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FBO DAILY - FEDBIZOPPS ISSUE OF OCTOBER 04, 2018 FBO #6159
DOCUMENT

U -- TAC FAC-C-DS Training Program (VA-18-00156748) - Justification and Approval (J&A)

Notice Date

10/2/2018
 

Notice Type

Justification and Approval (J&A)
 

NAICS

611430 — Professional and Management Development Training
 

Contracting Office

Strategic Acquisition Center - Frederick;Department of Veterans Affairs;321 Ballenger Center Drive, Suite 125;Frederick MD 21703
 

ZIP Code

21703
 

Solicitation Number

36C10X18Q9198
 

Archive Date

10/26/2018
 

Point of Contact

David Hunley
 

E-Mail Address

215-0605<br
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Award Number

36C10X18P0194
 

Award Date

9/26/2018
 

Description

TAC FAC-C-DS Training Program 5 of 5 JUSTIFICATION FOR A SOLE SOURCE AWARD FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS 1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Procurement Acquisition and Logistics Strategic Acquisition Center - Frederick 321 Ballenger Center Drive Ste.125 Frederick, MD 21703 2. Description of Action: The proposed sole source action is for a one-year firm-fixed price (FFP) effort to procure the training required to enable the Technology Acquisition Center s (TAC) GS-1102 workforce to obtain the recently created Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting Core-Plus Specialization in Digital Services (FAC-C-DS). It is proposed that this training be procured from ICF International Inc. (ICF), 9300 Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA 22031. 3. Description of Supplies or Services: The mission of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics (OPAL), TAC is to support our Nation s Veterans by providing acquisition and logistics solutions for VA. In meeting these goals, TAC is responsible for preparing and executing quality contracts that support the Information Technology (IT) efforts and needs of its customers across VA, which enables our customers to provide best value solutions to Veterans and their families. TAC has a large population of General Schedule series 1102 s (GS-1102 s) that are responsible for these IT procurements, all of whom either have obtained Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C), or are working toward obtaining FAC-C certification. On May 18, 2018, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) launched the new digital services certification program (FAC-C-DS) with the goal of creating a digital IT acquisition professional (DITAP) community. This new specialization aligns with the President s Management Agenda in the areas of modernizing the government s IT, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our services, and developing a 21st century workforce. A common component of these strategies is delivering data, information, and transactional services across multiple platforms to transform how citizens interact with their government. To develop this new generation of digital services, the workforce must learn and apply new skills. Buying digital services is not a skill that is gained through the FAC-C curriculum, thereby necessitating a specialized and immersive training and development program called the DITAP, which leads to the FAC-C-DS. This specialization meets an urgent need for digital services expertise and will be part of a larger effort to raise the overall competency of the acquisition workforce in acquiring IT solutions. In order for its GS-1102 workforce to understand how to craft acquisitions to procure digital services, TAC requires the training necessary to obtain FAC-C-DS certification for its GS-1102 workforce. The training program curriculum shall be validated by OFPP and U.S. Digital Service (USDS). The contractor shall provide all of the labor, materials, transportation, and other incidentals necessary to provide the training necessary under DITAP in order for the TAC GS-1102 workforce to obtain FAC-C-DS certification. The curriculum shall be based upon an open source learning management system, allowing students to interact, and shall feature self-directed, guided and applied learning, classroom instruction, case studies, guest speakers, and hands-on skills building through a live digital assignment, all of which the contractor is responsible for providing. This training shall be provided to the TAC GS-1102 workforce by end of FY2019. It is anticipated that this will be accomplished via four (4) cohorts of twenty-five (25) students each, with each cohort lasting approximately six (6) months. There will also be an optional cohort for an additional twenty-five (25) students. For each cohort, the validated training program shall consist of: 9 days of classroom instruction consisting of 3 separate, 3-day face to face sessions* 15 hours of virtual instructor led training 12 hours per week of asynchronous, self-paced material Participants receive up to 80 continuous learning points *The contractor shall travel to the TAC office in Eatontown, NJ, in order to provide the face to face classroom instruction required for each of the cohorts. The total estimated value of the proposed action is $768,325.00, consisting of a base period with a value of $614,660.00 and an optional task with a value of $153,665.00. 4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1), as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Subpart 6.302-1, entitled Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. This acquisition will be conducted in accordance with FAR Subpart 13.5, Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items. 