A09 - Single Source Determination - IEEE SEP 2020.pdf

Blanket Sole Source Approval for Various Services

FAR 13.106-1 (b)(1) – Soliciting from a Single Source for Purchases Not Exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold

1. Contracting Activity: Humphreys Engineer Center Support Activity

2. Description of Action: This is a renewal subscription

Requirement: New Repeat

Name of Contractor: INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS

(IEEE)

3. Description of Services: (check purchase item below)

Magazine/Prof Journal Subscriptions:

USACE purchases subscriptions to various magazines and professional journals in order to stay current in a number of different topics.

IEEE is a primary international organization for advancement of technology. It is the leading publisher of technical literature in the fields of electrical and electronics engineering, communications technology and IT in the United States. Their standards and technical literature are known worldwide for being authoritative and peer-reviewed. They are frequently cited in the Unified Facilities Criteria and are integral part to the regulatory environment of construction.

IEEE Standards Select, is the most up to date source for IEEE’s complete range of standards. A subset of the standards are licensed through the Navy’s contract through IHS but these are only meant to provide the lowest common denominator of construction standards for USACE, NAVFAC and Air Force construction. This contract will provide Electrical Engineering CoP leadership with access to the other, more advanced and specific standard publications that are needed for special projects and research within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. While there are licenses that provide access to select collections, IEEE Standards Select allows our engineering professionals to select exactly the document that is needed with perpetual access.

Finally, as the originator of these standards, IEEE will have exclusive access to the latest documents such as the 3000 series well before they are available through an aggregator like IHS.

Selected items will then be available with in a “file cabinet” for engineers and their successors at a later date. If the library were to recreate this service in paper, there would be issues of multiple access and shipment tracking of documents to areas all over the globe requiring more time and effort. This would require tasking one full-time staff member just to perform this duty—an impossibility with a shrinking staff.

The primary customers for this purchase often need required standards at a moment’s notice.

IEEE is the only known vendor that can give them guaranteed access to this authoritative technical information from a single resource.

Cost: $30,000

Booth Rentals/Conference Registration:

Every year, USACE attends and is represented at multiple conferences. At many of these conferences, the purchase of the booth rental acts as the conference registration or the conference space has a vendor the attendee(s) must use for booth rental.

Advertising/Recruitment Ads:

Part of the USACE Recruitment Program is to place advertisements in a variety of publications in order to attract students and professionals who may be interested in employment with the U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers. Advertising has been one of the successful techniques that have contributed to the diversity of USACE. Most of the publications selected are geared to minority and/or female audiences in under represented categories.

Membership Dues/Partnership:

USACE renews professional memberships every year with professional and governmental organizations. USACE has maintained these long-term relationships, and are active participants in theses organizations. Membership benefits include development of relationships/trust, partnering, situational awareness, benchmarking, sharing of research and best practices, development of industry standards, ability to direct research topics, recruitment opportunities, and obtaining educational opportunities.

4. Actions to Increase Competition: (State what actions will be taken to increase competition before subsequent acquisition of the supplies or services is required.)

Intent to Award publicized on FBO (for contracts over $25,000) Other:

None IEEE is singularly able to provide this subscription.

There is no viable action to create competition.

5. Procurement History:

Previous Contract or Purchase Order Number: W912HQ20F0094, W912HQ20F0062 or

N/A Previously competed? N/A No Yes

Previous authority for less than Full & Open Competition: (check one)

FAR 13.106-1 (b)(1) Soliciting from a single source-one source reasonably available.

FAR 16.505 (b)(2)(i)(B) (FEDLINK) FAR 8.405-6 (a)(1)(i)(A) (FSS)

6. Fair and Reasonable Determination:

I hereby determine that the anticipated cost to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable based on:

Comparison of the proposed price with prices found reasonable on previous purchases - (site prior purchase order and amount)

Independent Government Estimate Other: (i.e. publically listed prices on internet or in media kit)

7. Contracting Officer’s Approval: Based on the foregoing, I approve the procurement action described above on an other than full and open competition provided funds are available and provided that the services and property herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

W. Dale Dewar Contracting Officer