P03 JA - Lean Agile Coaching - Snowbird Agility Inc - SDVOSB _CA Signed.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Office of Procurement, Acquisition and Logistics (OPAL)

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) 5202 Presidents Ct, Suite 103

Frederick, MD 21703

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(1) Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a "Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition."

This Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other Than Full and Open Competition is executed by the Strategic Acquisition Center – Frederick (SAC-F), on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Clinical Informatics and Data Management Office (CIDMO).

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

This activity proposes to negotiate a non-competitive award (sole-source) to a Service- Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), for the procurement of coaching and change management engagement with Clinical Informatics and Data Management Office (CIDMO), a division of VHA’s Office of Health Informatics (OHI). Led by CIDMO’s Lean Change Management Team (LCMT), this specific collaboration between the SDVOSB and CIDMO will facilitate CIDMO’s continued journey along the Scale Agile Framework (SAFe®) transformation roadmap.

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

The Contractor shall provide Lean Agile coaching and change management program implementation for non-IT management, administrative, and clinical processes. The Contractor shall be responsible for developing and delivering workshops and structured change management events on the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®). The Contractor shall assess and enhance CIDMO’s organizational agility and maturity, coach individuals and teams toward CIDMO’s line-of-sight to value and establish standards and best practices for agile value streams. The Contractor shall facilitate CIDMO’s ongoing transition to a continuous delivery model and adoption of an agile mindset. The Contractor shall monitor and communicate progress of agile teams' key metrics, track metrics to surface potential problems, and research emerging trends and practices. The Contractor shall collaborate with the enterprise program management office, develop ecosystem and business capability models, value stream, and customer journey maps to guide product teams in developing their minimum marketable and viable products and value propositions while driving business outcomes. The Contractor’s support to CIDMO will further include:

• Collaborating with CIDMO and other VA staff to monitor key initiatives and preparing reports that detail the progress of these initiatives.

• Participating in key CIDMO initiative-related stakeholder management to gain insight into each initiative's key stakeholders, requirements, status, risks, and issues.

• Providing support for key CIDMO stakeholder management, including creating stakeholder management agendas with guidance and input from CIDMO staff, creating and managing stakeholder management appointments, coordinating with attendees to ensure that the stakeholder management purpose, agenda, and related materials are clear and complete.

• Posting and maintaining relevant CIDMO initiative-related information on designated CIDMO Teams and SharePoint sites.

The period of performance is expected to be one-year and the estimated value for this requirement is $4,797,202.00.

(4) An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C.§ 253(c)(5) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.302-5 entitled, “Authorized or required by statute”. The applicable statute is Public Law 109- 461: “Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006” specifically, the “Veterans First Contracting Program” outlined in 38 USC § 8127(c).

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

Snowbird Agility, Inc. was identified by CIDMO as a capable SDVOSB, able to perform the requirements of the current Performance Work Statement. Snowbird Agility has successfully supported VA in similar efforts and has been determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance. They are registered and verified in SBA VetCert as a SDVOSB with the NAICS code 541330 for this requirement which, in accordance with Public Law 109-461 Section 502(c), meets the requirements of this statute to allow a sole source to a SDVOSB.

VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) 819.7008 states explicitly, “A determination that only one SDVOSB can meet the requirement is not required,” and that using this authority, the following must be verified:

1) The anticipated award price of the contract (including options) shall not exceed $5 Million.

• The estimated value for this one-year contract (there are no options) is $4,797,202.00.

2) The Justification prepared pursuant to FAR 6.302-5(c)(2)(ii) shall be posted in accordance with FAR subpart 5.301(d).

• This J&A will be posted on System for Award Management (SAM) Contract Opportunities within 14 days of award.

3) The SDVOSB concern has been determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance.

• Snowbird Agility is a registered Small Business Administration (SBA) Veteran certified SDVOSB. This was verified on 6/14/2024, and saved to the contracting file.

4) In the estimation of the Contracting Officer, contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers the best value to the Government.

• Historical prices along with market research for similar services shall assist with making a fair and reasonable price determination, prior to award.

