V3361091_SSJ_V3_Redacted.pdf

Procurement Request No. V3361091

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY

VOLPE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS CENTER (VOLPE CENTER)

Technology Innovation and Policy Division (V336)

SOLE SOURCE SAP JUSTIFICATION

A. Description of Supplies/Services.

The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) is supporting the administration of the Global Benchmarking Program (GBP) for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). As part of this analysis, the Volpe Center requires the use of external subject matter expertise from the National Institute for Building Sciences (NIBS) to analyze and synthesize international best practices in the area of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for Infrastructure.

The NIBS shall: (1) collaborate with the Volpe Center to develop a desk review report identifying noteworthy and promising foreign practices and recommending an approach for conducting an international study; and (2) participate in an international study and synthesize findings and recommendations to support the development of a final study report and presentation.

The estimated cost for this effort is $ .

B. Market Research.

The NIBS was established by the U.S. Congress through Public Law 93-383 on August 22, 1974. Under Section 809(g)(3) of that legislation “Every department, agency, and establishment of the Federal Government having responsibility for building or construction, or for building, or construction-related programs, is authorized and encouraged to request authorization and appropriations for grants to the Institute for its general support, and is authorized to contract with and accept contracts from the Institute for specific services where deemed appropriate by the responsible Federal official involved.”

Furthermore, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in a Memorandum for Agency Procurement Executives dated September 16, 1990 provided guidance to Federal Agencies that “Section 809(g)(3) of P.L. 93-383 expressly authorized agencies and departments to contract with NIBS. Accordingly, the exception to full and open competition provided at FAR 6.302-5 may be used, as appropriate, to award such contracts”.

In addition, in the Memorandum from the Director for Contract Policy Division of the General Services Administration dated April 17, 1987 it is stated that “The enabling legislation of NIBS authorizes agencies to contract with NIBS for services. The implementing regulations of the Competition in Contracting Act, FAR 6.302-5 provide that full and open competition need not be provided for when a statute authorizes or requires that the acquisition be made through another agency or from a specific source.”

Market research performed by Volpe Center technical staff has found not only Congressional, OMB, and GSA directives to use NIBS, but has also found that NIBS is the most appropriate organization to provide subject matter expertise in the area of BIM for Infrastructure, as required by the subject Statement of Work (SOW). NIBS has the unique technical capabilities and qualifications in responding to the objectives outlined in the SOW. As an example, NIBS has conducted a study for FHWA on analyzing bridge modeling standards to advance BIM for Bridges. The report has a section on relevant international activity in Volume 2 and indicated NIBS has a global reach and understanding regarding BIM, which is critical to the GBP study that is central to the SOW. Information about the project and report and a link to the report on the FHWA website can be found at https://www.nibs.org/page/bsa_bridge.

C. Supporting Rationale.

(1) Sole Source: Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

https://www.nibs.org/page/bsa_bridge

Since BIM is a new concept for building infrastructure projects in the United States, the learning curve to bring on a new contractor would result in significant financial risk to the government while not providing the same level of technical expertise as NIBS. Additionally, the Congress established NIBS in 1974, and authorized and encouraged government agencies to contract with and accept contracts from NIBS for building and construction-related programs for specific services where deemed appropriate. OMB and GSA has also issued directives for Government agencies to utilize NIBS for appropriate purposes.

Running counter to Congressional, OMB, and GSA directives to use NIBS by using another contractor would require the Volpe Center to provide an explanation to any auditor that inquired as to why it did not use NIBS for the BIM analysis portion of the required GBP study. This would cost the Volpe Center resources and possibly other repercussions with Congress, OMB, and GSA.

Also, it would be unfeasible to expect Volpe Center staff to become experts in BIM analysis in the short timeframe of this GBP study (9 months). NIBS is staffed with the appropriate subject matter experts who could meet the requirements of the SOW within the required timeframe.

D. Required Signatures. The following signatures represent concurrence/approval of this justification:

PR Technical Initiator Date PR Technical Initiator’s Supervisor Date

Contracting Officer Date Chief, Contracts Branch (or designee) Date (Signature required for procurements over $25,000)