JOFOC_No_JAFY18J04_(NNA13AC87C)_REDACTED.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center (ARC) Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC)

[FAR 5 2 and 6 303-2(b)(1)]

Summary Information:

Initiating Office:

NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) Engineering Directorate (Code R)

Contracting Activity: NASA Ames Research Center JOFOC Number: JA-FY18-J04 Purchase Request No.: To Be Provided Procurement Title: Project and Engineering Support Services (PESS) Total Estimated Value*:

FOIA Ex. 5

*The current contract ceiling value is FOIA Ex. 5 and includes Phase-in FOIA Ex. 5, Core FOIA Ex. 5, and CPFF IDIQ FOIA Ex. 5. It is anticipated that by the end of the current period of performance, the CPFF Core value will be almost fully utilized and will need to be increased by approximately FOIA Ex. 5.

The total estimated value of all executed task orders under this contract at the end of the extension, authorized under this JOFOC, is approximately FOIA Ex. 5. Therefore, the current maximum IDIQ value of FOIA Ex. 5 is sufficient to accommodate all future work planned under the IDIQ.

Extended Period of Performance:

October 1, 2018 – March 31, 2020; this includes a 12 month base period, and six (6) one-month option periods.

Statutory Authority: 10 USC 2304(c)(1), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements

This justification for other than full and open competition (JOFOC) has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303 and NASA FAR Supplement (NFS) 1806.303.

Detailed Information:

A. Nature and/or description of the action being approved. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(2)]

NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) proposes to negotiate a sole source contract modification with Millennium Engineering and Integration Services (MEI), located at 1400 Crystal Drive Suite 800, Arlington, VA 22202, to extend the current period of performance for contract number NNA13AC87C, Project and Engineering Support Services (PESS), for up to eighteen months. The period of performance (POP) of the CPFF Core and ordering

JOFOC Number JA‐FY18‐J04 period of the CPFF IDIQ is to be extended. The CPFF Core is to be increased by FOIA Ex. 5. The purpose of the extension is to provide on-going engineering support services for mission critical requirements at NASA pending completion of a competitive follow-on procurement, PESS II. The extended period of performance would consist of a one year base period, and six (6) one-month option periods and would extend the period of performance from October 01, 2018 through March 31, 2020, if all options are exercised.

NASA ARC conducted a competitive procurement that resulted in the award of the contract on September 11, 2013 with a period of performance of October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2018 (after exercising all of the options). The PESS performance period has not been extended previously; this is the first request for an extension to increase scope and period of performance.

Procurement efforts for a follow-on to the PESS contract began in February 2017. This JOFOC documents the basis and authorities to increase the contract value and enter into an extension period for a maximum of eighteen months. This extension will allow time to complete the competitive procurement for the PESS II procurement, which includes the solicitation, source selection, contract award, debriefings, and preparation for phase-in/phase-out.

ARC has prepared a Request for Deviation that is being routed to NASA Headquarters requesting approval from the Associate Administrator for Procurement to extend the PESS contract beyond its original five-year period of performance.

B. Description of the supplies or services required to meet the Agency’s needs, including an estimated value. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(2)]

The purpose of this JOFOC is to increase the contract value and extend the period of performance of the current PESS contract for a maximum period of eighteen months, pending completion of competitive procurement for the PESS II procurement.

The PESS contract provides important engineering support to ARC in the following areas:

• Technical Task Support

• Project Management and Support

• Mission Design R&D, Pre-Phase A and Phase A:

Mission Design Tools and Capabilities Technology Incubators Proposal Development

• Engineering Systems (Some R&D, and Phases B, C and D):

Integrated Engineering Services (Systems, Mechanical, Electrical, Avionics, Bio-, and Thermal Engineering)

• Advanced Manufacturing, Testing, and Operations: (Some Pre-Phase A, and Phases C, D and E):

Fabrication and HW Prototyping Services Engineering Evaluation Laboratory (EEL) and the Flight Processing Center (FPC) Integration and Test Services Multi-Mission Operations Center (MMOC)

The PESS contract provides support services to NASA ARC for all flight and mission projects, and all advanced engineering capabilities needed to support the research and development (R&D) mission of the Center. For flight and mission projects the PESS contract will provide engineering support for all phases of engineering and project management in a project life cycle as defined in NASA Procedural Requirement (NPR) 7120.5.

