Description
Contract No. 70181AM083 TAS: 14 16620000 United States Department of the InteriorJustification of Other than Full and Open Competition Under $25,000 1) Briefly, a description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency's needs and include the estimated value.A division within the Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Region recently experienced a leadership change. Because of this change, it is imperative some team building exercises are provided for the staff, as it faces time without a permanent leader. The office has not had such training in many years and over the last year has experience significant personnel and personal challenges within the office. It is imperative that the office function effectively going forward and that personnel work as a team to accomplish the agency's mission. 2) Statutory Authority permitting other than full and open competition. Identify the statutory authority permitting with the FAR citation and FAR citation Title. FAR 6.302-1: Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. FAR 6.302-2, Unusual and compelling urgency. 3) WHY are the proposed contractor's unique qualifications for the nature of the acquisition requiring the use of the authority cited in item (2). This purchase will allow work already commenced to continue, as the need for team building is immediate. Delaying an award of a purchase order would jeopardize progress already made, causing further harm to the staff. Initially, The Growth Company was contacted to provide initial interviews and the team building exercises. After holding the initial interviews and the first session, the contractor indicated that the challenges were more significant than initially outlined and subsequently she suggested that she will not be able to successfully intervene and stay within the original budget of $2,500. This revelation was unanticipated. In order to continue progress and the services, additional funds are required. Since the challenge is more than initially anticipated and it is imperative that we do what is necessary to create a fully functioning team, we must establish a contract with The Growth Company. Engaging with a different vendor will incur additional costs and risks to the government. Initially, bringing a new vendor would require scheduling individuals so they can assess the issues that must be addressed. This will take time and cause confusion and concern among staff because of having to be interviewed again. Since some of the issues are sensitive, there could be confidentiality issues because we are expanding the circle of individuals' knowledgeable of the situation. The new vendor would have to start anew, establishing a rapport and trust with the group before progress could be made. Essentially, the investment made thus far may be compromised and destined to be redone. There would also likely be additional emotional stress among the staff of the organization that would only hinder the team building that is necessary. 4) WHAT effort was made to ensure that offers were solicited from as many potential sources as is practical. Recognizing the need to initiate the team building efforts quickly, I solicited information from potential vendors from the USFWS, Alaska Region's Diversity and Civil Rights Office. They provided the names of two Anchorage vendors that they were familiar with that had experience in conflict resolution/team building initiatives, Wordwright LLC and The Growth Company. In an effort to expedite the process, each vendor was called and provided with a description and nature of the work. Upon discussing the matter, under the micropurchase threshold limitations, The Growth Company was selected based on their approach of an initial 3-hour session to set the stage and start to implement strategies to enhance teamwork. Several weeks later they would schedule a second 3-hour team building session and check-in with folks to see whether progress was being made. Wordwright indicated they would follow-up the interviews with one 8-hour team building session that they thought would start the process of team building, which was not seen as beneficial for the situation at hand. 5) A Description of the Market survey conducted and the results. Based upon the efforts cited above no market survey was anticipated, or necessary, when this effort was initiated. Only after we initiated the intervention did it come to light that the effort would be more complicated than originally envisioned. As such, to ensure progress and confidentiality are not compromised, it is in the Government's best interest to continue with a contract with The Growth Company. All steps to remove or overcome barriers to competition have been taken.