P03_Sole Source Justification.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Office of Procurement, Acquisition and Logistics (OPAL)

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

Frederick, MD 21703

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION

6.302-5 – Authorized or required by statue.

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

This Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other Than Full and Open Competition is executed by the Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC), on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (OMHSP).

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

This activity proposes to negotiate a non-competitive award (sole-source) with The District Communication Group (DCG), LLC, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), to support the suicide prevention program. DCG will implement a variety of communication products and tools, proactive strategies, and effective distribution processes related to suicide prevention efforts to ensure and support a public health, community approach to reducing Veteran suicide.

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

The Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (OMHSP) requires contractor suicide prevention communication support services on a national level to leverage VA and partner delivery mechanisms (VA publicly facing webpages, blogs, social media, etc.), to reach Veterans. These efforts will ensure that a diverse set of VA personnel as well as a multitude of Federal and community organizations, family and friends, and policy makers that support Veterans are educated and capable of communicating, with the provided tools. VHA’s OMHSP suicide prevention communications efforts include supporting the Veterans Crisis Line and providing the community with these lifesaving resources for preventing Veteran suicide.

Further, this information will be shared with external audiences, including, but not limited to other Federal agencies; state and local governments; non-governmental entities both nonprofit and for-profit organizations; faith-based communities, volunteers; non-VA health care systems and providers; and other interested parties with a vested role in furthering the overarching suicide prevention effort.

The estimated value for this acquisition, which includes one 3-month base period and three 1-month option periods, is $4,704,634.98.

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.

§ 3304(a)(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.

Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) 819.7008 states, “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) will not exceed $5 million.

2) The requirement is synopsized and the required justification pursuant to FAR

6.302-5(c)(2)(ii) is posted in accordance with FAR part 5.

3) The SDVOSB has been determined to be a responsible contractor with respect to performance; and

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

The proposed action meets all of the requirements of 38 U.S.C. 8127(c). DCG is a registered and verified SDVOSB. DCG provides strategic communications that specializes in raising awareness for socially responsible programs, specifically those intended to support Veterans, servicemembers and their families. They have subject matter expertise related to strategic communication development and implementation, graphic design, content development, branding, video production, outreach and stakeholder engagement and research and evaluation. DCG has specific communication experience and knowledge as it relates to VA suicide prevention efforts including supporting the Veterans Crisis Line in providing support for the VA’s national efforts to address the number one clinical priority.

Overall, the firm offers an exceptional combination of necessary supervision and management, subject matter expertise directly related to Veterans and suicide prevention needed to complete the requirements of this effort.

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) and (c), the determination to make a sole source award to a 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 will be 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.

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, past proposal submissions (if available), other information made available, and an Independent Government Cost Estimate.

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.

Market research was conducted and DCG has been determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance. They are registered and certified in VetCert (veterans.certify.sba.gov) as a SDVOSB with the NAICS 541830 – (Media Buying Agencies), which is the NAICS code for this requirement and in accordance with (IAW) Public Law 109-461 Section 502 (c), meets the requirement of this statute to sole source to a SDVOSB. In addition, a review of their Representations and Certifications was conducted in the System for Award Management (SAM) and DCG represented that they are a small business under this NAICS code verified by the Contracting Officer on February 13, 2024.

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

The Procuring 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, DCG 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.

The District Communications Group, LLC 151 N Nob Hill Rd, Suite 309 Plantation, FL 33324

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.

All future requirements will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Currently the Government requires short term contractor support that will bridge the gap between the current contract and the new contract which will be competitively solicited.

12. Certifications / Signatures.

Technical Representative Certification:

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

Todd Burnett Date Senior Consultant for Operations – Suicide Prevention Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention

Contracting Officer Certification:

Pursuant to (FAR 6.303-2(b)(12)), I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Wanda Y. Edwards Date Contracting Officer Strategic Acquisition Center-Frederick (SAC-F)

Competition Advocate 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.

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