5) The Contracting Officer has determined that the use of this authority is in the best interest of the Government based upon the fact that Snowbird Agility is technically capable to perform the work under this contract.

(6) A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies.

In accordance with 819.7008(b), the determination to make a sole source award to an SDVOSB is a business decision wholly within the discretion of the Contracting Officer;

therefore, the requirement to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable is not applicable to this procurement. In addition, 819.7008(c) further authorizes the Contracting Officer to make the award without first determining that only one SDVOSB source can meet the requirement. A notice of the proposed action was synopsized via the Government Point of Entry (GPE) in accordance with FAR Section 5.201, and the agency will make publicly available the justification required by 6.305(a) within 14 days after contract award. The notice of intent to sole source was published on SAM.gov on 7/25/2024, and closed on 7/30/2024, at 10:00 AM EST. The notice of intent to sole source resulted in one (1) response from potential offerors. The response was reviewed and the SDVOSB does not meet the size standard for NAICS code 541330.

(7) A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

No award shall be made until the Contracting Officer determines the cost to the Government to be fair and reasonable. This determination will be based on a comparison of current contract pricing, an Independent Government Cost Estimate, past proposal submissions (if available), and other information as made available.

https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-5#FAR_Subpart_5_2 https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-5#FAR_5_202

(8) A description of the market research conducted (see part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

The AbilityOne Services Procurement List was searched using the search terms “Lean Agile Coaching” and it returned no results. The Smal Business Administration (SBA) VetCert website was searched using NAICS code 541330 and produced 4,023 results.

The GSA eLibrary was searched using the terms “Lean-Agile Coaching and Change Management” and it returned no matches. The SBA Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) was searched using the terms “Lean-Agile Coaching” and it returned one (1) 8(a) business. The Federal Procurement Data Systems (FPDS) was searched using the terms “Lean-Agile Coaching and Change Management” and retuned no results.

Based on the information obtained from VetCert and SAM.gov, the Government verified that Snowbird Agility is an active SDVOSB. The select services are not readily available on an existing purchasing vehicle. In accordance with VAAR 819.7008(b), the determination to make a sole source award to an SDVOSB is a business decision wholly within the discretion of the contracting officer; therefore, the requirement to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable is not applicable to this procurement. In addition, VAAR 819.7008(c) further authorizes the contracting officer to make the award without first determining that only one SDVOSB source can meet the requirement.

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

The Contracting Officer has determined that this proposed action meets all the requirements of 38 U.S.C. 8127(c). This acquisition is below the $5,000,000.00 threshold, Snowbird Agility is a responsible SDVOSB for performance of the services described herein, and the proposed contract can be awarded at a fair and reasonable price.

(10) A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

VetsEZ – SDVOSB

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

The use of Public Law 109-461, Section 502(c) should not be viewed as a barrier to competition, rather the fulfillment of the VA’s commitment to supporting SDVOSB’s through the Veterans First Contracting Act. The program office will, however, continue to complete thorough market research to identify capable SDVOSBs to promote future competition. It is anticipated that the use of the Integrated Health Transformation (IHT)

2.0 IDIQ will be an appropriate contract vehicle during the next period of performance and will be competed among SDVOSB vendors.

(12) Certification/Signatures

I certify that the foregoing justification is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Teresa Wilhelm Date:

Contracting Officer’s Representative Office of Healthcare Informatics (OHI) Department of Veterans Affairs

(13) Contracting officer certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the contracting officer ’s knowledge and belief.

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Chris Binkley Date:

Contracting Officer Strategic Acquisition Center

For acquisitions over $750K not exceeding $15M

Approval

In my role as Contracting Activity Competition Advocate, based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve this acquisition on an “other than full and open competition” basis pursuant to the statutory authority cited in paragraph four above, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the property and services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition. As this action does not exceed $15M, the certification below required by FAR 6.304 serves as approval.

Signature: _________________________________ Date: ____________

Efrain J. Fernandez Director of Contracts, Acquisition Services 1-3 Procuring Activity Advocate for Competition (SAC-Frederick) Strategic Acquisition Center