The current estimated value of the original contract is FOIA Ex. 5 and includes Phase-in FOIA Ex. 5, CPFF Core FOIA Ex. 5, and CPFF IDIQ FOIA Ex. 5. The funded value of the Core to date is FOIA Ex. 5 and IDIQ task orders issued to date is FOIA Ex. 5. It is anticipated that by the end of the current period of performance, the Core value will be almost fully utilized and the value of the IDIQ task orders will increase by FOIA Ex. 5 to a total of FOIA Ex. 5 for the entire five year period of performance.

It is anticipated that the value of the Core will need to be increased by FOIA Ex. 5;

FOIA Ex. 5 for the twelve month extension and FOIA Ex. 5 for each of the six (6) one month options; for continuation of the same core efforts during the eighteen month extension.

The Core consists of the Core Management Task, Core RM Production Planner and the Core Space Shop. The Government will negotiate the increase with the contractor. The total estimated cost for the eighteen month extension of the combined Core and IDIQ task orders is anticipated to be FOIA Ex. 5; FOIA Ex. 5 for Core and FOIA Ex. 5 for IDIQ. The Government’s total estimated contract costs from the award of the original contract through the proposed extended period, if all options were exercised, and all tasks were extended, is FOIA Ex. 5. The IGCE of both the Core and IDIQ for the extended period was based on historical costs and a review of labor, materials, and a technical review of the maximum value of continuing requirements for eighteen months of routine work.

C. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(4)]

The statutory authority for this contract extension is 10 USC 2304(c)(1), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

D. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(5)]

In accordance with FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii), for DoD, NASA and Coast Guard, services may be deemed to be available from the original source in the case of follow-on contracts for the continued provision of highly specialized services when it is likely that award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition, or unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements. Based on the rationale set forth below, MEI, the incumbent contractor is the only responsible source that can reasonably satisfy the scope of work required during the contact extension given the projected follow-on award schedule.

The potential eighteen-month extension to the current contract is necessary to provide continued coverage for the support projects currently underway pending completion of the competitive PESS II procurement. The standard acquisition lead time for a procurement of this size is estimated to take from eight months up to one year. If these requirements were acquired via a separate competition for a separate twelve-month contract rather than via the extension provided for herein, the result would be a substantial duplication of costs of several hundred thousand dollars to the Government that would not be recovered. This duplication of costs would include not only those costs associated with competing a separate procurement for the extension period, but also the costs associated with phase-in activities for the separate short-term contract, which would be necessary to ensure that the new, possibly different, contractor has proper knowledge of work requirements necessary to support PESS requirements. Again, these costs would be duplicative of costs that already will be incurred as part of the follow-on requirements anticipated for award in late May 2019. The remaining time of the twelve month extension is necessary to account for procurement delays associated with possible protests, as well as accounting for the 60 day phase-in to the follow-on contract.

Failure to extend the contract would also result in disruption of critical requirements which will continue to be performed under the PESS II contract. A gap in performance of these requirements would cause harmful consequences for ARC due to the impact not only on the work highlighted herein, but the day-to-day operations of the Center. Further, award of a separate short-term contract would generate unacceptable delay due to the unavoidable start-up and related learning curve that would be associated with a new contractor. The current PESS contractor, MEI, has the base of knowledge and experience with the systems of each ARC customer organization that are necessary to successfully perform the on-going PESS requirements. MEI has obtained management and corporate knowledge to provide PESS support to the various organizations. A separate competition and award, potentially to a different Contractor, for an eighteen-month period, would neither be feasible nor reasonable given the current and on-going competitive PESS II procurement.

A maximum eighteen-month extension to complete the PESS II competition, rather than a new procurement for the same period, is the only approach for NASA to take, such that it may continue to obtain the NASA ARC mission essential services provided by PESS in the most cost effective manner. This makes the incumbent the only responsible source that can reasonably satisfy the subject requirements pending completion of the competitive PESS II procurement.

The Government has determined that MEI is highly qualified to continue performance of this contract with ARC. MEI has supported many projects and technical organizations on the subject contract during the period of performance. MEI has repeatedly and consistently provided the required critical skill sets for the projects and technical organizations and meets deliverables in a timely manner.

