 91990021F0368 05-15-24 (signed) - Redacted.pdf

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

OFFICE OF FINANCE AND OPERATIONS

OFFICE OF ACQUISITION, GRANTS, AND RISK MANAGEMENT

Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) Authority: FAR 6.302, 41 U.S.C.

(a) “Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) as implemented by FAR

6.3 and in accordance with the requirements by FAR 6.303-1, the justification for the use of the statutory authority under FAR 6.3 is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 6.303-2 as follows:

(b) JUSTIFICATION

(1) IDENTIFICATION OF THE AGENCY AND THE CONTRACTING ACTIVITY:

This justification was prepared by Contracts and Acquisitions Management (CAM) in the U.S.

Department of Education (Department).

(2) NATURE AND/OR DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION BEING APPROVED:

The purpose of this action is to extend the period of performance for Contract Number 91990021F0368, the National Evaluation of Career Technical Education under Perkins V (NECTEP), at no additional cost to the federal government. This evaluation is mandated by Congress under the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act of 2018 (Perkins V) legislation.

The modification is necessary to extend the period of performance because of the downstream effects of the coronavirus pandemic delay. The modification to extend the period of performance is necessary to adjust the remaining evaluation activities under this contract and complete a set of evaluation products for policymakers and key audiences.

The original plan was to administer a survey to all state directors of CTE and a nationally representative sample of district coordinators of CTE in 2021. However, due to the unusual and atypical circumstances stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, IES consulted with experts who recommended a delay in data collection by two years to 2023. The consensus was that it would be extremely challenging to administer a full survey in 2021 when compared to a typical school year due to the health emergency and stressors that states and districts were known to be facing.

Imposing a data collection with associated burden upon them during this time would not have yielded a high response rate or high-quality data aligned with IES standards. The lingering effects of the pandemic crisis placed significant demands on districts who are voluntary respondents to this contract’s surveys and other data collection on which this contract’s activities depend.

These challenges made data collection difficult or infeasible, and mean that data that are collected during this period are not representative of normal administration and delivery of educational services. As a result, the study had to wait for implementation to have sufficiently begun before collecting data.

These circumstances represent a delay that could not be reasonably anticipated. The contractor team now requires additional time to complete analysis and reporting. The additional time is necessary to ensure that the study’s resulting report and data file fully meet IES standards and are useful for policymakers and future research.

There are two tasks affected by the no-cost time extension:

Task 9: Data Analysis and Report Preparation. These deliverables have revised dates because of the additional time needed to complete data collection.

Task 10: Logistical Support for National Evaluation of Perkins Reports. These deliverables have revised dates because of the additional time needed to complete Task 9 noted above.

Extend the period of performance from 36 months to 54 months due to the above reasons:

Current period of performance: September 24, 2021, to September 23, 2024 (36 months)

Modified period of performance: September 24, 2021, to March 23, 2026 (54 months)

(3) DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES OR SERVICES REQUIRED TO MEET THE AGENCY’S NEEDS

Project Title: National Evaluation of Career and Technical Education under Perkins V

The primary goal of this project is to conduct a national evaluation of CTE, as required by Perkins V. In particular, the project is examining CTE implementation at the state and local levels through nationwide surveys of states and school districts.

(4) STATUTORY AUTHORITY PERMITTING OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION:

The FAR authority permitting acquisition of these services is FAR 6.302-2 - Unusual and Compelling Urgency.

(5) DEMONSTRATION THAT THE PROPOSED CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE

QUALIFICATIONS OR THE NATURE OF THE NATURE OF THE ACQUISITION

REQUIRES USE OF THE AUTHORITY CITED:

The contractor has been collecting data in fall 2023 through spring 2024, and the 18-month contract extension in the modification will allow time to analyze and report on the results. The Department has already provided the contractor with resources to do this work, but the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic – in particular, the many competing demands on respondents’ time as they continue to help students address learning loss and social/emotional and mental health needs as well as deal with staff shortages – mean that the contractor will require additional time to complete the work at no additional cost to the federal government.

The current contractor is also deeply and uniquely knowledgeable about the surveys they constructed and the complex statistical sampling techniques they designed. In addition, the current contractor’s expertise in policies and strategies related to Perkins V and state and district responses to funding priorities are critical to the successful completion of the remaining evaluation activities.

Therefore, it would not be practical to have another contractor with no existing knowledge or experience of the evaluation’s survey content or complex sampling techniques, nor would it be possible for another contractor which does not have the deep knowledge of the relevant policies and strategies perform the remaining data analysis and reporting activities. If we were to award the remaining data analysis and reporting activities to another contractor, the Department would pay for the costs of getting a new contractor familiar with the survey sample and content, the statistical sampling techniques, analysis plans, and reporting strategies. Those additional costs for which the modification is sought cannot be separated from the investment in the data collections already made by the Department.

It is therefore imperative that the period of performance is extended per the program office’s request. The 18-month contract extension in the modification will allow time to complete data analysis and reporting. The Department has already provided the contractor with resources to do this work, but the cumulative effects of the coronavirus pandemic means that the contractor will require additional time to complete the work. There are no additional costs.

To summarize, competing and making a new award for the data analysis and reporting rather than extending the period of performance for this existing contract would require a substantial duplication of efforts, resulting in additional costs to the Government.

(6) DESCRIPTION OF EFFORTS MADE TO ENSURE OFFERS ARE SOLICITED FROM

AS MANY POTENTIAL SOURCES AS PRACTICABLE:

In accordance with FAR 6.305(a), the Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) (a redacted version) will be published on the Business Opportunities (Sam.gov) within 14 calendar days after of the modification’s execution. Interested parties may provide comment at that time.

This contract was awarded through a full and open competition under authority set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 15 (Contracting by Negotiation) on behalf of the Department, as a Cost Plus Fixed-Fee contract.

(7) DETERMINATION BY CONTRACTING OFFICER THAT THE ANTICIPATED COST TO

THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE FAIR AND REASONABLE:

There are no added costs associated with this action.

(8) DESCRIPTION OF MARKET SURVEY AND RESULTS, OR STATEMENT WHY MARKET

SURVEY WAS NOT CONDUCTED:

The Department conducted extensive market research at time of award. This work is to be performed under the modification to the current contract. As stated previously, this modification builds on work already being conducted by the current contractor and procuring this work from a different contractor would create significant duplication of work, both in time as well as cost to the Government and cannot be separated from that current work.

(9) OTHER FACTS SUPPORTING THE USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND

OPEN COMPETITION:

Re-procurement of this contract also would unduly delay the work currently being performed, and data integration and analysis issues that would otherwise be avoided by continuing performance with the existing contractor. The Department might also incur substantially higher costs if required to reprocure the added work that is within scope of the existing requirement. The government’s investment in this contract is substantial, the government’s return on investment would be minimized if the work required a recompete and if the American Institutes for Research does not complete the work at this critical time in the development of new procedures that will provide required information in a timely and more cost-effective manner.

Evidence that any supporting data that is the responsibility of technical or requirements personnel (e.g., verifying the Government’s minimum needs or requirements or other rationale for limited sources) and which form a basis for the justification have been certified as complete and accurate by the technical or requirements personnel.

Program Office Certification:

This is to certify that the data supporting this justification is the responsibility of the program office personnel, including verifying the Government's minimum needs or schedule requirements or other rationale for limited sources (pursuant to 8.405-6) or for other than full and open competition justification (pursuant to 6.303-2(b)) which form a basis for this justification, and that such data and rationale are accurate and complete.

Date Contracting Officer’s Representative