Justification_for_Sole_Source_-_CRSP_FBO_Redacted.pdf

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

100 F STREET, NE

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

Office of Acquisitions

JUSTIFICATION FOR SOLE SOURCE ACQUISITION

RQ

J&A Log: 2019-

Upon the basis o the following justification, I, as the Contracting Officer, hereby approve the use of limited competition for the proposed contractual action pursuant the authority of FAR Part 13.5 in accordance with 41 U.S.C. 1901, only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency Requirements.

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition.”

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 100 F Street NE Washington, DC 20549

2. Nature and Description of Action Being Approved:

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) intends to award a sole source requirement to the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) at the Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago, for access to a database that provides standard and derived historical data on U.S. common stocks, U.S.

Government bonds, mutual funds, and basic market indices. This is a renewal contract action.

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

The SEC proposes to negotiate the purchase of continuing services that provide access to CRSP data.

• Access to data on U.S. common stocks and closed-end mutual funds listed on NYSE, AMEX, NASDAQ, and ARCA exchanges

• Access to descriptive and market data on U.S. Government bills, notes, and bonds

• Access to data on active and inactive U.S. open-end mutual funds

• Access to US market indices on daily, monthly, quarterly and annual index frequencies. The market indices will be grouped by market capitalization, and include the number of companies, total return and index level, capital appreciation return and index level, and income return and index level

• Concurrent access to the U.S. common stocks and closed-end mutual funds data

The data will be provided via secure managed file transfer (MTF) and via

Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS) platform with quarterly updates.

The estimated contract value is for the base period and for the base and four (4) 12-month option periods.

4. An Identification of the statutory Authority for Other Than Full and Open Competition:

FAR Part 13.5 in accordance with 41 U.S.C. 1901 and 41 U.S.C. 3304, only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. Demonstration that the proposed contractor's unique qualifications or nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

The SEC requires access to CRSP data. The minimum requirements are set forth in paragraph 3 above.

The Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) at the Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago provides the CRSP proprietary data to the SEC via WRDS, a web accessible research platform that enables data to be retrieved and analyzed, and is thus the only service that satisfies the SEC’s minimum requirements.

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 applies.

In accordance with FAR 5.203(a), a notice of intent to award a sole-source contract to CRSP at the University of Chicago for the services specified herein was posted to FedBizOpps.gov. Zero (0) responses were received in response to the post.

7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The anticipated cost to the government will be determined to be fair and reasonable. Before awarding a contract, the contracting officer will determine the proposed price fair and reasonable in accordance with FAR 13.106-3.

8. Description of a market research conducted and results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted:

Knowledgeable individuals in Government and academia were contacted regarding market capabilities, source lists of academic libraries and business schools were reviewed and product literature online by database providers were reviewed.

Based on market research findings, CRSP at the University of Chicago is the only vendor that provides this data which is proprietary.

9. Other Supporting Facts:

N/A

10. A listing of the sources, if any that expressed, in writing an interest in the acquisition:

N/A

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:

The SEC will continue to perform market research for future acquisitions for the purpose of verifying the sole source nature of this requirement.

//ORIGINAL SIGNED//