UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Finance and Operations Contracts and Acquisitions Management

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC)

In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation subsection 6.303-2, the following serves as the
JOFOC for this acquisition.

1.   Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

Agency:

Contracting Activity:

US Department of Education

Contracts and Acquisitions Management

2.   Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

The purpose of this Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) is to provide documentation that explains why this specific requirement is to be awarded as a firm-fixed price contract  to the American  Council  on  Education  (ACE)  without  competition  for the  Education Blockchains requirement. The base pe  i  formance for this contract is 18 months, and the estimated total value of the contract is                    for the base period and includes an optional task of for an estimated total value of

3.  A complete description of the supplies and/or services required to meet the agency's needs. Project Title: Education Blockchains Background

Federal  statute  directs  the  Office  of  Educational  Technology  (OET)  to  develop  a 
national vision and  strategy  for  how educational  technology  can  be  used  to transform teaching and learning;   promote  awareness   and  effective   use  of  technology   by  States,  districts,  and postsecondary   institutions;  ensure  the  availability  and  dissemination  of  knowledge;  and promote  the  effective  uses  of  technology  in  existing  Federal  education  programs.    OET supports  the  President's and  Secretary's  priorities  and  the  goals of Title  IV, Part  A of the Elementary  and  Secondary  Education  Act  of  1965  (ESEA)  reauthorized  by
Every  Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) by:

•   Providing  access  to high-quality  education  opportunities  for all  learners.  Leveraging technology  to create equitable  and accessible  learning  ecosystems  and  pathways  that support everywhere, all the time learning, personalized for all students.  This includes

leveraging  technology  to  provide  and  demonstrate  achievements  from  formal  and informal learning experiences.

•   Supporting the use of technology to improve learning outcomes and increase flexibility Building  capacity  and  providing  technical  assistance  to  State  Educational  Agencies (SEAs),  Local  Educational  Agencies  (LEAs),  and  Institutions  of  Higher  Education (IHEs) to address network infrastructure and data security needs.

Legislative AuthorityThe Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) program, under subpart 1 of Title IV, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) reauthorized by Every Student Succeeds Act in December 2015, provides SEAs and LEAs with the flexibility to tailor investments based on

the needs of their unique student populations.  In addition to supporting a well-rounded education and safe and healthy schools, a portion of the SSAE program funds must  be  used  for  increasing the  effective  use  of  technology  to  improve  the  academic achievement, ac demic growth, and digital literacy of all students.  Section 4103 (a)(3) of the ESEA authorizes the Department to reserve "two percent" of the amount appropriated for the SSAE program for "technical assistance and
capacity building".  A portion of these set-aside funds  have  been  directed  to the Department's  Office  of  Educational  Technology  (OET)  to support this activity.

Scope

The Education Blockchains project will build the capacity of SEAs, LEAs, IHEs, and the broad community of education  and workforce  stakeholders  on the implementation of interoperable digital   credentials   anchored   on   blockchains   and   provide   technical   assistance   to   these stakeholders on the effective adoption ofblockchain based digital credentials infrastructure.Current educational records capture data from single institutions about the accomplishments of

students in that institution rather than provide a comprehensive view of a students' knowledge, skills, and abilities, or their achievements apart from that single institution.  This limits student mobility  and  the  ability  for  education  providers  across  the  education  spectrum  to  provide personalized   learning  and  timely   services.     Developing   an   infrastructure that  supports comprehensive, digital records of a students'  accomplishments will allow the data across the student's  lifetime  of  learning  experiences  to  be  used  by students  and  learning
 providers  to inform  recommendations and student supports  and enhance  students'  access to personalized learning and career experiences.  Anchoring these on a blockchain can: (1) ensure that the data on  these  records  is  maintained  securely  and  controlled  by  students  themselves;  (2)  record achievements  on the level of competencies,  and can be described and validated
transparently so that employers  base  recruiting  on  skills;  and  (3) and  overcome 
institutional  silos  in our education   system,  allowing   greater  access  for  students  to  postsecondary   education  and employment.

 

Description of Services Required

Blockchain technology is an emerging and rapidly evolving technology, with limited Development  in the educational  context.   The Department  will  provide technical  assistance and build capacity to enable education stakeholders to effectively leverage this technology to address their academicachievement goals.  This will require three components: 

(I)  Extensive  stakeholder  outreach  to examine  policy  and  technical  elements  related  to education  blockchains.    This  should  be  accomplished  by  convening  a  diversity  of education  stakeholders  and  forming  working  groups  to  examine  relevant  topics  of interest;

(2)  Primer on education blockchains that describes existing implementations of education blockchains,  outlines  policy  considerations,  and  describes  open  source  technical standards for interoperability.  This should be developed  as the stakeholder  working groups surface relevant topics of interest; and

(3)  Organize   and   conduct   a   compet1t1on   for   the   development   of   pilot   sites  for implementing   education   blockchains   that  allow  mobility  and  opportunity  across various education domains (such as Kl2, postsecondary, workforce training, or other informal learning). Together, these three components will inform policymakers, technology developers, education practitioners, and workforce entities about effective, replicable implementations of this novel technology and promising practices for supporting low-income and traditionally underserved students.

