White House Priority Goals _JA___.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 statute

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 in Frederick, Maryland 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 one 12‐month base period, non‐competitive contract (sole‐source) with Visionary Consulting Partners, LLC. for the procurement of monitoring and evaluation support services for the OMHSP, Suicide Prevention Office (SPP) broad evaluation plan assessing campaign and outreach effectiveness in meeting the distinctive needs of Veteran populations of varying levels of risk. The anticipated period of performance for the awarded contract is 9/30/2022 to 9/29/2023.

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

The Government seeks to ensure that our outreach and engagement is effective and executed transparently and in a manner that inspires public trust. The Contractor shall provide support in the Government’s overall efforts to evaluate the effectiveness and return on investment (ROI) of its education materials and courses, workshops, seminars, publications, social media, videos, public service announcements (PSAs), photographs, artwork, metrics, internal and external communications, creative content and paid media for the coordinated advertising, promotional, and publicity campaigns relating to suicide prevention, with a particular focus on firearms and other lethal means safety (LMS).

The tasks listed in the White House Plan for Reducing Military and Veteran Suicide requires clinically interrelated functions that will maximize care coordination, collaboration, and care continuity. This contract shall support the independent assessment mechanisms established which enable SPP to learn about limitations (technical or operational) of the PSAs and outreach efforts under development so that they can be resolved prior to production and deployment.

The Contractor shall develop an evaluation plan showing the effectiveness of outreach and engagement activities to include each campaign and if it is reaching and impacting Veteran groups at high risk for suicide, particularly those at higher risk for suicide, including: Women Veterans under 35, American Indian/Alaska Native veterans, LGBTQ+ Veterans, survivors of military sexual trauma, white Veteran males over the age of 55, geographically remote veterans, and enlisted Service members under 30. The Commander John Scott Hannon Mental Health Improvement Act of 2019 (Public Law 116‐171 Section 401(e), requires the evaluation of VA’s media campaigns, and directs contractors to convene focus groups of Veterans to assess the effectiveness of mental health and suicide prevention campaigns.

The Contractor shall prepare a plan for the development and execution of a regular monitoring and evaluation strategy. The plan should evaluate the impact, effectiveness and return on investment (ROI) of outreach and engagement on Veterans families and caregivers. The Contractor shall support the Government’s efforts to improve the effectiveness of widespread rollout of suicide prevention campaigns by outlining a strategy to routinely assess messages meant for Veterans and their families. The Contractor shall assist the Government in developing a gap analysis revealing the shortcomings of our messaging, better understanding of which messages and media platforms are most likely to generate positive impacts on behaviors, and identifying what types of outreach translates into consistent, positive Veteran engagement.

The total estimated value of the proposed action is $4,999,150.25. There is no Option Period.

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition for this procurement 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.

38 U.S.C. 8127(c) permits a contracting officer to award a contract to a verified SDVOSB using procedures other than competition if:

(1) such concern is determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance of such contract opportunity.

(2) the anticipated award price of the contract (including options) will exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (as defined in section 134 of title 41) but will not exceed $5,000,000;

and

(3) in the estimation of the contracting officer, the contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States.

The proposed action meets all three of the requirements of 38 U.S.C 8127(c).

Visionary Consulting Partners, LLC provided similar services to the VA in the past. Visionary Consulting Partners, LLC is a consultancy providing services for health care promotion, education, capacity building and chronic disease management. Additionally, Consulting Visionary Consulting Partners, LLC provides consultative services for health care information technology initiatives and formal project management support, with special emphasis on the medically underserved and Veterans.

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.

IAW VAAR § 819.7007 Sole source awards to service‐disabled veteran‐owned small business concerns (b), “The contracting officer’s determination whether to make a sole source award is a business decision wholly within the discretion of the contracting officer...” and (c) “A determination that only one SDVOSB concern is available to meet the requirement is not required…”

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 costs to the Government to be fair and reasonable. This determination will be based on the Government’s IGCE; historical pricing data agreed to in one or more VA contracts for the same or similar services complemented; and/or by an assessment of the level of effort and labor mix proposed as the basis for its firm fixed price.

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 Visionary Consulting Partners, LLC has been determined to be a responsible source with respect to performance. They are registered and certified in VetBiz.gov as a SDVOSB with the NAICS code for this requirement which in accordance with Public Law 109‐461 Section 502(c) meets the requirements 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 Visionary Consulting Partners, LLC has no exclusions.

In addition, the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) was reviewed and FAPIIS shows no reports for Visionary Consulting Partners, LLC that would indicate defective pricing, instances of contractor fault or recipient not‐qualified, terminations for cause, default or material failure to comply, or non‐ responsibility of the contractor.

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

In accordance with Public Law 109‐461, codified at 38 USC § 8127, in order to increase contracting opportunities for small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans and small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans with service‐connected disabilities, contracting officers of the VA are given specific statutory authority to award a contract to a small business concern owned and controlled by veterans using procedures other than competitive procedures (i.e. a “sole source” contract). The contracting officer may do so in accordance with VAAR 819.7007.

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

Visionary Consulting Partners, LLC, 4031 University Drive, Suite 100, Fairfax, VA 22030

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. At the expiration of this contract, consideration will be given as to whether the future acquisition should be competitive.

12. Certifications / Signatures.

(1) Technical Representative Certification:

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

Maria Kelly Murphy Date Program Manager Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Healthcare Technology Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (OMHSP)

(2) Contracting Officer Certification/ Approval:

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.

Jacky Jean‐Jacques Date Contracting Officer Strategic Acquisition Center‐ Frederick (SAC‐F)

(3) Competition Advocate Review and Approval ($700K to $13.5 million):

Upon the basis of the above justification, I hereby approve, as advocate for competition for the procuring activity, the solicitation of the proposed procurement described herein using other than full and open competition, pursuant to the authority of FAR 6.302‐5, 41 USC 3304(a)(5).

Efrain J. Fernandez Date Competition Advocate Strategic Acquisition Center‐Frederick (SAC‐F)