JOFOC_For_FBO.pdf

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JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

UNDER

FAR 6.303-2 Open market Acquisitions and FAR 13.5 Special Test Items

1. Contracting Activity

USDA, ARS, NCRBSC- Acquisition Branch Jessica Massey, Contract Specialist 2150 Centre Ave. Bldg. D Fort Collins, CO 80526 Phone: 970-492-7003

2. Nature/Description of Action

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) intends to award a firm fixed-price contract with a base and two (2), one year option periods to ChalkLabs, LLC. This would be for standard interactive data management and informational retrieval system that can intelligently analyze and organize NIFA data into objectively defined and synthetic topics.

3. Description of Supplies/Services NIFA requires a standard interactive data management and informational retrieval system that can intelligently analyze and organize NIFA data into objectively defined and synthetic topics. The system:

• Will provide a web-based, data analysis platform for visualizing, analyzing, reporting, retrieving, and communicating information about that data.

• Will use a web-based format that provides a context in which projects are categorized and clustered based on the language used by researchers.

• Will discover meaningful categories from unstructured text, independent of keywords or preconceived categorical designations

• Will visualize measures of key research output, outcomes, and impacts from investments, and provide the foundation for portfolio evaluation

• Will be able to export data from sources in various formats

• The system shall provide an internal license for up to 20 internal Users.

• The system/vendor shall provide End User Support – through the platform - which will include Tier I, II, and III services – between the hours of 9AM and 6PM EST.

• The web based system shall be hosted by a FedRAMP approved cloud provider.

• The vendor will harvest, clean, and correlate NIFA Data Sets and Map Updates on an annual basis. The government's Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) will provide access to this data. Data Updates will originate from the Plan of Work (POW) and CRIS- REEport Project Based Systems.

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• The vendor will provide System log file Reports – on a monthly basis – of Usage

4. Statutory Authority

The procurement is in accordance with 41 U.S.C 3304(a)(1), and FAR 13.106-1(b) and 13.501(a)

5. Demonstration of Contractor’s Unique Qualifications and/or Product’s Unique

Features The contractor is the only business that can provide a BigData analysis platform, specifically geared to science programs that address science inputs and impacts with large-scale information retrieval, network science, and integration of information visualization.

ChalkLabs specialty is the management of science-related data (i.e., data relating to the granting of science, identification of scientific disciplines from complex data, and facilitating the management and analysis of science portfolios).

PushGraph, the modeling software/platform provided by ChalkLabs is unique and different from other research program information retrieval and reporting platforms.

Proven success with federal science agencies includes the fact that ChalkLabs created the unique capacity for agencies within the NIH to convey to Congress the impacts of the agency(s) work and return on tax-payer investments. In addition, ChalkLabs provided the ability to learn more about which institutes were performing what types of research across NIH and if there were gaps or overlaps in funding, research, and personnel. The NIH wanted to do this in a way that captured the semantics across subject areas regardless of the title of a given grant. Uniquely trained in computer, library and information sciences, ChalkLabs provide the only expertise to produce an “intelligent database” from our existing data that logically and objectively organizes the data into a cohesive and meaningful structure which will greatly enhance NIFA program management. ChalkLabs has the proven ability to create a novel portfolio analysis tool whereby administrators, analysts, or researchers can quickly search, navigate, cross-reference, visualize, and export their large-scale data analyses in a web-based, real-time, easy-to-use, intuitive fashion.

Rather than simply searching for keyword matches, the Chalklabs analysis tool finds thematic and semantic similarities, which will allow us to access a broader and more thorough view of NIFA’s data.

6. Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOps) Announcement/Potential Sources

A Synopsis for the intent to award on a sole source basis was posted to FBO on 7/12/2018 and closes 7/22/2018.

JOFOC will be posted to FBO within 14 days of award per FAR 13.501(a)(1)(iii).

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7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost

A fair and reasonable price was determined based on published catalog prices, previous purchases of similar items, and negotiation of the awarded price. Similar purchase in FY16 was contract AG-32SB-C-16-0015.

8. Market Survey

A group of NIFA staff representing program management, program evaluation, and information technology reviewed and discussed the responses from the RFI. The group also ranked the responses in terms of overall response provided by the company, vendor strengths, and vendor weaknesses. The group ranked the responses in terms of overall response provided by the company, vendor strengths, and vendor weaknesses. The group developed consensus recommendations with regard to the apparent ability of the company(s) to meet NIFA’s needs for topic modeling. Of the 17 responses, 10 of the companies provided no demonstrated experience in topic modeling and were not considered. Seven companies described their approach to deliver topic modeling capability. Of these seven companies, the group determined by consensus that at least three companies were relying on external or non-apparent sources for delivering topic modeling expertise. Two companies were far beyond our reach with regard to our budget, and one company was clearly inexperienced in every aspect of our request. The group determined that ChalkLabs not only provided the necessary topic modeling and data visualization expertise, but also is the only company experienced in delivering interactive topic modeling products to federal agencies for science program management and grant making at a cost well within our budgetary reach.

9. Additional Support

The software that ChalkLabs is offering is proprietary and we are unable to acquire from any other vendor.

10. Other Interested Sources

No interested sources have expressed interest in this procurement.

11. Actions Taken to Remove Barriers to Future Competition

This software that has been determined to be the only one that could meet NIFAs need is proprietary to ChalkLabs. Once NIFA has need for a different type of software, they will certainly put the requirement out for competition.

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION UNDER