The American Council of Education (ACE) will develop these three resources to build the capacity and provide technical assistance to SEAs, LEAs, IHEs, and other stakeholders on effective use of blockchain technology as the digital infrastructure of student records.

4.   An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition. The statutory authority permitting use of non-competitive procedures is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(l). An executive  agency  may  use  procedures  other  than  competitive  procedures  only  when  the property or services needed  by the executive agency are available from only one responsible source and no other type of property or services will satisfy the needs of the executive agency. The  Federal  Acquisition  Regulation  (FAR)  citation  permitting  Other  Than  Full  and  Open Competition  is FAR 6.302-1- Only one responsible  source and no other supplies or services will

satisfy agency requirements.

5.   A demonstration that the proposed contractor's unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.In order to ensure timely and high-quality delivery of the three required  components  of this technical  assistance  and  capacity  building  project,  the  Department  of  Education  requires 

a contractor with demonstrated expertise in four key areas:

(1) Building  partnerships  with  stakeholders  that  span  multiple  segments  of  the  education pipeline, including Kl2, postsecondary  education, and workforce.   This includes developing communities  of  action  across  these  stakeholders  to  enable  students  to  bridge  formal  and informal learning systems;

(2) Conducting policy research on topics affecting student success, especially for students that are pursuing non-traditional or informal learning experiences;

(3) Developing  interoperability  frameworks  that  allow  translation  of  skills  and  academic achievements earned from a variety of sources to be aggregated  into a comprehensive  learner record; and

(4) Designing and implementing pilot projects that build capacity of education stakeholders, collecting data and conducting reviews on the outcomes of the pilot projects, and disseminating promising practices and results to the education community.The American Council on Education (ACE) is a nonprofit organization that is unique in that ACE has experience  in each of the four key areas above as demonstrated  through numerous prior and current projects.   As discussed in further detail below (see Sections 6 and 8), other organizations have experience in one or more of the key areas, but no other organization has experience in all four.

While other organizations have experience working on connecting alternative credentials along  some  portion  of  an  educational  and  workforce  pathway,  no  organization   has developed a national framework that covers transitions across thousands of organizations and instituti ons.  In addition, many organizations that support credit transfer are limited to working within one education sector, such as within K12, or within specific segments of postsecondary  education, 
such  as  colleges  of  continuing  education  or  online  learning providers.    ACE  has 
demonstrated  experience  developing  partnerships  across  various education and workforce sectors and creating infrastructure for lifelong learning pipelines. Finally, ACE is uniquely positioned to successfully convene a national conversation with diverse  stakeholders  to discuss  policy implications  of  new  technologies,  balancing  the impact on traditional  institutions,  non-traditional and  new  education  providers,  and  the needs oflow-income and non-traditional students.  For these reasons, a sole source contract to ACE  is necessary  and  will  lead to the  greatest  success  of the Education  Blockchainproject. Key-areas that ACE has excelled in are identified as follows:

Key Area 1;

ACE  has demonstrated  experience  building  partnerships  with  multiple  segments  of the education pipeline and bridging formal and informal learning for students.

ACE has experience across all sectors and has developed a framework adopted nationally for enabling  transitions  across thousands  of organizations  and  institutions.   ACE  is the major coordinating  body for US colleges and universities  and the only US organization that represents  most students  in all types of US accredited,  degree-granting institutions. ACE has significant experience  building partnerships  with K12 educational  entities and bridging  K12 to
postsecondary  education.   From  2017 to 2019,  ACE  led the American College Access Campaign (ACAC), a national campaign to support K12 schools and first­ generation  and low-income  students in navigating  the college application  process.   The success of this campaign  was the result of developing  and supporting cross-disciplinary leadership teams in all 50 states and Washington, DC.

Key Area2;ACE  regularly  conducts  research  on  topics  affecting  student  success,  especially  for  non­ traditional students or students pursuing informal learning experience .ACE is a leading national organization for policy research on topics related to student success, institutional transformation, and modem challenges to the education system.   ACE regularly convenes  national  and regional  summits that bring together senior leaders  in postsecondary education around current issues affecting student success and sharing promising practices on technology  and  other  policy  innovations  that  impact  success  for  students,  especially  non­ traditional students.

Key Area3;

ACE has led the development  of frameworks  that allow translation  of skills and  academic achievements earned from a variety of sources to be aggregated into a comprehensive  learner record.

