[Redacted]_LIMITED_SOURCE_JUSTIFICATION_-_Bloomberg_Terminal_Redacted.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL & OPEN COMPETITION

1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE AGENCY AND CONTRACTING AGENCY:

Contracting Activity: OPLC Customer Agency: BLS

2. NATURE AND/OR DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION BEING APPROVED:

One-year subscription to the Bloomberg Terminal for the Production Price Index (PPI) and the Office of Prices and Living Conditions (OPLC). This request includes the BASE Year plus four one-year Option Periods.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES REQUIRED TO MEET THE AGENCY’S

NEEDS

The Bloomberg Terminal provides real-time coverage of markets and securities with pricing and analytical information on every asset class, including commodities, equities, and derivatives. In addition, the terminal provides market news along with industry research and analysis on over 130 industries.

The Bloomberg Terminal will be used as an alternative data source for several prices indexes within the financial services sector and some commodities sectors within the PPI. The terminal will also be used as a source of data, news and research for OPLC.

4. AN IDENTIFICATION OF THE STATUTORY AUTHORITY PERMITTING

OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION:

6.302-1 Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. The subscription and the software are proprietary to Bloomberg and they have no current resellers

5. A DEMONSTRATION THAT THE PROPOSED CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE

QUALIFICATIONS OR THE NATURE OF THE ACQUSITION REQUIRES USE OF

THE AUTHORITY CITED:

The unique qualification of this contractor is that they provide a cost-effective and dependable solution to obtaining alternative data for several PPI indexes from a single source. Much of this data is needed in order to continue publishing or greatly improve the quality of current indexes.

If the PPI were to attempt to obtain the same data elsewhere, multiple sources would be needed at a cost of $150,000 or more. The data we are able to obtain from the Bloomberg Terminal would otherwise have to be purchased from several data sources and/or collected from respondents around the country:

- Data from one of the major equities exchanges requires a subscription fee which we are unable to pay because they refuse to register in the government purchasing system. This data is pricing data used directly in calculating indexes.

- Data on Barclay’s Bond Indexes has a subscription fee which we are unable to pay because they are unwilling to register in the government purchasing system. This data is used in production work.

- Data on municipal securities would have to be purchased from one of a handful of sources. In addition, a Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures license would have to be purchased. This data is pricing data used directly in calculating indexes.

- Data on another one of the major equities exchanges has to be obtained from a respondent, requiring initiation and collection costs. This data is pricing data used directly in calculating indexes.

- Certain pricing data that is available in the terminal for various goods is currently collected from respondents across the country, requiring an initiation and collection cost.

- A variety of additional data from the terminal is used for production work, analysis, and research.

- The Bloomberg Terminal also provides proprietary research that is not available anywhere else and is used for industry analysis.

6. A DESCRIPTION OF EFFORTS TO OBTAIN COMPETITION TO ENSURE THAT

OFFERS ARE SOLICITED FROM AS MANY POTENTIAL SOURCES AS

PRACTICABLE, INCLUDING WHETHER A NOTICE WAS OR WILL BE

PUBLICIZED AS REQUIRED BY SUBPART 5.2 AND IF NOT, WHICH EXCEPTION

UNDER 5.202 APPLIES:

In accordance with FAR 5.203, synopses must be published 15 days before the issuance of a solicitation or negotiations with a sole source. Exception – for commercial items acquisitions, the Contracting Officer (CO) may (1) establish a shorter period for issuance of the solicitation; or (2) use the combined synopsis and solicitation procedure (see 12.603). The CO has decided to use the combined synopsis and solicitation procedure.

7. A DETERMINATION BY THE CONTRACTING OFFICER THAT THE ANTICIPATED

COST TO THE GOVERNEMENT WILL BE FAIR AND REASONABLE:

Price is uniform for all subscriptions regardless of customer. The current price includes a one year subscription. The cost of obtaining portions of this data from other (multiple) sources would be approximately $150,000 or more.

8. A DESCRIPTION OF MARKET RESEARCH CONDUCTED (PART 10) AND THE

RESULTS OR A STATEMENT OF THE REASON MARKET RESEARCH WAS NOT

CONDUCTED:

An OPLC analyst searched the internet and other publications and was unable to find an alternative source. See Section 5 for more detail. This justification will be posted to FBO and allow for possible vendors to submit capability statements.

9. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS SUPPORTING THE USE OF OTHER THAN

FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION: N/A

10. A LISTING OF SOURCES, IF ANY, THAT EXPRESSED, IN WRITING, AN INTEREST

IN THE ACQUISITION:

Bloomberg expressed an interest in this acquisition by submitting a quote dated 5/17/2017.

11. A STATEMENT OF THE ACTIONS, IF ANY, THE AGENCY MAY TAKE TO

REMOVE OR OVERCOME ANY BARRIERS TO COMPETITION BEFORE ANY

SUBSEQUENT ACQUISITION FOR THE SUPPLIES OR SERVICES REQUIRED:

Before exercising the next Option Period, BLS will conduct market research prior to the renewal of this subscription one year from now to see if any new competing subscriptions or databases are available for this procurement.

12. SIGNATURE BLOCKS:

The program/technical official further certifies that no conflict of interest exists in awarding a sole source contract to the contractor identified herein.