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FBO DAILY - FEDBIZOPPS ISSUE OF SEPTEMBER 13, 2019 FBO #6501
DOCUMENT

A -- VETLYFE WEB DATABASE: 9/30/2019 to 9/29/2020 688C9XXXXX - Justification and Approval (J&A)

Notice Date

9/11/2019
 

Notice Type

Justification and Approval (J&A)
 

NAICS

518210 — Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Veterans Affairs;VAMC;10 N Greene St;Baltimore MD 21201
 

ZIP Code

21201
 

Archive Date

10/5/2019
 

Point of Contact

Vanessa Jacobs
 

E-Mail Address

5-1506<br
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Award Number

36C24519C0207
 

Award Date

9/30/2019
 

Description

VHAPM Part 806.3 Other Than Full and Open Competition (OFOC) SOP Attachment 2: Request for Sole Source Justification Format >SAT OFOC SOP Revision 08 Page 1 of 9 Original Date: 03/22/11 Revision 08 Date: 04/18/2018 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Justification and Approval (J&A) For Other Than Full and Open Competition (>SAT) Acquisition Plan Action ID: 36C245-19-AP-2936 Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 5, Washington DC Medical Center War Related Injury and Illness Study Center (WRIISC). The 2237 number is 688-19-4-578-0002. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Processed: This is an entirely new contract being reviewed. Approval will award a new contract, which is based on an hourly rate with total costs not to exceed $500,000. Description of Supplies/Services Required to Meet the Agency s Needs: Wisdom Tree Technologies (WTT), a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVSB), will sub-contract Kastling Group, an 8A Economically Disadvantaged Minority Woman-owned Business (EDWOSB), to create and develop a proof-of-concept, cutting-edge, customized, customer experience-centric mobile web platform designed to promote shared experiences of Veterans in the local community. This mobile web platform will be accessible on mobile devices and websites via web-browsers. The initial scope will be designed to handle approximately 5,000 users, but scalable to millions. This includes views for Veteran-users, administrator views (e.g. for health providers), third-party views (e.g. Veteran Service Organizations who want to post events), among others. Importanly, the platform will be accessible to Veterans with disabilities, meaning it is able to be used by voice activation or non-handed use. The work will begin 10/1/2019 and run through 9/30/2020. The initial iteration with preliminary capabilities will be due within 3 months of delivery of the contract, with full-scale functionality testing within 6 months. The remaining 6 months will be spent iterating, and refining capabilities based off user feedback. By 9/30/2020, WTT and Kastling Group will deliver a secure, fully tested and functioning mobile web application capable of being switched-on for production/use for research and/or operation activites (though not integrated with VA IT infrastructures). This tool will be open source and capable of future modifications by other non-WTT/Kastling Group entities. The value of an application thus described is worth $500,000 at a minimum, if not double this or more based off comparative market research. The vendor quote, when considering level of expertise and capability being created, is nearly an at-cost budget. The expectation of awarding this contract is that the technology developed results in intuitive and user-friendly digital products something critically needed for the overall improvement of the Veteran experience and something VetLyfe is aiming to improve. Statutory Authority Permitting Other than Full and Open Competition: ( X) (1) Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements per FAR 6.302-1; ( ) (2) Unusual and Compelling Urgency per FAR 6.302-2; ( X ) (3) Industrial Mobilization, Engineering, Developmental or Research Capability or Expert Services per FAR 6.302-3; ( ) (4) International Agreement per FAR 6.302-4 ( X ) (5) Authorized or Required by Statute FAR 6.302-5; ( ) (6) National Security per FAR 6.302-6; ( ) (7) Public Interest per FAR 6.302-7; Demonstration that the Contractor s Unique Qualifications or Nature of the Acquisition Requires the Use of the Authority Cited Above (applicability of authority): Over the past 18 months, planning has been executed for the Veterans Affairs National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (NC-PTSD), the Washington DC VA Medical Center (VAMC) Trauma Services, and the DC VAMC War Related Illness and Injury Study Center to collaboratively develop VetLyfe a mobile-web application designed to promote social connectedness among Veterans and seek to award a sole source contract to Wisdom Tree Technologies, LLC a Native American owned, 8(a) certified Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and Kastling Group, an Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB). The successful delivery and implementation of the VetLyfe mobile-web platform requires planning and development through a Veteran-centric, customer experience-based approach in addition to expertise in modern enterprise-level mobile web-development capabilities within the unique and complex VA health care service IT ecosystem. To our knowledge, Wisdom Tree Technologies and Kastling Group uniquely possess these qualifications and will be able to provide the VA a quality product within the expected 1-year timeframe. The nature of this sole source acquisition requires the use of several authorities cited including FAR 6.302-1 Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, FAR 6.302-3   Industrial mobilization; engineering, developmental, or research capability; or expert services, FAR 19.1506   Women-Owned Small Business Program sole source awards, and Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 13 C.F.R. § 125.8-125.10 Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern Program. Additonally, an argument could be made for citing the authority of FAR 6.302-2 for compelling urgency in terms of suicide prevention as an agency priority, however, this is indirectly related considered not necessary as the previously cited authorities should be sufficient. