P03 - J and A - Oxford Journals Subscription - Redacted_Redacted.pdf

Oxford Journals Subscription

36C776-23-AP-2362

VHAPG Part 806.3 OFOC Page 1 of 5 Revision: 01 Effective Date: 04/01/23

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Justification and Approval (J&A) For

Other Than Full and Open Competition (>SAT)

Acquisition Plan Action ID: 36C776-23-AP-2362

1. Contracting Activity:

Department of Veterans Affairs Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC) 6100 Oak Tree Blvd., Suite 490 Independence, OH 44131

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Processed:

This procurement is for an electronic journal subscription in accordance with FAR

13.5 Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items and specifically FAR

13.501 Special Documentation Requirements, where acquisitions conducted under Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6, but still require a justification using the format of FAR 6.303-2. This action is a new requirement and will be awarded as a firm fixed price (FFP) purchase order.

3. Description of Supplies/Services Required to Meet the Agency’s Needs:

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) requires an existing, commercial, off-the-shelf, web-based electronic journal collection. This requirement is for subscriptions that will be made available throughout the VA healthcare system.

Estimated Base Year Dollar Value:

Estimated Option Period 1:

Estimated Option Period 2:

Estimated Option Period 3:

Estimated Option Period 4:

Total Estimated Dollar Value:

The contractor shall provide electronic access to the following list of titles:

• British Journal of Surgery

• Endocrinology (Journal of the Endocrine Society)

• Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal (PJT)

• Social Work (Official Journal of the National Association of Social Workers NASW)

• The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism

• Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA)

VHAPG Part 806.3 OFOC Page 2 of 5 Revision: 01

• American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy (AJHP)

The contractor shall provide all sites on the VHA network with access to a single online, web-based subscription to the journal titles listed. Authentication shall be through VA gateway IP address validation on an enterprise basis, eliminating the need for users to enter identification. Access must include the Liblynx IPs added to the collection of resources presented. These journals must include VA Gateway IPs and LibLynx Ips.

The contractor shall provide an unrestricted number of simultaneous logins with immediate access from any web-enabled computer within the VA network. It is required that all authorized remote users with VPN access have access to the journals as well.

The contractor shall assure that journal(s) access is made available when the issue is posted online. Currency of content is a major consideration to VHA.

Access to the titles should be up to date with no period of embargo to the full text.

Articles can be freely shared or emailed among VHA colleagues.

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other than Full and Open Competition:

FAR 13.501 – Brand Name Acquisition.

5. Demonstration that the Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or Nature of the Acquisition Requires the Use of the Authority Cited Above (applicability of authority):

The VA Library Network Office (LNO) has collected Medical and Health Sciences journals publishers’ content for the last eleven years. LNO subscriptions include peer-reviewed journals in many medical specialties. Those journals are authored by renowned scientists, researchers, scholars, and professionals. Its journal content platform allows the user to browse by subject, and to drill down to the journal and individual title level.

These eJournal titles were identified and approved by the VA LNO CCAG advisory group. VHA’s goal is to ensure uniform availability to a subscription-based collection of high quality, clinical, full text electronic journals across the VHA system to improve clinical decision making at the point of care.

This eJournal subscription is published by Oxford University Press. The required comprehensive eJournal collection delivers complete access to impactful scholarly content that spans multiple areas of study.

VA Librarians assessed suggested titles from their medical staff and these eJournal titles by Oxford University Press were identified and approved by VA LNO Core Collection Advisory Group (CCAG) advisory group.

VHAPG Part 806.3 OFOC Page 3 of 5

6. Description of Efforts Made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as deemed practicable:

This requirement is being competed as a small business set-aside. The proposed action will be synopsized for Contracting Opportunities on SAM.gov. Any proposals that are received will be evaluated in accordance with the instructions set forth in the solicitation.

7. Determination by the CO that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable:

The Contracting Officer will be able to determine the price of the awardee to be fair and reasonable prior to award by evaluating competitive pricing and comparison to the Independent Government Cost Estimate.

8. Description of the Market Research Conducted and the Results, or a

Statement of the Reasons Market Research Was Not Conducted:

An email was sent to the publisher on 10/10/2023 to ascertain if they had any authorized resellers. The publisher stated that there were no Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) or Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) resellers.

Additionally, the Vendor Information Pages (VIP) was queried on 10/11/2023 utilizing NAICS 519290 to search for capable, verifies SDVOSB and VOSB concerns, and an SBA VetCert was queried on 10/11/2023 utilizing NAICS 519290. However, since none of the verified authorized resellers were SDVOSB or VOSBs, the 51 identifies businesses from the search were not contacted.

9. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other than Full and Open Competition:

None

10. Listing of Sources that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition:

11. A Statement of the Actions, if any, the Agency May Take to Remove or

Overcome any Barriers to Competition before Making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required:

The VA will continue to perform market research in attempts to find other sources when soliciting for these services in the future.

VHAPG Part 806.3 OFOC Page 4 of 5

12. Requirements Certification:

I certify that the requirement outlined in this justification is a Bona Fide Need of the Department of Veterans Affairs and that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

13. Approvals in accordance with the VHAPM Part 806.3 OFOC SOP:

a. Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that the foregoing justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

b. One Level Above the Contracting Officer: I certify the justification meets requirements for other than full and open competition.

https://dvagov.sharepoint.com/sites/VHAProcurement/VHAPM/VHAPM_Part_806.3.aspx

VHAPG Part 806.3 OFOC Page 5 of 5

c. DOC Review: I have reviewed the foregoing justification and find it to be complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief and recommend approval for other than full and open competition.

d. HCA Review and Approval: I have reviewed the foregoing justification and find it to be complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief and approve for other than full and open competition.

Date