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The purpose of this section of the website is to
highlight and discuss barriers to contracting
with NISH-affiliated Nonprofit Agencies under
the
Javits-Wagner-O’Day (JWOD
/ AbilityOne)
Program. Hopefully, this information
will help break down barriers and create
additional job opportunities for people who are
blind or severely disabled through AbilityOne
contracts.
When
it comes to meeting socio-economic goals
“The Small Business Administration requires
Federal Agencies to meet specific goals as a
percent of acquisition dollars awarded to small
business, small disadvantaged business, and
other socio-economic programs. The dollars spent
on AbilityOne contracts are subtracted from the
acquisition base against which agencies’ small
business goals are applied. This is because
agencies have no discretion in where to place
AbilityOne awards as they are a directed source. AbilityOne
contract actions should be reported to the
Federal Procurement Data Center but are excluded
from the goaling base.”
HOW
CAN WE MINIMIZE THE IMPACT OF TRANSITION ON THE
EXISTING WORKFORCE?
Transition is substantially improved when a
portion of the requirements, originally intended
as part of a larger study, are given over to
NISH incrementally. First, a smaller portion of
the requirement will be in transition thereby
allowing a more focused team approach by the
Government and the contractor. Second, personnel
disruptions are minimized, because positions may
be available in other organizations that are not
subject to a cost comparison or the cost
comparison scheduled for the out-years.
Spreading out conversions will enhance each
agency’s ability to minimize adverse personnel
actions. Also, change can be initiated at that
point in time when the MEO is prepared to
transition the requirement or part of the
requirement to NISH. In this case, the MEO would
retain a portion of the jobs while NISH
increases its on-site presence over time. If
desired, the MEO can retain certain mission
critical jobs. The scope of the contract can be
adjusted up or down as resources or other
circumstances dictate. This process will
substantially lessen personnel turbulence.
OUR
SERVICE NEEDS FLUCTUATE. CAN NISH HELP US SECURE
TEMPORARY WORKERS?
GSA and NISH entered into a partnership to
create a program for temporary administrative
and general support services through a Basic
Ordering Agreement (BOA). The BOA simplifies the
process of obtaining temporary help, ensures
competitive pricing and provides Federal
managers ready access to a trained and motivated
pool of workers. This program allows you to
fulfill workload requirements in spite of
limited resources, hiring freezes, and
unforeseen spikes in workload. We have
negotiated prices for 72 different positions.
All you need to do is issue a purchase order for
the services you need. Within a week, one of our
nonprofit agencies will have trained and skilled
personnel available to perform the
administrative services.
DO
WE STILL NEED TO CONDUCT FORMAL COST
COMPARISONS?
The NISH requirements definition process will
meet mission needs better than conducting a
formal cost comparison. When dealing with NISH,
the issues associated with “arms-length”
negotiations do not exist. As a result,
cross-functional teams can be formed for the
life of the contract. This will enhance
achievement of organizational goals, help manage
change, and simplify the process of seeking out
and adopting best practices to improve
individual and organizational performance.
WHAT ABOUT MARKET RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS?
Instead of accomplishing market research from
either a government or contractor perspective,
the team could determine the best approach to
market research. This will ensure that
performance requirements mirror commercial
standards, while considering unique mission
needs. While AbilityOne contracts are governed by FAR
Part 8, we will work with our customers to award
contracts in the spirit of commercial
acquisitions IAW FAR Part 12. And a by-product
of market research will be requirement-specific
cost estimates gleaned from this market-based
approach.
IS
IT POSSIBLE TO TAILOR THE PERFORMANCE-BASED
STATEMENT OF WORK TO MATCH OUR GOALS?
Because the issue of arms-lengths negotiations
does not exist, working with NISH presents a
unique opportunity to develop the PWS to include
commercial standards, unique mission needs,
identification of cost drivers, and most
importantly, agency priorities. Instead of
having a PWS developed by the Government and
then distributed to industry for comments and
subsequently to propose, a joint PWS can be
developed. The NISH nonprofit agency and NISH
will be part of the team to make sure the PWS
concentrates on each agency’s mission outcomes.
HOW
CAN WE BE CERTAIN THAT TRULY QUALIFIED SERVICE
PROVIDERS HAVE BEEN LOCATED?
Before finalizing any arrangements, the NISH
region and the Committee for Purchase from
People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled will
conduct an extensive review of nonprofit
agencies to make sure they meet all the
necessary qualifications. Prior to contract
start, NISH conducts a readiness review to make
sure the Nonprofit Agency (NPA) is prepared to
perform the mission to the quality standards
stated in the contract and at a fair market
price (as approved by the Committee). During
this process each agency will have input on the
final selection of the team partner.