ACE is the only organization that has created and mediated credit transfer programs that have allowed  individuals  to  receive  academic  credit  for  learning  received  outside  of  formal institutions,  creating  a  bridge  between  formal  and  informal  education  across  the  lifelong learning pathway.  Since 1974, the ACE Education College Credit Recommendation Service
(CREDIT)  has  linked  professional  accomplishments  earned  in  the  workplace  to  academic credit  at  colleges  and  universities  by  developing  skills  mapping  and  assessments  across multiple  industry  sectors  and  academic  disciplines.    By  creating  partnerships  with  major employers and technology companies, these credits can be issued as digital credentials that are portable  and  transferable  to  any  institution.    Beginning  in  2018,  ACE  and  the  Lumina Foundation  have partnered on a Working Transcript Project to further extend this service by embedding open standards and taxonomies into these digital assets so that they can be applied

seamlessly  across multiple technical  domains  and allowing the credentials themselves to be self-sovereign and individually owned (rather than by institutions or organizations).Through partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, ACE led a national review of credentialing that led to the development of the ACE National Guide to College Credit for Workforce

  Training,   which   contains   credit   recommendations   for   formal   courses   or
examinations offered by thousands of industry organizations, employers, and governments and military.   This National Guide serves as the primary resource for education stakeholders for understanding  and  applying  alternative  credentials  -  those  earned  from  informal  and  non­ accredited entities such as online learning providers or through prior learning assessments.  To support  this  Guide,  ACE  provides  extensive  technical  assistance  for institutional  and  non­ institutional entities on applying best practices for creating more flexible pathways for
students to degree and credential completion.    In partnership  with the Department of Defense, ACE supports  quality  assurance  frameworks  and  research  on  assessment  validity  for  the  Joint Services Transcript, used across all branches of the military to translate military training and service into civilian academic and professional achievements.

Key Area 4;

ACE   has   designed   and   implemented   pilot   projects   that   build   capacity   of  
education stakeholders.In addition to the pilots mentioned above, ACE has experience developing and implementing national pilot projects that focus on innovations in credential and credit transfer, including the Alternative Credit Project, the US-Japan Collaborative Online International Leaming (COIL) project,

the US Department of Education EQUIP Experimental  Sites Initiative, the GED 2181 Century  Learning  Pathways  Pilots (in partnership  with  Pearson),  and the Effective  College Instruction  and  Effective  Teaching  Practices  pilot  (in  partnership  with  the  Association  of College and University Educators).

Making  a noncompetitive award  to ACE  is the  most  advantageous  acquisition  strategy  for meeting OETs need for a partner with unique and demonstrated  expertise providing technical assistance and capacity building.

While  other  organizations  reviewed  have  experience  working  on  connecting  alternative credentials along some portion of an educational and workforce pathway, no organization has developed a national framework that covers transitions across thousands of organizations and institutions.  In addition, many organizations that support credit transfer are limited to working within one education sector, such as within Kl 2, or within specific segments of postsecondary education, such as colleges of continuing  education  or online  learning providers.   ACE has demonstrated  experience  developing  partnerships  across  various  education  and  workforce
sectors and creating infrastructure for lifelong learning pipelines.   Finally,  ACE is uniquely positioned to successfully convene a national conversation with diverse stakeholders to discuss policy implications of new technologies, balancing the impact on traditional institutions, non­ traditional  and  new  education  providers,  and  the  needs  of  low-income  and  non-traditional students.   For these reasons, a sole source contract to ACE is necessary  and will lead to the greatest success ot  the Education  HJockchain  project.   The  below table indicates  a StrengthWeakness Capability and Opportunities (SWOT) analysis of proposed sole source vendor with companies

with either same or different capabilities.

6.   A 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 apples.

In accordance with FAR 6.305(d), this justification shall be made publicly available at the OPE (https://www.fbo.gov) and the Department  website for 30 days within  14 days after contract award.

7.   A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. Any rates proposed by ACE for this contract will be compared with labor rates from other contractors in the market to ensure they are fair and reasonable.  In addition, the Independent

Government Cost Estimate uses historical data to estimate the cost of performance and the Department will use this information in the cost analysis before award.  The labor mix will also be confirmed as commensurate with the work required.

8.   A description of the market research conducted and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted. In  early  2019,  OET  conducted  market  research  regarding  viable  options  for  meeting  this requirement. The research confirmed that ACE is the only vendor with the technical expertise in all

four key areas to meet this requirement.  This research is summarized in the table below.

9.   Any other fact supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

NIA.

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition. No other vendors have expressed an interest in this requirement

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency will take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for supplies and services is made. The Department will continue to conduct thorough market research to gauge the marketplace capabilities for future requirements. CAM will follow up-with OET in advance of this contract ending to ensure that if any additional  work is required, we have enough  time to compete a requirement without affecting the mission of the project.  In addition, the acquisition team has

discussed that at the close of the contract, no further work will require the historical knowledge developed by the incumbent.  Therefore, all future work will be competed.

12. The ordering activity Contracting Officer's certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the Contracting Officer's (CO) knowledge.

This justification is accurate and complete to the best of the CO's knowledge. The award of a sole source contract to ACE for the Education Blockchains requirement is in the best interest of the Government.