The System for Award Management (SAM) Exclusion Summary contains no active exclusion records for MEI. Their latest Contractor Performance Assessment Report (CPAR) ratings were mostly Exceptional with two ratings of Very Good.

E. Description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 5.2. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(6)]

On May 31, 2018, a synopsis was posted to the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website (fbo.gov) to inform the public of NASA’s intent to extend the period of performance on contract NNA13AC87C. The synopsis provided instructions for interested organizations to submit capabilities and qualifications to perform the effort to the Contracting Officer. The synopsis was posted for 14 days with a response date of June 14, 2018. The Government received no written capability statement submissions in response to the proposed action.

F. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(7)]

The Contracting Officer’s signature on this document indicates that the Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. The anticipated CPFF Core value may need to be increased by FOIA Ex. 5; FOIA Ex. 5 for the twelve month extension and FOIA Ex. 5 for each of the six (6) one month options. The anticipated CPFF IDIQ value for task orders is expected to increase by FOIA Ex. 5;

FOIA Ex. 5 for the twelve month extension and FOIA Ex. 5 for each of the six (6) one month options. Prior to execution of any new task orders under the contract, a proposal analysis will be performed in accordance with FAR 15.404. The proposal analysis will include cost evaluation techniques including historical costs to ensure that the final agreed-to costs for any task orders issued during the extension period are fair and reasonable. Pre-negotiation objectives will be prepared prior to the initiation of negotiations and will be approved in accordance with FAR 15.406 prior to the conduct of task order negotiations.

G. Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(8)]

ARC conducted market research in support of the decision to award this extension to MEI.

Based on the Contracting Officer’s Representative’s (COR) technical knowledge of the current PESS requirements, and for all of the other reasons stated herein, MEI is the sole responsible source able to fulfill the short-term PESS requirements.

Market research was performed in June 2018 and included an announcement on the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website. The purpose of the synopsis was to (1) notify industry of NASA’s intent to extend the contract on a sole source basis and (2) solicit information about interested sources that are capable of providing the required support during the extended period of performance. Interested organizations were requested to submit their capabilities and qualifications in writing. The Contracting Officer received no capability statements in response to the synopsis.

Additional research performed by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and the Contract Administrator included the techniques below. The purpose of the research was to determine whether or not there were sources capable of performing the above stated requirements for extended to NASA’s project and engineering support services. The research included a series of meetings with the Contracting Officer’s Representative and members of the Source Evaluation Board for PESS II to discuss the nature of the proposed contract extension. Based on those discussions, it was clear that while there are numerous firms in the industry, the scope of work required under the proposed extension modification can only be accomplished by the current contractor without creating substantial duplication of work efforts performed and cost incurred to date. The extension to the existing contract has shown that there is substantial competition for the follow-on competitive contract.

Other research included review of Government databases, to include the Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) and the NASA Vendor Database (NVD), revealed several firms that can provide various types of engineering support. However, only MEI would be able to perform the work without adversely impacting important schedules of work currently being performed on the contract.

Market research indicates that in accordance with FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii), MEI is the only responsible source that can provide the highly specialized services without substantial duplication of cost to the Government and unacceptable days in meeting agency requirements. There has been no significant interest in this proposed contract extension but there is an expectation that responses to the competitive solicitation for PESS II would result in offers from at least two or more responsive and responsible firms.

H. Other facts supporting the use of other than full and open completion. [FAR 6.303- 2(a)(9)]

Not Applicable.

I. Sources, if any that expressed an interest, in writing, in the acquisition. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(10)]

None.

J. The actions the Agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(11)]

ARC is currently in the process of conducting a follow-on competitive procurement – PESS II – the Draft Request for Proposal (RFP) is currently available at the Government Point of Entry (GPE) via the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website (www.fbo.gov). This sole source award of a potential eighteen-month extension to the PESS contract is necessary to provide additional time needed to complete the PESS II procurement and to provide continued support services. Since the number of qualified and interested contractors has been adequate for the competition of the PESS II requirements, there are no actions the agency needs to take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for these services.

For the foregoing reasons, MEI is clearly the only responsible source that can reasonably satisfy the continuing PESS requirements pending award and phase-in of the PESS II contract.