Redacted_J A_MOD46.pdf

JUSTIFICATION & APPROVALS FOR FAR SUBPART 16.5 ACQUISITIONS

EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

Multiple Award Schedule (MAS)/ Multiple Award Contract (MAC) Orders under MAC/ Fair Opportunity - FAR 16.505, DFARS 216.505-70, POI 216.505-70

Procurement Title: Multinational Information Sharing ( MNIS) Service Strategy and Support Contracting Office: PL62 Authority: FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C)

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

Number: JA 14-006

Upon the basis of the following justification, I, as the Procuring Activity Competition Advocate, hereby approve this exception to fair opportunity pursuant to the authority of FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C) – the order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract, provided that all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order.

1. REQUIRING AGENCY AND CONTRACTING OFFICE:

Requiring Agency:

DISA Multinational Information Sharing (MNIS) Program Management Office (PMO), 6910 Cooper Avenue Fort Meade, MD, 20755-0549

Contracting Office:

DISA/DITCO National Capital Region (NCR), PL62 Acquisitions Building 6914 Cooper Avenue Fort Meade, MD 20755-7090

2. NATURE/DESCRIPTION OF ACTION(S):

The purpose of this action is to extend the period of performance under ENCORE II contract number (no.) HC1028-08-D-2018, task order no. VC01, as performed by HP Enterprise Services, LLC, by a period of up to six (6) months in accordance with FAR 52.217-8

"OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES (NOV 1999)."

The purpose of exercising this clause is to provide a total potential transition period of six (6) months between the incumbent contractor and the small business awardee of an anticipated recompete, which is currently in the market research/presolicitation phase.

Though the Government included FAR 52.217-8 in the initial request for proposal and subsequent task order award, pricing was not specifically requested or evaluated for the six

(6) month extension of services prior to award of the current task order, thus necessitating this justification and approval. This extension will be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the current contract/task order and in keeping with FAR 52.217-8, which requires "continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor."

The transition period will be comprised of a cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF) potential six-month POP, which will be priced on a monthly basis and funded through the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) appropriation. The current HP Enterprise Services CPFF task order (TO), which was awarded as an unrestricted fair opportunity on the ENCORE II multiple award contract vehicle, has a total value of XXXXX:

Base Year- Period of Performance (POP) 27-MAR-2009 to 26-MAR- 2010: Option Year I- POP 27 March 2010 to 26 March 2011:

Option Year 2- POP 27 March 2011 to 26 March 2012:

Option Year 3- POP 27 March 2012 to 26 March 2013:

Option Year 4- POP 27 March 2013 to 26 March 2014:

This transition period was approved in the MNIS PMO Combined Acquisition Strategy/Acquisition Plan (ASAP) to provide:

1) Risk mitigation to prevent a lapse or degradation of Service Strategy and Support services to MNIS PMO classified networks, which are in direct support of the warfighter.

2) Full transfer of technical data from HP Enterprise Services to the small business awardee of the re-competition, which shall be documented and also include HP Enterprise Services' institutional knowledge of work processes involving MNIS PMO, and, where necessary, include the participation of MNIS PMO Government staff. No HP Enterprise Services trade secrets or proprietary information shall be part of this transfer.

3) Gradual transition of service strategy and support performance responsibility from HP Enterprise Services to the new small business awardee in order to permit the latter the best chance for long-term success, and in the short-term to meet the stringent Performance Standards and Acceptable Quality Levels (AQL) to be incorporated into the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the new contract.

The estimated total value of the six-month extension in accordance with FAR 52.217-8, "OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES," is $XXXXXX. All options years have been exercised in accordance with FAR 52.217-9, "OPTION TO EXTEND THE TERM OF THE

CONTRACT."

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES:

The Contractor will develop and maintain an Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) for the MNIS program management office (PMO). The Contractor will accept requirements specified by the MNIS PMO and produce the requisite documents, including bills of material and cost estimates. The Contractor will support the MNIS PMO's development of asset management policy, processes and procedures. The Contractor will provide support to PMO internal information technology (IT) processes and procedures; risk analysis and mitigation plans;

and, general technical analyses. The Contractor will support the MNIS PMO strategic planning process by providing administrative and analytic assistance in the development of, and updates to, the MNIS Strategic Plan; maintenance of, and improvements to, the MNIS PMO information repository; and, identification and provision of tools, methods and analytic techniques in business case development. The Contractor will support the MNIS PMO configuration management process through administrative support; technical analysis of proposed changes; and, administration and support of the CM tool. The Contractor will accept Government specified requirements to produce technical designs of communications networks. The Contractor will provide network architecture analysis and recommendations.

