Limited Source Justification

LIMITED SOURCE JUSTIFICATION This acquisition is conducted under the authority of Title III of the Federal Property and Administration Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 3102 et seq. and 40 U.S.C. - 501) Procurement Procedure Program, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 8.401 and is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 8.405-6(a) as follows: 1. Agency and Contracting Activity The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of Acquisition Management (OAQ), Mission Support Washington (MSW), proposes to enter into a firm fixed price task order on the basis of "Limited-Sources Justification in accordance with FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(c). 2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Approved The ICE Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), TECS Modernization Branch (TECS MOD), has a requirement for continued Mission Support Services. A sole-source task order is necessary to allow for continuation of services until a new acquisition can be awarded. If the task order is not put in place, TECS MOD will lose all the resources that have been providing these services before there is time for knowledge and skills transfer, which will be a significant loss of institutional knowledge and will not have the continuity of operational capability to execute the program without delays. The existing services are currently being performed by KADIX under Task Order No: HSCEMS-12-F-00006 which was awarded against GSA award # GS-10F-0278R Task Order No. HSCEMS-12-F-00006 was awarded on September 1, 2012 in accordance with the ordering procedures under the current BPA, which was awarded with a 6 month base and 6 month option (total 12 months) - FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services (NOV 1999) was exercised and the current task order expires on August 31, 2013. The TECS Modernization Program Office and Contracting Officer's intent for a follow-on vehicle to task order HSCEMS-12-F-00006 is to solicit and award a long-term task order against a competitively awarded IDIQ. The ICE TECS MOD Program Office is currently evaluating two IDIQs to determine which is the most technically acceptable. Once this task order is in place, the Government will initiate work on a new contract action. However, if either IDIQ is not a viable option then the Program Office intends to procure these services through an 8(a) contract. This action will allow the TECS Modernization Branch sufficient time to research, compete, and award continued support services as well as allow for sufficient time to transition to the new contractor. 3. Description of Supplies/Services The requirement is to provide Program Management Operations Support Services which directly support TECS Modernization Branch. The PMO services under this task order shall provide support for the programmatic acquisition, financial, schedule and performance measures maintenance and reporting activities associated with large (DHS Level II) modernization programs. The program also requires support with updating and maintenance of the current D102 documentation; currently under review and requiring updates. Period of Performance 9/1/2013 - 2/28/2014 4. Identification of the Justification and Rationale A sole source task order is necessary to allow for continuation of services until a new acquisition can be awarded. This requirement is suitable for full and open competition; however a full and open competition will not allow for a start date of September 1, 2013 due to the required security clearances needed to enter ICE facilities. The normal processing time to obtain security clearance is between forty-five (45) to sixty (60) business days. No contractor employee shall be allowed to enter on duty and/or access sensitive information or systems without a favorable EOD decision or suitability determination by the Office of Professional Responsibility, Personnel Security Unit (OPR-SSU). The current KADIX resources have the required security clearances to continue performance on September 1, 2013. Therefore, the proposed vendor is the only source capable of responding to our requirement at this time. Prior to July, no additional acquisition actions had been approved for the continuation of these support services. Under Sequestration, ICE OCIO had been directed to review and eliminate contractors where possible. In particular, at the direction of ICE Management (M&A) and Administration, the area of contractor Program Management Operational Support Services was reviewed and denied by both Balanced Workforce Services and the Sequestration Review Board. Additionally, due to the OCIO SDD hiring freeze, expected to last through the end of sequestration, the Program has been unable to hire additional Government Full Time Employees (GFTE) to replace the PMO resources being lost. However, on July 2, OCIO and the TECS Modernization Program met with ICE Leadership, for a TECS MOD Contract Review and Reconciliation. At this meeting the lack of resources currently assigned to the Program was identified as a risk. The Program was directed to develop a Plan of Actions and Milestones which was specifically to include hiring support contractors in the areas of (among others) Financial Management, Acquisition Management, Integrated Master Schedule Maintenance and Support, and Management Process (to include Risk, requirements, CCB and Agile Process). The Plan of Actions and Milestones identifies the need for executing this 6 month extension in order to 1) allow continued support services while the Government establishes a new Process Oversight