5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: As stated above, on May 18, 2018, OFPP issued a memorandum launching the new digital services certification program (FAC-C-DS) with the goal of creating a DITAP community. The memorandum stated that, Contracting professionals assigned to acquisitions consisting primarily of digital services over the FAR Subpart 13.5 certain commercial item threshold, currently $7 million (or $13 million for acquisitions as described in 13.500(c)), are required to be certified. It further stated that contracting professionals assigned to acquisitions consisting primarily of digital services in FY-19 thru FY-21 over the above threshold shall obtain the specialization within two years of assignment. These two statements explain why it is vital for the TAC 1102 workforce to obtain the FAC-C-DS specialization. Not only will the specialization raise the overall competency of the workforce in acquiring IT solutions, which is TAC s main procurement responsibility in support of its VA customers, but it will also enable TAC to meet the requirements of the OFPP memorandum within the stated timeframe. The OFPP memorandum indicated that both government and commercial training providers can offer DITAP to government contracting professionals, and that approved programs include those offered by either government or industry and validated by OFPP and U.S. Digital Service. It further states that a list of validated programs and information on how to apply shall be maintained by the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) on www.fai.gov and identifies the TechFAR Hub at https://techfarhub.cio.gov as an additional source of information. ICF was the first and is currently the only government certified DITAP vendor. In order for the TAC s large 1102 workforce to obtain this specialization by the end of FY19, the training program will need to begin right away upon contract award. Virtually all of the TAC s 1102 staff routinely work on digital service efforts as defined in the OFPP memorandum, so delaying the training in order to allow for other vendors to become certified could inhibit TAC s ability to support its IT customers. While other acquisition organizations likely focus on various types of procurement and can phase the DITAP training over multiple years, the TAC is unique in that its main mission is IT procurement, so delaying training beyond FY19 has a much more significant impact. At this time, there is no way of knowing how long it will take for any other vendors that have not yet sought approval to have a certified training program. However, it is unlikely that a vendor without a certified training program will be able to develop the curriculum for a 6-month training program and receive certification in time for the TAC to begin the training early enough in FY19 to be complete by the end of the year. As a result, it is imperative that TAC procure this training from ICF. 6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in the market research section of this document. This effort did not yield any additional sources that can meet the Government s requirements. Additionally, the proposed action will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities Page in accordance with FAR 5.201. Any responses to the synopsis that are received will be considered for future requirements. 7. Actions to Increase Competition: The Government will conduct market research when future needs arise to ascertain if OFPP and USDS certify the DITAP training programs of other vendors, which would enable future actions to be competed. 8. Market Research: On August 23, 2018, VA reviewed the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) and TechFAR Hub websites and found that no other vendors other than ICF currently have a certified DITAP training program. On May 18, 2018, OFPP issued a memorandum launching the new digital services certification program (FAC-C-DS) with the goal of creating a DITAP community. The OFPP memorandum indicated that both government and commercial training providers can offer DITAP to government contracting professionals, and that approved programs include those offered by either government or industry and validated by OFPP and U.S. Digital Service. It further stated that a list of validated programs and information on how to apply shall be maintained by FAI on www.fai.gov and identified the TechFAR Hub at https://techfarhub.cio.gov as an additional source of information. TAC reviewed FAI, which does contain information on the FAC-C-DS specialization, but does not yet include a list of validated DITAP programs. FAI does include a link on how to apply to the DITAP, which leads to the website for the existing ICF Digital IT Acquisition Professional Certification Course. The ICF website indicates that ICF is the first government-certified DITAP vendor. TAC then visited the TechFAR Hub and found that the only course available is offered by ICF. As ICF is the only government-certified DITAP vendor currently available, TAC must enter into a sole source contract with ICF to meet its need for this training program. A search of the VIP database indicated that ICF is not a Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) or Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). 9. Other Facts: N/A 10. Technical and Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in this justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Signature: [SIGNATURE REDACTED] Chief, Plans/Training/Analysis Division Technical Acquisition Center 11. Procuring Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. As this contract action does not exceed $650,000.00, the certification below required by FAR 13.501(a)(2)(i) serves as approval. Signature: [SIGNATURE REDACTED] Contracting Officer Strategic Acquisition Center-Frederick Approval 12. Competition Advocate Certification: In my role as procuring activity Advocate for Competition, based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the acquisition of FAC-C-DS training courses on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the statutory authority cited in paragraph 4 above, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the property and services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition. Signature: [SIGNATURE REDACTED] Advocate for Competition Strategic Acquisition Center-Frederick Office of Procurement Acquisition and Logistics
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/VA/AFMLOVASS/VASSMD/36C10X18Q9198/listing.html)
 

Document(s)

Justification and Approval (J&A)
 

File Name: 36C10X18P0194 36C10X18P0194_1.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=4616562&FileName=-15562.docx)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=4616562&FileName=-15562.docx

 

Note: If links are broken, refer to Point of Contact above or contact the FBO Help Desk at 877-472-3779.
 

Record

SN05113569-W 20181004/181002230838-9cd456d93386f8d2d7a442bdc2097c3d (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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