JOFOC_for_POSTING.docx

Version 1.0

NFFN7600-19-02726

SINGLE SOURCE DETERMINATION USING

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES (SAP)

FOR AN ACTION NOT EXCEEDING THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

(AUTHORITY: FAR 13.106-1(b)(1))

NFFN7600-19-02726

1. Agency and contracting activity. Department of Commerce, NOAA Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO),Norfolk Acquisition Office NOAA TASB-NORFOLK and the Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Miami, FL.

2. Description of supplies or services required to meet agency needs (including the estimated value).

The requirement is to a) provide scientific advice on how to turn Stock Synthesis into operating model simulations for Management Strategy Evaluations. B) Continue to support NOAA’s mission of providing stock assessment advice by maintaining and updating the Decision Support tool and C) advance NOAA’s mission by improving the capability of using Stock Synthesis to provide projection advice.

This will be at a total cost of $ inclusive of all travel, equipment indirect cost and benefits for a base year with an additional 1 year extension. This will allow the NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Miami FL to accomplish its mission of providing timely and accurate fisheries management advice.

3. Identification of the single source or the brand name to be solicited.

Dr. Nathan Vaughan https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-vaughan-7181b962

4. Supporting rationale. Only one source or brand name is reasonably available as detailed below:

· Other - Only one source is capable

Dr. Nathan Vaughan is uniquely qualified to provide these services to NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Miami FL as he:

a) has detailed knowledge of the methods, programming code and work flow necessary to turn Stock Synthesis into an operating (simulations) model. For the past two years, Dr. Vaughan has been intimately familiar with the code and features of the Stock Synthesis assessment program. It is these features and its inherent capacity to produce simulations that Dr Vaughan will be adapting to create the operating model capacity for this project. Specifically, the proposed contractor has developed a method to obtain management benchmarks under different fleet allocations that improves upon one of the current methods used in Stock Synthesis. This methodology offers substantial promise to NOAA for the provision of fisheries management advice.

b) he developed the original Decision Support Tool that will be updated with additional features Dr. Vaughan developed the original Decision Support Tool now used by NOAA scientists to provide rapid and accurate management advice. This tool interfaces with the stock assessment model, providing the capacity for an analyst to quickly evaluate different management procedures such as catch limits, size limits, discard mortality fleet allocations and different projection scenarios. This has vastly improved the speed, efficiency and accuracy of the NOAA fisheries management advice framework. The proposed contractor developed this proprietary product and expanding its capacity to the next version of Stock Synthesis (3.30) will be a primary task of this project.

c) the work is part of a larger 1 year (with a potential additional year) to develop Stock Synthesis into operating models. Dr Vaughan is an integral member of this team currently and the larger project would be unable to be completed without his contribution. The funding for the project is from Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Management and Conservation Act implementation funds that were competitively awarded to Dr John Walter (requestor for this contract). Failing to achieve the deliverables of this project would jeopardize the work of Dr Walter, mean that the larger project would fail to produce its key deliverables which is the development of operating model capacity for Stock Synthesis and would impede the provision of fisheries advice that relies upon simulation testing different management procedures.

This contract is necessary to avoid a break in service for this critical mission requirement. Dr. Vaughan possesses the unique qualifications and specialized capabilities required to perform this requirement. An open competition to complete the work would cause intolerable delay to the program (usual hiring delays have exceeded 6 months) and the project needs to start as soon as possible so as to not pose a risk to the Government of failing to meet the deliverables of the Operating Model for Management Strategy Evaluation. The requirement cannot be modified in any manner to increase competition due to the time delays and the fact that only one contractor could perform the work.

5. Market Research.

Market research was conducted by Dr. John Walter to identify available sources and to evaluate the availability of the marketplace to meet the requirement as follows:

1. Evaluation of other similar contracts awarded to cooperative institutes, for example the same amount ($130,000) is being awarded to the Northwest Fisheries Science Center’s cooperative institute for the second key member of this research team. As part of the cooperative institute agreement this award did not have to be competed

2. The same cost ($130,000) was going to be moved through the existing SEFSC cooperative institute, however logistic reasons (ending of the cooperative agreement in 2020) have posed logistical hurdles. The figure of 130,000 is exactly the same amount that would have been moved and would represent a salary of $75,000, computer and publication costs of $3,500, a fringe rate of 35.5% and an indirect rate of 26% on top of that total. Hence the market value is slightly less than what would have been paid through the cooperative agreement.

3. Based on the results of market research, the government determined that a limited number of vendors were available but each of them would have likely had to hire the current potential contractor (Vaughan) due to the unique qualifications listed in (5) above.

6. Technical/Requirements Representative Certification

I certify that this requirement constitutes the Government’s minimum needs and the supporting data provided herein is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

____________________ __________ June 17, 2019

Dr. John F. Walter, Research Fishery Biologist

7. Determination

I hereby determine that the circumstances of this action deem only one source is reasonably available. This determination is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Source Selection Information – see FAR 2.101 and 3.104

Source Selection Information – see FAR 2.101 and 3.104 image1.emf