70--ORD Support Services

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION 1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Acquisition Operations Technology Acquisition Center 260 Industrial Way West Eatontown, New Jersey 07724 2. Description of Action: The proposed action is for a 3-month Firm-Fixed Price contract, with two, 1-month options, to avoid a break in the Office of Research and Development (ORD) Support Services for the Research and Development (R&D) Initiative with Veterans Enterprise Technology Solutions, Inc. (VETS). 3. Description of Supplies or Services: The Office of Information and Technology provides customer service support for the ORD as part of the Secretary's Major Initiatives, specifically the R&D Initiative. This support includes upgrades and maintenance of several proprietary software applications, as well as the analysis of software architecture design at 115 VA facilities nationwide. The proposed action will provide continued support to bridge the gap between the expiration of the existing agreement and the award of the follow-on action being competed under VA's Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology (T4) contract. REDACTED 4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition for this acquisition is 41 U.S.C.3304 (a)(5), "Authorized or Required by Statute", as implemented by FAR 6.302-5. For this action, 38 U.S.C. 8127(c), known as the Veterans First Contracting Program provides the authority to directly contract with a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). 5. Reason for Authority Cited: The proposed source for this action is VETS, 367 Triple C Drive, Clarksville, VA 23927, a registered and verified SDVOSB in the Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database. VA is planning to award a new competitive Task Order under T4, in the coming months, for all the services that are currently supported by VETS. A short-term contract with VETS needs to be executed to ensure there is no disruption to the services prior to the new T4 award. VETS is uniquely qualified to provide the required bridge services as it is currently performing this support with fully trained staff in place. The systems that require the support services are unique to VA ORD. VETS possesses the application knowledge and technical expertise required to support this project. In light of the above, the Government's technical experts have determined that VETS is capable of meeting all of the Government's requirements and is considered a responsible SDVOSB. If VA competed this bridge requirement, any other source would require a project "ramp up" time for onboarding and knowledge transferring which would take approximately 5 months and will result in a break of service. The facilities where these services are performed require the onboarding processes to be completed and a Personal Identity Verification card to be issued before access is granted to the secure site. As stated in the market research section below, delays in background investigations are common. If another vendor is selected for this bridge effort, additional risk would be incurred as the new contractor's staff will not fully understand the intent and context of the complex requirements included in the subject support services and by the time they were up to speed, it would be time to transition the services, yet again, to the T4 awardee. The Government's Technical Experts have determined that another contractor could not complete these processes and still provide substantial benefit to the Government during this period. 6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted and the details are contained in the market research section below. While other SDVOSB contractors are capable of performing similar work, this effort did not yield any additional sources that can meet the Government's requirements in the timeframe required. Consistent with the guidelines of the Veterans First Contracting Program, the proposed action shall be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities website in accordance with FAR Part 5. 7. Actions to Increase Competition: No barriers to future competition are anticipated. A competitive Task Order is anticipated to be awarded by September 2013 on T4 and future acquisitions will be awarded on a competitive basis. 8. Market Research: REDACTED 9. Other Facts: The Procuring Contracting Officer has determined that this proposed action meets all the requirements of the statute 38 U.S.C 8127(c). This procurement is below the $5,000,000 threshold, VETS is a responsible SDVOSB, and a fair and reasonable price will offer a best value to the Government.