Contract, and 2) allow for a sufficient knowledge and skills transfer from the current contractor to new contractor employees. The award of this task order to the incumbent vendor is necessary to avoid a break in service for time critical, mission essential programs. KADIX has specialized skills, corporate knowledge and critical information needed for effective transition to a new vendor as soon as a new task order is in place. The OCIO TECS Modernization Program Office and mission will experience a major setback and unacceptable delays without sufficient overlap with the incumbent vendor. KADIX is the only vendor that can ensure continuity and a smooth transition of these services during this critical period at a fair and reasonable price for the Government and potential degradation of services.. It is not in the best interest of the government to obtain short term services from another vendor based on the institutional knowledge possessed by the incumbent. The Government would experience unacceptable delays in performance due to the learning curve that a new vendor would require. Continuity of operations is critical at this time and KADIX is the only vendor with the institutional knowledge to continue supporting TECS and ensure an efficient and thorough skills and knowledge transfer to another vendor. 5. Determination by the ordering activity contracting officer that the anticipated order represents the best value consistent with 8.404(d) The Contracting Officer has determined that issuing the proposed sole source contract to KADIX to continue this effort represents the best value and will result in the lowest overall cost alternative, considering price and administrative cost, to meet the Government's needs. This task order will be placed in accordance with FAR 8.404 - Use of Federal Supply Schedules. The General Services Administration (GSA) has already negotiated fair and reasonable pricing and the CO will seek further price reduction. Prior to issuance of the task order, the CO will negotiate with the vendor to try to keep the cost as paid previously under task order HSCEMS-12-F-00006 6. A description of the Market Research conducted among scheduled holders and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted Market research was conducted to identify available sources and evaluate current labor rates in the marketplace as follows: - DHS Enterprise Contracts, specifically the DHS USCG Technical, Acquisition and Business Support Services (TABSS) IDIQ - ICE OCIO IDIQ for Program Planning Support Services (in process) - GSA Schedules http://www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov/ElibMain/ElibHome?user=newAdvantage - Prior Acquisitions An analysis of the market research indicates that there are multiple vendors that can provide these services but are unable to start performance on September 1, 2013, due to the need to have a security clearance prior to commencing work under the task order and allow time for a the critically necessary knowledge transfer. Given the circumstances stated above, the only vendor that can meet this requirement is the incumbent vendor KADIX. KADIX has over four (4) years of experience working with the Government and is currently in good standing with its present task order and its employees have the required security clearances to start performance on September 1, 2013. 7. Other Facts Supporting the Justification The award of this task order to the incumbent vendor is necessary to avoid a break in service for time critical, mission essential programs. KADIX has corporate knowledge and critical information needed for effective transition to a new vendor as soon as a new task order is in place. The OCIO TECS Modernization Program Office and mission will experience a major setback and unacceptable delays without sufficient overlap with the incumbent vendor. KADIX is the only vendor that can ensure continuity and a smooth transition of these services during this critical period at a fair and reasonable price for the Government and potential degradation of services. Additionally, the loss of the current PMO support services contractor will impose unacceptable Risk to the continued operation and mission of the TECS Mod Program. The Government has not been able to identify or back-fill these essential services with GFTEs due to the hiring freeze under sequestration. There is reasonable basis to conclude that the minimum need for transitioning services required by ICE can only be satisfied by the incumbent vendor until a new Task Order for these services can be put in place. 8. 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 and services required: The Government's intent is to solicit and award a long-term task order against a competitively awarded IDIQ to ensure continued support of the ICE TECS Modernization Program. The ICE Office of Acquisitions is currently working with SDD to establish a division wide Agile Support Services contract vehicle. The vehicle is expected to be in place prior to January 2014. It is the intent of the ICE TECS MOD Program to use this contract vehicle once it is in place. In addition, another IDIQ (TABBS) has been identified as a technically acceptable vehicle to use for the acquisition of financial, schedule, and acquisition support. However, if it is determined that neither IDIQ will not support a contract award by January of 2014; the Program Office will then initiate a procurement through an 8(a) contract. The current contractor has initiated the development and review of all Standard Operating Procedures to ensure that once a new contractor is brought onboard that the transition period will be successful.