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 13 C.F.R. § 125.8-125.10 Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern Program speaks to the authority to prioritize SDVSB s in awarding contracts. As will be articulated, Wisdom Tree Technologies, a SDVSB formed in 2007 in Murray, Kentucky, provides an array of advanced mobile web and telecommunication capabilities and resources for the Department of Defense, which are unique, and that negates the need for soliciting other SDVSB s. Specifically, they have contracted with the Wisconsin Army National Guard for the delivery of PTSD resiliency training and counseling, nutritional counseling, and occupational health and are currently working with General Electric to provide the VA with MRI Mobile Imaging capabilities. They have an established track record with a very good CPARS rating for past federal performance, and have several awards and recognition for their performance including Outstanding Support to the Kestrel Persistent Surveillance Program from Logos Technologies, Kentucky Rural Innovation Technology Grant for Most Promising Technology, and nominated by Northrop Grumman for Outstanding Small Business Supplier. Importantly, WTT collaborates with an existing network of Veterans and Service Members (consisting of several thousands) who would be able to assist in testing, providing feedback, and piloting the platform. For FAR 19.1506   Women-Owned Small Business Program sole source awards, and Code of Federal Regulations Kastling Group, an economically disadvantaged minority woman-owned company formed in 2013 in Arlington, VA is a known, trusted, and desired customer experience and web development company within the Washington DC area that has supported numerous high-profile VA Mobile Efforts including: Secure Messaging, Mobile Blue Button, Patient Scheduling, Launchpad, Summary of Care, and Patient Viewer. They have expertise in implementation of hybrid mobile frameworks including Angular, Backbone, Marionette, and jQuery Mobile and their integrations with Java and.NET that interfaced with backend VA systems. Beyond these highly technical expertise domains, Kastling Group also possesses an uncommon understanding in user-experience, user-interface, and user-design that allows for an integration of person-centric (and in this case Veteran-centric) technology development that results in intuitive and user-friendly technology product. Most recently, Kastling group has undertaken a high visibility project consulting for members of Congress under the House Modernization Committee to advance customer experience in government through the Comparative Print Project to leverage Natural Language Processing (NLP a form of Artificial Intelligence) for enabling better user interfaces and human centered design methodologies for legislative technologies. In regards to FAR 6.302-1 Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, the following rationale is described: Collectively WTT/KG provide an extremely rare combination of skills, expertise, resource, and VA-specific experience necessary to create a Veteran-facing social connectedness mobile web application tool at the VA. This qualifies as being able to provide a system that is both highly specialized and a major system. Further, there would be substantial duplication of cost to the government that would not be recovered through competition. Market research has shown that other vendors, such as Able Vets, Longview, or AgileX lack either the technical capability, the customer experience expertise, the previous experience and know-how for building technology within the VA, knowledge and experience of mental health concerns for Veterans or access to a network of Veterans and Service Members willing and able to test and refine a platform. Further, and most importantly, no other vendor would be able to provide this type of mobile-web platform given the budget ($500,000) and timeframe (Less than 1 year). Lastly, this timeframe helps prevent unacceptable delays in fulfilling agency requirements related to suicide prevention, which this platform, through its promotion of social connectedness (a known protective risk-factor) can hopefully aid. Regarding FAR 6.302-3   Industrial mobilization; engineering, developmental, or research capability; or expert services, the WTT/KG will be able to establish or maintain an essential engineering, research, or development capability to be provided by an educational or other nonprofit institution or a federally funded research and development  center and Establish or maintain an essential capability for theoretical analyses, exploratory studies, or experiments in any field of science or technology. This developmental and research capability of the VetLyfe platform will be able to provide is incredibly important as currently no tool exists within the VA or elsewhere that can be customized and utilized for research purposes, with Veteran consent, to explore and study communities and social interactions or even be leveraged as an intervention tool for those with mental health conditions. The War Related Injury and Illness Center, a federally funded research and development center, will be able to use the VetLyfe platform for a variety of research purposes once developed, allowing for FAR criteria of Establishing or maintaining an essential capability for engineering or developmental work calling for the practical application of investigative findings and theories of a scientific or technical nature. The success of the platform has the potential for improving mental health for a great number of Veterans and Service Members. Wisdom Tree Technologies, with its intersection of technology and mental health services currently serving the Veteran and Service Member community and Kastling Group, with its customer experience insights and past performance history of successful complex mobile and web development service implementation at the VA combine to form an exceptional and unique technology solution. For these reasons we believe the sole source contracting vehicle is justified in this case and that it be used to execute the development and implementation of VetLyfe. Accordingly, Wisdom Tree