The Contractor will provide system design analysis to the MNIS PMO and to MNIS-sponsored groups.

The Contractor shall execute Performance Work Statement (PWS) section 6.1.5 Subtask 1-5, Contract Close-out, which reads: “At the conclusion of this period of performance the Contractor shall support the Government in planning and implementing a complete transition of the tasks contained in this contract to a follow-on vendor. This shall include formal coordination with the Government and follow-on vendor staff and management and delivery of copies of existing documentation and delivery of required metrics and statistics.”

4. SUPPORTING RATIONALE, INCLUDING A DEMONSTRATION THAT THE

PROPOSED CONTRACTOR'S UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS OR THE NATURE OF

THE ACQUISITION REQUIRES USE OF AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR

OPPORTUNITY:

(a) Exception to Fair Opportunity.

lAW FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C)- The order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract, provided that all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order.

(b) Description of the Justification.

The FAR 52.217-8 OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES (NOV 1999) clause in the current HP Enterprise Services task order must be exercised in order to ensure an adequate transition period between the incumbent and the anticipated awardee of the follow-on task order/contract. This Justification and Approval (J&A) is required in order to approve the exercise of FAR 52.217-8, since this option was not evaluated as part of the initial request for proposals, which was conducted via fair opportunity under the ENCORE II multiple-award ID/IQ contract. HP Enterprise Services alone possesses the data, institutional knowledge and capability to maintain the level of service quality required by the MNlS PMO during the transition of Service Strategy and Support services to the winner of the anticipated competitive follow-on. Also, it is neither practicable nor economical for HP Enterprise Services to transfer data and institutional knowledge to a third party vendor who in turn would attempt to transfer it to the potential new small business awardee. HP Enterprise Services alone has the unique and highly specialized capability to provide a low risk, economical, high quality transition of Service Strategy and Support services to the small business awardee.

This potential extension of services for six months will involve all requirements in the current ENCORE II no. HC1028-08-D-2018, task order no. VC01, Performance Work Statement (PWS) dated 15 February 2012 with a special emphasis on section 6.1.5 Subtask 1-5 "Contract Close- out."

This extension will be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the current contract/task order and in keeping with FAR 52.217-8, which requires "continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract.

These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor."

(c) Justification:

(1) Minimum Government requirements.

The verified minimum Government requirement is a potential six months of Service Strategy and Support services from 27 March 2014 to 26 September 2014. This extension under FAR 217.52-8 will have cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF) potential six-month POP, and will be priced on a monthly basis. By the end of the total potential six (6) month period, the anticipated new Service Strategy and Support contractor should have possession of all on-site data and be firmly in control of all on- site processes and cooperating with co-located Government staff.

(2) Proposed sole source contractor.

The proposed contractor for the six (6) month extension of services is HP Enterprise Services LLC, 13600 EDS Drive, Herndon, VA 20171-3225. HP Enterprise

Services currently possesses critical institutional knowledge of MNIS PMO Service Strategy and Support requirements, which is required to transfer Government-owned data, which is located on-site in MNIS PMO spaces, and process knowledge. This data shall be transferred on site by HP Enterprise Services to the new small business awardee. The contractor's performance on this order has been satisfactory or better in all areas. Deliverables have been provided on schedule.

(3) Discussion regarding cause of the sole source situation.

The cause of this situation is HP Enterprise Services' inherent knowledge of critical Government-owned Service Strategy and Support data, processes and information, which were obtained under ENCORE II no. HC1028-08-D-2018, task order no. VC01.

This task order is currently in the fourth and final option year, with a POP ending on

27 March 20.14.

The anticipated new total small business contract is expected to be awarded within four months; therefore, it is not in the Government's best interest to resolicit a six (6) month bridge contract for the required services. It would be of more value to the Government to retain the current level of support provided by HP Enterprise Services for an additional six (6) months, in accordance with FAR 52.217-8 to maintain continuity and quality and plan for a fluid transition. The need for the six (6) month extension was contemplated by the Government and all potential offerors were provided with notification of the potential need via inclusion of FAR 52.217-8, "OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES," in the original solicitation.

(4) Demonstration of unique source.