WHAT ARE NISH’S RESPONSIBILITIES ONCE THE NPA
STARTS WORK?
While no one can guarantee success, NISH offers
a long-term relationship for quality services.
Throughout the contract, NISH will provide
consulting services such as business management,
contract administration, quality control, time
measure management, engineering, costing and
pricing, training, and in some cases start-up
capital. Point being: NISH and the NPA will be
each agency’s performance partners for the life
of the contract. Our goal is complete mission
success.
WHAT ABOUT SUBCONTRACTING SOME OF OUR MORE
TECHNICAL WORK?
As in the commercial world, subcontracting is an
important tool. For technology-based
requirements and other requirements outside the
capability of the NPA, subcontracts may be
awarded to firms possessing the needed
expertise. For example, an agency could easily
outsource an engineering, civil engineering, or
public works requirement by subcontracting the
design section, phasing in the severely disabled
workforce to accomplish most of the crafts. And
non-disabled personnel could handle the most
specialized crafts, or those requiring
“masters-type” licenses, special certifications,
and/or extensive experience. Another example:
for high technology requirements, the NPA could
provide labor to accomplish functions like
scanning, filing, etc while a for-profit firm
can provide the technical expertise and capital
required for equipment and facilities. And of
course the contracting agency will have input
into the subcontract decision. Essentially, this
is the same process as the one used in the
for-profit world.
WILL OUR ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN INCREASE DEALING
WITH NISH?
Administrative time will be significantly
decreased. Contrary to commercial practice, the
Government is often forced to re-compete just
about the time the contractor is providing an
acceptable level of service at a fair price. In
the NISH environment, as long as the NPA is
providing quality service at a fair market price
and delivering service on time, the AbilityOne
relationship simply renews itself. No longer
will agencies be required to conduct a
competition, transition a contractor, and then
repeat the entire process at the peak of
contracting efficiency. By taking advantage of
the AbilityOne procurement opportunities, the program
rules are there to be leveraged, substantially
reducing administrative time.
WHAT ABOUT MODIFYING, OR RIGHT-SIZING OUR
REQUIREMENTS?
One contract for consolidated requirements will
result in better performance and greater
flexibility to meet mission needs. This can
occur in two ways. First, an existing contract
can be modified to add services for similar
requirements. For example, a current fleet
maintenance contract could be expanded to
include fleet management. Another example: When
a current NISH Base Operating Support (BOS)
contract exists, additional requirements can be
added without the burden of meeting competition
statutes. This approach could be extremely
beneficial, because it would allow an agency to
plan a long-range strategy to create a BOS
concept. The result is fewer contracts to
administer, the retention of mission critical
jobs in-house, allowances for increases or
decreases to the scope of work, the
uninterrupted and timely receipt of quality
services, pay for services established at fair
market price, and substantial savings by
avoiding A-76 costs and the allocation of
excessive administrative time.
IS
IT POSSIBLE TO EXECUTE A NISH CONTRACT IN
RELATIVELY SHORT ORDER?
Contracts can be executed significantly faster.
While OMB Circular A-76 allows 12 months for a
cost comparison to be completed, partnering with
NISH will allow you to beat OMB time
requirements. In fact, NISH may be the only
service provider to give you that guarantee.
Cost savings can be realized earlier.
For more information about the SBA’s Goaling
Guidelines, visit:
http://www.sba.gov/GC/goals
In accordance with the FAR, the Contracting
Officer is responsible for effective
contracting, contract compliance and
safeguarding the interests of the United States.
Contracting Officers are allowed wide latitude
to exercise business judgment.
The AbilityOne Program is just one of many factors the
Contracting Officer must consider in
establishing an acquisition strategy. NISH, in
support of the Contracting Officer and Federal
Government customers, works to simplify the
acquisition process and to provide best value
solutions.
For consideration, NISH offers a “no-cost,
no-obligation” proposal when asked. For the
Contracting Officer, it is easy to find out
whether the AbilityOne Program is the most appropriate
acquisition method – ask NISH for a proposal and
evaluate alternatives with the facts available.
The AbilityOne Program only works when someone in the
Federal Government cares. Currently, one-half of
one percent (00.5%) of Federal contract dollars
are awarded under the AbilityOne Program. The largest
single provider of jobs for people with severe
disabilities in the United States, the AbilityOne
Program employs approximately 45,000 people.
There are 10 million people with a disability
eligible for the AbilityOne Program.
Think AbilityOne first!
For more guidance, check out The AbilityOne Handbook
available at:
http://www.jwod.gov/jwod/library/publications.html
For more information:
FAR Subpart 8.7
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