Contract Closeout and Procurement Support

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATIONNASA SHARED SERVICES CENTERJUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETION (JOFOC)FAR Subpart 6.303-2(b)(1) 1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a "Justification for other than full and open competition:[FAR 6.303-2(b)(1)]National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA Shared Services Center (NSSC)Bldg.1111, Jerry Hlass Rd.Stennis Space Center, MS 395292. Nature and /or Description of the Action Being Approved. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(2)]The NSSC proposes to negotiate a sole source contract modification to extend the current period of performance of contract NNX13AA08C, Agency-wide Contract Closeout and Procurement Support Services, with XXXXXXXXXX for a period up to eleven months. (1 October 2017 - 31 August 2018). The extension will include a four month base and a seven month option. The purpose of this extension is to provide continued closeout and procurement support

services pending award of the competitive follow-on contract.3. Description of the Supplies(s) or Service(s) (Including Estimated Value). [FAR 6.303-2(a)(3)]Contract NNX13AA08C encompasses a wide range of professional acquisition services necessary to assist the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) procurement offices in acquiring goods and services to support the many varied and evolving missions of the Agency. Procurement services provided under the contract include contract closeout, contract development and administrative support, small business support, interagency agreement support among other procurement related services.The NSSC awarded the contract with a performance period of 1 February 2013 - 31 May 2017. It included an eight month base period, three 12-month options, and one eight month option. The contract was modified to extend the period of performance by four months (1 June 2017 through 30 September 2017).The eleven month extension will increase the contract value for Contract Closeout by $XXXXXXX which will increase the total contract value for Closeout from $XXXXXX to $XXXXXXXX. The $XXXXXXX ceiling for Procurement Support Services remains unchanged. The overall total value of contract NNX13AA08C for Contract Closeout and Procurement Support Services will increase from $XXXXX by $XXXXXX to $XXXXXX.4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition. [FAR 6.302(b)(4)]Authority for the JOFOC is provided by 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1)), as implemented by FAR Subpart 6.302(b)(4),or 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1) under FAR 6.302-1- Only one source when no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. An additional eleven months of support from our current contractor is required to avoid a break in service.5. Demonstration that the proposed contractor's unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited. [FAR 6.303-2(b)(5)]In accordance with FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii), for DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard, services may be deemed to be available only from the original source in the case of follow-on contracts for the continued provision of highly specialized services when it is likely that award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition, or unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's requirements. (See 10 U.S.C. 2304(d)(1)(B).) Based on the rationale set forth below, the incumbent contractor is the only responsible source that can reasonable source that can reasonably satisfy these requirements pending award of the follow-on procurement.XXX currently provides Agency-wide Contract Closeout and Procurement Support Services for NASA. The eleven (11) month - extension to the current contract is necessary to provide continuous coverage of the mission critical requirement pending completion of the competitive follow-on procurement.Award to any other source for this eleven (11)-month extension would result in substantial duplication of cost to the Government that would not be recovered through competition. For example, the Government's estimate for the phase-in task order is $XXXX. Two phase in task orders in less than a year is not cost effective. In FY14, the NSSC conducted an analysis that determined that the average cost to conduct a major acquisition in the Procurement Operations branch was $XXXX. Escalating that cost to FY17, the cost for conducting a major acquisition is $XXXXX. Conducting two acquisitions in less than 6 months for the same service is a substantial duplication of costs. Hence, an eleven (11)-month extension, rather than a new procurement for eleven (11)-month contract, is the only cost-effective and reasonable approach for NASA to take in the present situation.Further, the eleven (11)-month extension to the current contract is necessary to avoid unacceptable delays to NASA's critical requirements. Without this contract extension, NASA will not be able to effectively conduct contract closeout and procurement support services as effectively thereby, causing program delays. A separate competition and award to, potentially, a different vendor for eleven (11) -month period would neither be feasible nor reasonable given the current and on-going procurement. This would create unnecessary disruption and unacceptable delays as well as damage the seamless continuity of services to support the missions of NASA. The extension of the Contract Closeout and Procurement Support Services contract will allow sufficient time for evaluation of proposals as well as award and phase-in on the follow-on contract and allow for the continuation of highly specialized contract closeout services and procurement support services in the interim.In recent years, grant and contract closeout services across the Agency has been a focal point of annual financial reviews, Office of Inspector General audits, and program management reviews. As a result, expeditious close out of contracts is a priority for NASA. If there is a break in performance as a result of a delay due to competing a new, short-term contract, NASA will be adversely impacted as excess funds on physically completed contracts may be lost (expired or cancelled). This is particularly critical during the last quarter of the fiscal year. A change in contractors will severely impact this effort. The rate of closeout for an 11 month period is approximately XXXX purchase orders, XXXX IDIQ contracts, XXXX grants and XXX fixed price contracts.In conclusion, XXX possesses significant skills that are critical to meet the Government's requirements during the extension period. Utilizing another vendor for this short period would take an inordinate amount of time and expense to understand and fulfill the Government's requirements since another vendor would have to familiarize itself with the existing Statement of Work (SOW) and ongoing work. Approval of this action will guarantee stability in the contractor support of Agency-wide Contract Closeout and Procurement Support Services for NASA Centers.6. 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. [FAR 6.303-2(a)(6)]It is not practicable to solicit from any source other than XXX, for the reasons discussed in paragraph 5 above, to provide the required services without a break in services and at a substantial duplication in cost. Extension of the current contract allows time for the competitive follow-on solicitation to be completed, which will result in a competitive award. As required by FAR 5.201, this contract action will be synopsized on Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website.7. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. [FAR 6.303-2(a)(7)]The original procurement was awarded pursuant to the procedures set forth in FAR Part 15. At the time of contract award, these prices were determined to be fair and reasonable based on competition. NASA also has historical contract information from previous awards for contract closeout services. The Contracting Officer will determine price reasonableness within the proposal prior to the award of the contract extension, based on comparing pricing to historical pricing, the IGCE and commercial pricing.8. Description of the market research conducted (see Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted. [FAR 6.303-2(a)(8)]Market research was conducted via a sources sought notice under solicitation number NNX16597776Q on the FBO website on August 24, 2016 requesting capability statements from large and small businesses interested in participating in the Agency-wide Acquisition and Contract Closeout Support Services Contract as a follow-on to the existing contract. XX businesses responded. The follow-on requirement is expected to be competitive9. Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other Than Full and Open Competition[FAR 6.303-2(a)(9)]None10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition. [FAR 6.303-2(a)(10]If any companies express interest in the procurement as a result of the synopsis discussed in paragraph three, the Contracting Officer will address its interest and whether it can comply with the Government's requirements in the official contract file. At this present time, no other sources have expressed an interest in this requirement for the contract extension.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. FAR 6.303-2(a)(11)]Since the number of interested contractors has been sufficient to provide adequate competition for the follow-on procurement, there are no actions necessary to remove barriers to competition.