All government-owned data and non-proprietary information accumulated by HP Enterprise Services under their current TO, and stored within MNIS PMO spaces, must be transferred to the anticipated new contractor within these secure spaces to enable 1) information assurance;, 2) a satisfactory transfer to, and acceptance by, the new small business contractor, including a broader knowledge transfer in order to give context to the data and information; and, 3) MNIS PMO Government personnel oversight and participation. HP Enterprise Services alone possesses the data, information and knowledge required by the anticipated new contractor. HP Enterprise Services, as the incumbent, is the only contractor who can provide the required transition support .

(5) Procurement discussion.

These Service Strategy and Support services are currently provided via ENCORE II no.

HC1028-08-D-2018, task order no. VC01. The original requirement for these services was competed under the ENCORE II suite of contracts. Task order VC01was awarded to HP Enterprise Services on 25 March 2009 with a POP of 27 March 2009 through 26 March 2014. The task order included FAR 52.217-8, OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES, which was not evaluated as part of the initial ENCORE II competition.

This clause stipulates the "option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months." This J&A provides for a total potential extension of six months. A six month transition period was assessed by the MNIS PMO as providing an acceptably low risk of Service Strategy and Support degradation or failure, and potential concomitant harm to the performance of MNIS worldwide classified networks. HP Enterprise Services, as the incumbent, is the only contractor who can provide the required transition support .

(6) Impact.

Failure to extend the current task order by a period of six (6) months in accordance with FAR 52.217-8, "OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES," will result in significant data and knowledge loss. HP Enterprise Services possesses Government-owned data and knowledge that must be transferred to the anticipated new contractor. The Government must maintain control of, and account for, this data, which shall not leave Government spaces. Without this data, the new contractor cannot fully perform its tasks. If this data and knowledge are not transferred in an orderly process, the Government risks a lapse or failure in critical MNIS classified network services, which support wartime and other forward-deployed operations.

5. COST/PRICE FAIR AND REASONABLE DETERMINATION:

The six (6) month extension of services will be executed in accordance with FAR 52.217- 8, "OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES." As a result, all the terms and conditions of the existing task order will be in full force and effect in the six (6) month extension, inclusive of labor categories and labor rates. The price for the extension of services will be based on the contractor's labor categories, labor rates, labor hours, and labor skill mix, which were evaluated at time of task order award and determined to be fair and reasonable based upon adequate price competition. The technical scope of work will be identical to the work that is currently performed under the existing task order.

6. MARKET RESEARCH:

Market Research was not performed to support this sole source exercise of the FAR 52.217- 8 OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES clause in the current HP Enterprise Services TO, since only HP Enterprise Services, as discussed above, can provide the required quality transitional support to the successful awardee for the follow-on procurement.

For the recompetition, market research is currently underway through a "Network Analysis and Program Management Support Services" sources sought posted on FBO from 1 August 2013 to 26 August 2013, and a supplemental sources sought for the re-titled Program Management, Project Management and Technical Support Services,” which was posted on FBO from 23 January 2014 to 14 February 2014.

7. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS:

The approved MNIS PMO Combined AS/AP provides for a transition period between the incumbent HP Enterprise Services and the small business awardee, for the reasons cited in Section 2. Also, the current HP Enterprise Services' task order VC01 PWS has an explicit requirement for this transition in section 6.1.5 Subtask 1-5 "Contract Close-out," as excerpted in section 3. This J&A approves implementation of this transition requirement.

8. ACTIONS THE AGENCY MAY TAKE TO REMOVE OR OVERCOME

BARRIERS THAT LED TO THE EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY:

(a) Procurement History. The current HP Enterprise Services' HC1028-08-D-2018, TO

VC01 was competed using fair opportunity through the ENCORE II suite of contracts in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009. The TO was awarded to HP Enterprise Services on 25 March 2009. The TO includes FAR 52.217-8, OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES, pricing for which was not evaluated as part of the original ENCORE II competition. The TO also includes a requirement for a transition period between the incumbent HP Enterprise Services and the follow-on contractor. This J&A provides for a six (6) month extension of services in order to execute the transition requirement in the current TO.

(b) Recompetition. The transition period approved by this J&A will enable the successful transition of the required support to successor anticipated small business awardee. This transition will permit the successful offeror to gradually assume responsibility for MNIS Service Strategy and Support services, keeping the risk of degradation or disruption of critical MNIS network services within acceptable limits. The recompetition is in the market research /pre-solicitation phase. An award is anticipated no later than 26 July 2014.

9. REFERENCE TO THE APPROVED ACQUISITION PLAN (AP):

The MNIS PMO Combined Acquisition Strategy/Acquisition Plan (AS/AP) covers the current task order and broadly gives approval to the transition period.