P03_Sole Source Justification SAT-SAP_BC signed.pdf

VHAPG Part 813.5 Simplified Acquisition Procedures for Certain Commercial Items Attachment 1: Request for Sole Source Justification Template >SAT-SAP under FAR13.5

Effective Date: 12/30/2025 Page 1 of 5 Revision: 02 Acquisition ID#: 36C245-26-AP-2007

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION UNDER SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS IN

ACCORDANCE WITH FAR 13.5

Acquisition Plan Action ID: 36C245-26-AP-2007

1. Contracting Activity:

Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 5, DCVAMC Activity: Agency: Henry M Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine Military environmental exposure expert staffing - 688-26-2-705-0022 Contracting Agency: Network Contract Office 05 Services Team 3

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Processed:

The War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC) in Washington, DC is a national program deployment health concerns and unique health care needs. To meet increasing demands associated with the application of the PACT Act (H.R.3967 117th Congress) and to

), WRIISC

seeks to modify its existing support arrangement.

This modification adds one Epidemiologist position to serve as the lead for VMOAT operations, providing epidemiological oversight of survey instrument design and validation, exposure data governance, multi modal data integration (survey, clinical, biomarker, and administrative), analytic rigor (e.g., allostatic load and exposure mixtures), and regulatory coordination (IRB/HRPP) necessary for national scale.

The Epidemiologist will establish a rapid response operational infrastructure for VMOAT, manage QA/UAT cycles to ensure reliable downstream reporting, and translate findings into actionable risk communication and educational outputs for Veterans and providers.

This role preserves continuity with prior work under HJF, enables timely execution of VMOAT within science based evidence on military exposures and health outcomes. No inherently governmental functions are assigned; work will be performed as non personal scientific and technical support under Government direction.

3. :

a. Add Epidemiologist Position to Option Year 1 through Option Year 4 Increase Contract

The Epidemiologist will serve as the VMOAT Operations Lead and senior data scientist, providing methodological guidance for study design, protocol development, instrument validation, and analytic strategy across WRIISC projects. The role will design and maintain analysis plans; select and implement appropriate statistical and computational tools (e.g., R/Python, SQL); and apply advanced methods to integrate and analyze survey, clinical, biomarker and administrative data.

The Epidemiologist will collaborate with WRIISC investigators to establish data governance, coordinate IRB submissions and regulatory updates, and oversee QA/UAT cycles to ensure VMOAT data capture and downstream reporting are accurate and reliable. The Epidemiologist will identify and develop grant

Effective Date: 12/30/2025 Page 2 of 5 Revision: 02 Acquisition ID#: 36C245-26-AP-2007 opportunities (draft aims, methods, budgets), lead scientific projects, and author manuscripts, reports, presentations, and risk-communication materials for Veterans, providers, and partners. No inherently governmental functions will be performed; duties are scientific and technical.

Price Current Increase Total

1002 Epidemiologist Option 1 12 MO 15,037.26

180,447.12

180,447.12

360,894.24

2002 Epidemiologist Option 2 12 MO 15,631.89

187,582.68

187,582.68

375,165.36

3002 Epidemiologist Option 3 12 MO 16,250.31

195,003.72

195,003.72

390,007.44

4002 Epidemiologist Option 4 12 MO 16,893.47

202,721.64

202,721.64

405,443.28

765,755.16

1,531,510.32

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Restricted Competition:

FAR 13.5 Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items. The statutory authority for applying the Simplified Procedures for Commercial Items of FAR 13.5 is 41 U.S.C. § 1901 and is implemented by FAR 13.106-1(b)(2) for restricting competition on this procurement. Competition is restricted on this procurement for the reason below:

(X) Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements

( ) Unusual and Compelling Urgency ( ) Industrial Mobilization, Engineering, Developmental or Research Capability or Expert Services ( ) International Agreement ( ) Authorized or Required by Statute ( ) National Security ( ) Public Interest

5.

the Use of the Authority Cited Above (applicability of authority):

The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF) is uniquely positioned to continue providing the specialized scientific, administrative, and technical support required for the DC War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC) and the newly designated Complex Exposure Threats Center of Excellence (CETCE). Their ongoing performance is essential to fulfilling statutory requirements under the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, as well as to sustaining critical modernization initiatives that support both virtual and in-person care for Veterans with complex occupational and novel situational exposures.

-related mandates under the PACT Act and contributed substantially to a major organizational milestone: on September 3, 2024, following peer review and concurrence from more than ten VA programs, the Under Secretary for Health formally designated CETCE as a new VHA Center of Excellence. Continuity of personnel, Effective Date: 12/30/2025 Page 3 of 5 Revision: 02 Acquisition ID#: 36C245-26-AP-2007 processes, and analytic frameworks developed by HJF was a determining factor in meeting the rigorous certification standards required for this designation.

The addition of an Epidemiologist through HJF is mission-critical to operationalizing the Veteran Military Occupational & Environmental Exposure Assessment Tool (VMOAT). This position ensures validated exposure measurement, analytic rigor, and accurate translation of complex datasets into actionable risk communication for Veterans and VA providers. Without this role, significant risks arise including compromised survey validity, reduced data interoperability, and delays in national VMOAT deployment directly demonstrated competence in providing specialized research personnel for Brain Health Behavior, Their Recruiting and Human Resources teams possess advanced familiarity with DC VAMC onboarding requirements, enabling streamlined hiring, minimized administrative burden, and reduced time-to-productivity for mission-critical staff. Leveraging this established pipeline ensures rapid, low-disruption onboarding that preserves continuity across analytic codebases, data governance materials, and regulatory documentation essential to VMOAT and CETCE operations.

enabled seamless integration within VA workflows, preventing disruption to ongoing initiatives. Given that the work, personnel, and deliverables are already active, replacing HJF staff would jeopardize schedule integrity, compromise deliverables, and reduce return on prior Government investments in training, security clearances, and specialized military-health expertise. Their workforce stability, with tenure levels exceeding industry norms, preserves institutional knowledge and supports efficient continuation of complex research programs.