Technologies (and Kastling Group) is the only firm capable of providing the supplies and services described in Section III above without the Veteran s Health Administration experiencing substantial duplication of cost that could not be expected to be recovered through competition and unacceptable delays in fulfilling its requirements. Description of Efforts Made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as deemed practicable: Effort was made to coordinate with VA OIT Industry Liaisons, and some potential sources were identified. For example, LifePulse360, a SDVSB, expressed interest in working on this project, but indicated the development of the platform would need to be incorporated into their existing platform, as opposed to a custom build. No other known exisiting vendors working with the VA OIT Industry Liaisons were identified as suitable candidates for accepting this type of work. Determination by the CO that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable: The anticipated cost for this platform is considered fair and reasonable, as the level of programming and technology design skill required is expensive and highly sought after especially for the highly customizable nature of this tool. When considering the many features, capabilities, and scalability, the value of an application thus described is worth $500,000 at a minimum, if not double this or more based off comparative market research. The vendor quote, when considering level of expertise and capability being created, is nearly an at-cost budget. Description of the Market Research Conducted and the Results, or a Statement of the Reasons Market Research Was Not Conducted: Market research was conducted both internally to the VA and externally from industry for a customized mobile web-application. No comparible capabilities as outlined by this VetLyfe platform were found nor vendors able to provide this unique set of technical skills provided by WTT/KG. Importantly, the Veterans Experience Office and the Office of Connected Care were both consulted for the development of this proposal. Both identified existing (e.g. Rally Point) or previously attempted (e.g. never-implemented Veteran Social Media Platform) capabilties but concurred that these products were limited in that they were not customizable, and did not integrate, interface, and/or encompass the many aspects VetLyfe is designed to address. Importantly, the VA will be able to control and closely direct the development of the platform as opposed to using finished products. As described in Section 6 above, market research, in accordance with FAR Part 10, was conducted by synopsis of the proposed acquisition, advising industry of the pending acquisition and soliciting inquiries from interested parties. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other than Full and Open Competition: The VA Leadership consulted enthusiastically encouraged the development and piloting of the VetLyfe platform locally at the Washington DC VA Medical Center, the local Baltimore/DC region, and rural areas. They indicated that while the existing related technology offerings (i.e. Rally Point) have MOU s established with VA, they were admittedly insufficient for providing the level of customer experience and connection with VA as would be desired. However, it was indicated that no other plans are in place to develop or improve this area beyond the existing MOU. It was suggested that if successful, the VetLyfe platform could be intergrated to augment current offerings and adopted at a national level. From the Office of Connected Care, a social media platform was previously built, however it lacked sophisticated user-centered design in its development and was poorly received by Veterans as a result. Further, it did not have customization elements allowing it to be used as a potential tool for research and scientific discovery,something was considered an important and valueable future capability. Listing of Sources that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition: LifePulse360 A Statement of the Actions, if any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome any Barriers to Competition before Making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required: The National Center for PTSD has indicated potential funds being available in the next FY to support further development and enhancement. Future acquisitions can be open to competition, as the platform will be open-source and interoperable such that existing future capabilities can be integrated, and not designed through a custom build. The follow-on competitive acquisition would be planned for the end of FY 2020. Requirements Certification: I certify that the requirement outlined in this justification is a Bona Fide Need of the Department of Veterans Affairs and that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. _____________________________ ________________________ David Maron Date Statistician Washington DC VA Medical Center Approvals in accordance with the VHAPM Part 806.3 OFOC SOP: Contracting Officer or Designee s Certification (required): I certify that the foregoing justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. _____________________________ ________________________ Vanessa Jacobs Date Contracting Specialist NCO 5 One Level Above the Contracting Officer (Required over SAT but not exceeding $700K): I certify the justification meets requirements for other than full and open competition. _____________________________ ________________________ Christine Hernadez Date Specialized Branch Chief NCO 5
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/d6a34aa94391dcded9c7fe3a3f0cd317)
 

Document(s)

Justification and Approval (J&A)
 

File Name: 36C24519C0207 36C24519C0207_1.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=5150765&FileName=36C24519C0207-000.docx)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=5150765&FileName=36C24519C0207-000.docx

 

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

Record

SN05439519-W 20190913/190912053208-d6a34aa94391dcded9c7fe3a3f0cd317 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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