Sole-Source Justification_W9124J25QCSPT_Redacted.pdf

Program/Equipment: OCPA Communication and Planning Support

FAR Subpart 13.5 Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items – Sole Source Justification and Approval

1. Contracting Activity: U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command – Fort Sam Houston (MICC-FSH), 2205 Infantry Post Road, JBSA Fort Sam Houston, Texas 78234-1361.

2. Description of Action: The Office of the Chief of Public Affairs (OCPA) requests a Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) bridge contract with to provide continued services for Communication and Planning Support Services. The Government projects award for 3 January 2025 for 90 days using Operations and Maintenance funds. An acquisition plan is not required because this procurement does not meet the threshold at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 207.103(d)(i)(B).

3. Description of Supplies/Services: This is a non-personal services contract to provide Business Rules and OCPA Operations Support, Communication Research, Analysis and Evaluation, Communication Planning, Communication Product Development, Army Outreach Support, Professional Development and Training, Exhibit Management, and Executive Communication Support. The work to be performed under this contract will be performed at the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs, 1500 Army Pentagon, Washington DC 20310.

Period of Performance: This requirement will be a definitive bridge contract for 90 days.

Contract Period Period of Performance Estimated Cost 90 Days 4 January 2025 – 3 April 2025 $ 629,462.00

Value: $629,462.00.

4. Authority Cited: Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items, 41 U.S.C. 1901 (or 41 U.S.C. 1903 for Special Emergency Procurement) as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.5:

Unusual and compelling urgency Exclusive licensing agreements Industrial mobilization Other: Only One Responsible Source.

5. Reason for Authority Cited:

a. The follow-on requirement is currently being competed on SAM.gov. It is estimated that the evaluation period will extend past the end date of the current contract date of 3 Jan 2025. A 90-day bridge contract is being requested to allow more time for the evaluation and competitive award process. Continued support of these services is critical to the Army as it provides communication and planning support services to keep sources sought notice was posted on SAM.gov and GSA concurrently on 20 Sep 2024 for the competitive follow-on requirement. The result of this SSN is within a 12-month timeframe and provides sufficient information to meet the needs of the DFARS requirement. Sixty capabilities statements were received from various small business contractors in response to the posted Sources Sought Notice. Several small businesses were found capable of providing this requirement.

Capabilities Statements Technical Review

No Potential Offeror Capable? Comments

1 NO Capabilities as stated don't fit the scope of work requested.

2 NO Capabilities undetermined based on interest email submitted by the vendor.

3 YES Provided an adequate overview on required contract support; not a lot of detail on research and assessments experience.

4 YES Extensive write-up and experience for dashboard solutions; not much information on their research, planning and assessments experience

5 YES Most of experience dealt with event planning and leader development programs; not a lot of public affairs experience. Did mention their experience with developing and managing dashboards for the organizations they supported. Much of what they said they can do is very generic.

6 YES Very broad description on experience aligned with the PWS; not a lot of public affairs experience to include research, planning and assessments; good writeup for producing media products but that's not the bulk of this contract

7 NO Capabilities as stated don't fit the scope of work requested.

8 NO not certified HUZone on SBA website; not enough detail to determine if their experience and capabilties are aligned with the requirements of the PWS.

9 NO not certified 8(a) on SBA website; contractor has experience with dashboards but other than that, capabilities as stated don't fit the scope of the work requested.

10 NO Capabilities as stated don't fit the scope of work requested. No details describing strategic communication experience.

11 YES Extensive experience with dashboards and service with which could benefit OCPA; experience with campaigns and producing content aligns with PWS deliverables.

12 YES Contractor hit upon PWS requirements and seems to have experience in all the areas or would subcontract with a partner for some of that work. The contractor also brings up a good point in the recommendations block - probably not a question for OCPA to answer but we can certainly provide context based off current performance.

13 YES Not certified SDVOSB on SBA website, but joint venture partner may be. Good overview of current support they are providing but there seems to be some inflation of what they are currently providing. As an example, their team supported Medal of Honor activities but the bulk of that work was executed by the graphic designer - they didn't execute all the tasks identified. Same goes for Content Creation.

14 YES With the exception of dashboard solutions, the contractor recited back elements from the PWS but didn't elaborate on their experience in managing these areas.

15 t

YES Meets several MICC SB goals; describes experience with some of the PWS requirements but capabilities seem outside of a strategic communication scope.

16 NO is the UEI on the SBA website; capabilities as stated don't fit the scope of the work requested. Much of experience deals with delivering IT solutions.

17 YES Core competencies are not aligned with requirements in the PWS.

Past performance references some of the areas we've identified in the PWS but little to no details.

18 YES Meets several MICC SB goals; seems to have some overlap identifying capabilities that are needed to execute the PWS deliverables but recent experience is more marketing vs. strategic communication.

19 YES Experience with multiple DOD clients which could be a benefit to OCPA; provided good examples of past experience applicable to the PWS requirements.

Although market research indicates other potential vendors, no other vendor can provide the services needed within this critical window between the end of the current contract and the The incumbent contractor is currently working communication plans needed during this transition period.

9. Interested Sources: See Paragraph 6 & 8 for the synopsis information. To date, no other sources have sought for this bridge acquisition.

10. Other Facts:

a. Procurement History: This is not a new requirement. Historical procurement data is shown in the table below:

Historical Procurement Data

Contract Number Contractor SB Set Aside

Dollar Value Period of Performance

W9124J22C0004 CruxDCG, LLC

(CAGE 8NU77)

SDVOSB $7,484,910.01 01/04/2022 –

01/03/2025

W15QKN18C0025

District Communication Group LLC

(CAGE 65T66)

SB Set-aside

$7,074,735.72 03/23/2018 – 07/02/2021