Maintaining HJF as the sole executing vendor avoids the transition costs, knowledge loss, and schedule delays that would otherwise result from splitting the work among multiple contractors or re-competing the proven performance history, and integrated staffing model eliminate redundancy and ensure uninterrupted progress on public health programs and Statement of Work (SOW) deliverables. Their performance supporting VA exposure-related initiatives demonstrates reliable delivery, on-time execution, and the technical capacity required for this mission space.

Opening this contract to full competition or transitioning work to a new vendor at this stage would introduce substantial delays, increase overall cost, and create operational inefficiencies inconsistent with the uity of care, research, and public health readiness. Because the requirement is ongoing, highly specialized, and deeply integrated with existing HJF personnel and systems, HJF remains the only responsible source capable of meeting mission needs without interruption.

Awarding to HJF under FAR 13.5 is therefore essential to preserving cost efficiencies, safeguarding schedules, maintaining program continuity, and ensuring the successful execution of critical operational and research activities mandated under the PACT Act and HOME initiatives.

6. Description of Efforts Made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as deemed practicable:

Effective Date: 12/30/2025 Page 4 of 5 Revision: 02 Acquisition ID#: 36C245-26-AP-2007 comprehensive market survey conducted during the award of the original contract (VA 36C24524P0481) specialized needs. This survey thoroughly examined other possible vendors in the region, but no other providers demonstrated the necessary expertise, experience, and staffing capacity in military health research and care for Veterans with complex occupational exposure concerns. Additional market research was conducted in FY24 (solicitation 36C24523Q0862) during which competition was opened to local organizations falling within the NAICS designation. Out of qualified respondents, it was overwhelmingly demonstrated that Henry Jackson Foundation was the only qualified vendor that could meet SOW needs in a cost effective and time efficient manner.

Based on previous market research, HJF has been identified as the only organization in the region capable of recruiting, training, and retaining staff with specialized experience in war-related health concerns.

Retaining these employees capitalizes on government resources invested in their initial training, security clearances, and acquisition of specialized military health knowledge, ensuring government efficiency and mitigating the risk of delays in services vital to Veterans.

Efforts to foster competition were also evaluated to ensure no viable sources were excluded. This included a thorough review of industry capabilities as part of prior market research, which confirmed that only HJF meets the unique qualifications for this contract. Given the time-sensitive nature of this requirement and the substantial duplication of costs and delays associated with onboarding a new contractor, the decision to proceed with HJF as a sole source provider reflects a balanced approach to ensuring both government efficiency and continuity of services.

7. Determination by the CO that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable:

Contracting, along with the program office, utilized knowledge of the prior procurement, the awarded contract, 36C24525P0477 (Awarded. 4/30/2026) along with market conditions of general estimates of salary bands for requested contracting staff being procured. The government estimate was prepared and the items requested is approximately $765,755.16 (Year one: $180,447.12)

8. Description of the Market Research Conducted and the Results, or a Statement of the Reasons Market Research Was Not Conducted:

Contracting, in accordance with (IAW) FAR 5.203 publicizing and response time, posted a request for information (RFI) Special Notice Notice of Intent to sole source through the government port of entry (GPE) on SAM.gov on 03/31/2026. The notice was posted for the required days and closed on 04/16/2026.

Contracting received zero responses and/or information that would suggest that other vendors could be considered for competition.

Based on the market research conducted through the Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) and Small Business Administration (SBA) small business search tool, no two or more SBA verified and capable SDVOSBs or VOSBs were identified or appeared capable of performing the requirement. In addition, no small business in any of the other targeted socio-economic groups appeared to qualify for a set-aside procurement. Therefore, it is anticipated that the HJF will be solicited for this requirement using procedure selected in section 4 of this document.

Effective Date: 12/30/2025 Page 5 of 5 Revision: 02 Acquisition ID#: 36C245-26-AP-2007

9. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other than Full and Open Competition:

The current program directives of WRIISC require a vendor to provide organizational support and administrative capabilities to allow WRIISC staff to maintain scientific and clinical focus and HJF has demonstrated its capacity to recruit and retain top-quality staff with a commitment to long-term talent retention, as evidenced by strong Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) ratings in similar projects. HJF is the only known organization in the region with the requisite depth of expertise, particularly in military and veteran health research, and the organizational infrastructure necessary to provide rapid, high-quality support to WRIISC.

10. Listing of Sources that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition:

During the time that a notice was posted, no other sources formally expressed interest in this acquisition request for information (RFI) intent to sole source notice.

11. A Statement of the Actions, if any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome any Barriers to Competition before Making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required:

other sources during the planned duration of the contract would result in increased costs for the government through loss of productivity and efficiency in accomplishing the goals described in section 5.

12. Requirements Certification: I certify that the requirement outlined in this justification is a Bona Fide Need of the Department of Veterans Affairs and that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Matthew Reinhard, PsyD Date Director, WRIISC

DC VAMC

13. Approvals in accordance with the VHAPM Part 806.3 OFOC SOP:

a. Contracting Officer Certification (required): I certify that the foregoing justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Date

Contracting Officer Network Contracting Office 05

b. One Level Above the Contracting Officer (Required over $350K but not exceeding $900K): I certify the justification meets requirements for other than full and open competition.

Amy Ritchey Date Branch Chief Network Contracting Office 05

4/20/2026