Justification and Approval _ 75D30123Q76816 Lectora.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR SOLE SOURCE PROCUREMENT (OPEN MARKET OR GSA)

UNDER $250,000

Sole source acquisitions may be used on a limited basis and only when the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)/Program Official has provided sufficient justification and the Contracting Officer has determined that the circumstances warrant such action. The content for a justification must contain detailed facts and rationale to justify the sole source acquisition. Soliciting from a single source must be done in accordance with FAR 13.106-1(b) or 8.405-6. At a minimum, the following information must be included:

Identification of Program Office, Contracting Activity, and Proposed Requirement, Justification and Program Office Certification:

A. Program Office:

Division of Laboratory System Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1600 Clifton Road, NE MS V24-3 Atlanta, GA 30329

B. Contracting Activity:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office of Financial Resources Office of Acquisition Services Branch II

C. Identification of Requirement:

1. Nature of Action to be Approved by Contracting Officer:

a. Sole source acquisition of:

Annually renewable licensing agreement for Lectora training authorizing program used to create online training courses in support of the CDC Laboratory Safety Training initiative, LRN laboratory preparedness training and numerous other CDC programs.

b. Procurement Request (PR) Number (if available): PR# 72576

2. Proposed Vendor and Estimated Procurement Amount (if available):

a. Proposed Vendor: Elearning Brothers

b. Estimated Procurement Amount: $21,747.00

3. Is the requirement on GSA Schedule? ☐ Yes ☒ No

If yes, provide schedule number:

Rev. 5/14/19

D. Justification:

1. The justification for this non-competitive action is:

☒ In accordance with FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), “only one source [is] reasonably available” which states that, “For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold. (i) Contracting officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name or industrial mobilization). (ii) Where a single source is identified to provide a portion of a purchase because that portion of the purchase specifies a particular brand-name item, the documentation in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section only applies to the portion of the purchase requiring brand-name item. The documentation should state it is covering only the portion of the acquisition which is brand- name.”

☐ Urgency

☒ Exclusive licensing agreements/Proprietary data

☐ Brand name required

☐ Industrial mobilization

☒ Other (e.g., compatibility, space issues, continuity, compatibility, etc.)

☐ In accordance with FAR 8.405-6 “Limiting Sources” which states that, “the only circumstances that may justify the action are – (A) An urgent and compelling need exists, and following the procedures would result in unacceptable delays; (B) Only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized; or (C) In the interest of economy and efficiency, the new work is a logical follow-up to an original Federal Supply Schedule order provided that the original order was placed in accordance with the applicable Federal Supply Schedule ordering procedures. The original BPA must not have been previously issued under sole-source or limited-sources procedures.”

☐ Urgency

☐ Only One Source

☐ Logical Follow Up

☐ Brand name required

2. Other facts supporting sole source procurement:

a. What can this product/service do that other products/services cannot do?

CDC’s Division of Laboratory Systems (DLS) utilizes Lectora software to develop all its eLearning courses, which are made available for free to laboratory professionals and the general public to help strengthen the US laboratory workforce. Lectora software offers responsive design, automated versioning, interactivity, branching, quizzing features, and various course template options within its authoring suite.

Lectora also supports exports in SCORM, xAPI, HTML5, AICC, PENS and cmi5 formats, and training can be presented as documentation, live online, online tutorials, and webinars. Importantly, Lectora operates as a standalone, self-hosting and/or cloud-based authoring tool that integrates with nearly every LMS platform, meaning the tool can be accessed both online and remotely, as well as via a download specific to the device. Self-hosting in particular allows for more customizable specifications, uninterrupted data availability, and no risk of breaking data confidentiality, which is important for adhering to CDC privacy and IT safety protocols. Also, Lectora is Web Content Accesibility Guideline-friendly and offers a wide array of administrative features (e.g., access controls/permissions, role-based permissions, single sign-on); content management features (e.g., cataloging/configuration, content library, media library, template library); content development features (e.g., 508 compliance, brand integration, data import/export, gamification, activity dashboards); and integration features (e.g., application programming interfacing, 3rd party integration). Overall, Lectora provides all of these features and functionalities into a unified authoring suite. Additionally, no other known software product on the market is able to ingest, open, and/or edit Lectora files. DLS has been using Lectora software to create, edit, and upload eLearning files for public use over the past 15 years. Therefore, rather than re-inventing the entire wheel, DLS requires renewal of the Lectora software license in order to update and keep previous files current with today’s laboratory standards and continue utilizing the templates and SOPs that have already been developed.

b. What other products/services were considered and why did they not meet the need?

Other similar products exist and were previously considered to satisfy this requirement, such as Capterra, Adobe Captivate, Storyline, Articulate Rise, and Movio. However, none of these products fully met the requirements or offered the same range of features and functionalities mentioned above in one singular product as Lectora. Additionally and most importantly, none of these other products were able to ingest, open, and/or edit Lectora filetypes, meaning DLS would have to essentially start over in order to update or keep eLearning courses current. DLS must be able to continuously open and update its existing eLearning courses that were built using Lectora to keep the scientific content accurate and in line with any guideline changes and/or improvements. Moving DLS’ existing library of 60+ courses to a new software would take years of staff effort and time to essentially overhaul and rework CDC’s inventory, and therefore, is not feasible. This would also result in unreasonable costs to the government as it would be forced to start over from square-one instead of simply updating the current system. Furthermore, transitioning to another software would require the new authoring tool to undergo a full investigation to ensure compliance and alignment with the numerous HHS/CDC IT security and privacy requirements, thus causing an unnecessary administrative burden on the government. Therefore, attempting to implement any other software would not only disrupt the continuity of current eLearning course usage, but also cost the Government far more than (re)purchase of licenses for the Lectora authoring tool.

3. Program Office efforts to seek potential offerors:

Market research consisted of a broad internet search for eLearning authoring software and tools, as well as review of online eLearning forums, trade websites, and GSA Schedule availability. Other similar products, such as Capterra, Adobe Captivate, Storyline, Articulate Rise, and Movio, were reviewed and considered. However, research confirmed that none of these other software solutions offered the same range of flexibility, various formats, interactivity, and templates through a standalone self-hosting or cloud-based authoring tool that can integrate with nearly every LMS platform. Furthermore, no other software tool exists on the market that can open and/or edit Lectora-formatted eLearning projects, which would cause continuity issues for the inventory of eLearning courses already available that need updates. The software product required is commercially available; however, only one source is capable of providing it. Lectora is a proprietary software suite exclusively licensed and maintained by Plato eLearning, LLC. Lectora software is a legacy product that has been used by CDC/DLS and other partnering programs to create eLearning education and training courses for over 15 years. The CDC systems associated with this requirement currently have a historic integration and utilization of Lectora.

E. Program Office Certification:

I have reviewed this sole source justification and certify the justification is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge and adequate to support other than full and open competition.

Center/Institute/Office COR/Program Official Name/Title: CSELS/DLS/TWDB

Jovaughn Recasner Center/Institute/Office COR/Program Official Signature

Certification Date: March 1, 2023

F. Contracting Office Certification:

I have fully relied on the information provided herein and hereby certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief:

Contracting Officer Name: Lauren Peel

Contracting Officer Signature