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16-0109 SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PHASE III JUSTIFICATION & APPROVAL FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Agency and Contracting Activity Department of the Navy, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWC-AD) Lakehurst, NJ

2. Nature/Description of Action(s) Being Approved This is a justification to award a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase III contract to Innovative Defense Technologies (IDT) of Arlington, VA.

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IDT, Virtual Training and Simulations (VTAS) and QuantaDyn Corporation were awarded SBIR Phase I contract numbers N61339-07-C-0055, N61339-07-C-0053 and N61339-07-C-0051 respectively on 16 April 2007 resulting from Solicitation 07.1, Topic N07-034. Topic N07-034 was entitled, "Military Training Systems Acceptance Test & Evaluation.” IDT and VTAS were subsequently awarded SBIR Phase II contract number N61339-08-C-0025 on 17 April 2008; and contract number N61339-08-C-0033 on 10 July 2008 respectively; and QuantaDyn was awarded Phase II contract number N61339-09-C-0021on 19 Feb 2009. IDT was awarded SBIR Phase III contract number N68936-11-D-0005 on 16 Oct 2010. IDT was awarded SBIR Phase II.5 contract number N68335-14-C-0314 on 12 Jul 2014.

Topic N07-034 focused on training systems simulators and sought the development of a standardized and automated approach to acceptance testing for the wide range of complex training systems planned for use in the Navy. The Navy’s flight and maintenance training simulators systems were growing in complexity becoming increasingly dependent on Commercial-Off-The-Shelf Hardware and Software, as well as the successful re-use of software developed from other programs. Despite the advances in development practices and tools, the goals of accelerating the rate at which training systems can be delivered, and accepted, while reducing their costs cannot be met without comparable improvement in the practices and tools for acceptance testing. Training system deficiencies that are not identified and corrected during testing have resulted in reduced performance and training effectiveness.

This Phase III effort will provide an opportunity to rapidly accelerate the ability to deliver advanced capabilities of training systems by significantly reducing the overall acceptance testing timeframe through the use of commercial testing automation tools, which are either existing or emerging, throughout the test and evaluation life cycle.

3. Description of Services This Phase III effort derives from the Phase I, II, II.5 and III efforts described in paragraph 2 and is for continued development, integration, operation, and maintenance of advanced Automated Test and rest software and technical support. This effort will be under Basic Ordering Agreement N68335-15-G-0039 Delivery Order 0002.

This project is to provide innovative automated testing technologies that support efficient and effective integration and certification of a system. The goal is to enable test programs to increase requirement coverage testing with more consistency and in less time. Ultimately, within PMA-281, the utilization of these automated test and re-test tools will lead to higher quality software products across PMA-281 at a lower cost to the Department of Defense. Automated testing will become an integral part in the PMA-281 Test & Evaluation program and an automated testing program will be developed and implemented focusing on both exiting and newly developed software modules. The goal of delivering less expensive and higher quality software will only be met with comparable improvements in the methodology and tools used for testing. Under this SBIR the opportunity exists to develop and engineer an integrated technology suite to accomplish most efficient PMA-281 testing. Developing automatic testing capability across PMA-281 will allow for execution of complex tests and verification of the results in near real-time.

The main deliverable of this project is software (executable and source code) in support of various automated testing processes for new and existing system software modules. Other deliverables will include software user manuals and guides aligned with automated test and retest software releases. Also, per direction and approval from the Government Technical Point of Contact, white papers, studies, technical reports, and presentations may be requested.

4. Identification of Statutory Authority.

10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(5), as implemented by FAR 6.302-5: Authorized or Required by Statute.

15 U.S.C. 638(r)(1) states:

“In the case of a small business concern that is awarded a funding agreement for Phase II of an SBIR or STTR program, a Federal agency may enter into a Phase III agreement with that business concern for additional work to be performed during or after the Phase II period.“

Furthermore, 15 U.S.C. 638(r)(4) states:

“To the greatest extent practicable, Federal agencies and Federal prime contractors shall issue Phase III awards relating to technology, including sole source awards, to the SBIR and STTR award recipients that developed the technology.”

5. Demonstration that Proposed Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or Nature of Acquisition Requires Use of Authority Cited.

The nature of the acquisition requires the use of the authority cited. The SBIR/STTR Programs are structured in three phases. Phase I (project feasibility) determines the scientific, technical and commercial merit and feasibility of the ideas submitted. Phase II (project development to prototype) is the major research and development effort, funding the prototyping and demonstration of the most promising Phase I projects. Phase III (commercialization) is the ultimate goal of the SBIR/STTR Programs. Because the Phase III work derives from, extends, or completes efforts performed under Phase I and Phase II, use of the authority cited is required.

6. Description of Efforts Made to Ensure Offerors Were Solicited From as Many Potential Sources as Practicable/ Public Notification through Government Point of Entry (GPE).

The topic for this effort was included in the Department of Defense Program Competitive Solicitation issued under the SBIR Program. As described above, only IDT is being considered for Phase III award due to the nature of the acquisition. In accordance with FAR 5.202(a) (7), this proposed contract action does not require public notification to the GPE.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost.

The Contracting Officer will determine prior to award that the negotiated price of the contract executed under this justification is fair and reasonable pursuant to FAR Subpart 15.4. This determination will be documented in a Business Clearance Memorandum, which will be included in the contract file.

8. Description of Market Research or Statement of the Reason Market Research was not Conducted.

FAR 10.001 (a) (2) indicates that market research appropriate to the circumstances must be conducted. SBIR Phase III procurements are such that traditional market research to identify alternative sources is generally unnecessary. As described above, the Phase III work derives from, extends, or completes efforts performed under Phase I and Phase II.

9. Any Other Supporting Facts.

Not applicable.

10. Listing of Interested Sources.

Not applicable.

11. Actions Taken to Remove Barriers to Future Competition.

The Contracting Officer anticipates that competitors will enter the market once the product is commercialized. It is likely that future acquisitions will be competed using full and open competition and commercial item acquisition procedures. The Contracting Officer is not aware of any specific actions that would further remove barriers to competition.

12. Period of Performance.

Base: 12 Months

Option(s): None

13. Actions Attempted to Make Immediate Acquisition Competitive and Cost/Benefit Analysis.

No actions were attempted to make the immediate acquisition competitive; no cost/benefit analysis was performed. As described above, only IDT is being considered for Phase III award due to the nature of the acquisition.

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