A16_JOFOC_Over_250K_REVISED_8_6_2021_Redacted_1.pdf

Last updated 6/2/2016

ATTACHMENT 1

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

Over $250,000 (FAR 6.303-2)

PR Number 40544775

1. Identification of the Agency and the Contracting Activity:

Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington Contracting Office

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Approved:

The action being approved is a contract for an annual subscription to access E&E News, which provides condensed information on the latest environmental and energy news facing the White House, Congress, the courts, federal agencies, states and the international community. The resultant award will include a one-year base period and four subsequent one-year option periods.

Based on E&E’s normal pricing, the level of access provided for a typical license is quoted as $200,000 for the entire National Park Service. Additionally, the current pricing has maintained a 5% annual increase, below the typical 7-10% increases used in this industry.

3. A Description of the Supplies or Services Required to Meet the Agency’s Needs, Including the Estimated Value:

NPS will obtain a customized subscription offer for Energywire, Climatewire, E&E Daily, Greenwire and E&E News PM that will provide access for a core group of readers across multiple offices across multiple regions within National Park Service, with waived user restrictions included this service term for access open to all direct staff of the National Park Service.

The anticipated cost of these services is:

Online subscription to Energywire, Climatewire, E&E Daily, Greenwire and E&E News PM with waived access restrictions to accommodate NPS staff with personal usernames and passwords.

4. An Identification of the Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition:

This is a sole source acquisition prepared under the procedures of FAR subpart 13.5 in accordance with 41 U.S.C. 1901. Acquisitions conducted under simplified acquisition procedures are exempt from the requirements in FAR Part 6 but shall utilize the justification format prescribed at FAR 6.303-2.

5. A Demonstration That the Proposed Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or the Nature of the Acquisition Requires Use of the Authority Cited:

This requested Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) is for the Sole Source award to provide a contract for an annual subscription to access E&E News. E&E s provides readers with condensed information on the latest environmental and energy news facing the White House, Congress, the courts, federal agencies, states and the international community.

To approximate the news provided through the E&E publications, one would have to procure and read through hundreds of newspapers across the country and agency notices in the Federal Register. Doing so would take an inordinate amount of time and would not be as efficient of effective relying on the E&E News suite for this information.

Through market research, it was determined that no other large media clipping/distribution service could provide an equivalent, off-the-shelf read-only daily news digest with content applicable to the largest group of National Park Service employees. E&E News not only provides digests of significant policy, legislation, science, legal, regulatory affairs, and industry developments across the environment and energy spectrum but also produces its own content as it is staffed by journalists and editors whose proprietary content on the National Park Service and other land-based agencies are not provided in the other companies’ daily digests.

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 FAR Subpart 5.2 and, If Not, Which Exception Under FAR 5.202 Applies:

No other equivalent sources exist to the Government’s knowledge; however, a notice will be publicized as required by FAR Subpart 5.2 to publicize this opportunity and confirm whether other sources are available. This notice will be utilized to meet the synopsis requirement in accordance with DIAR 1406.303-70.

7. A Determination By the contracting officer That the Anticipated Cost to the Government

Will Be Fair and Reasonable:

The Contracting Officer will conduct appropriate price analysis to ensure that price reasonableness is attained. It’s anticipated that the resultant award serving all of NPS will provide a significant decrease in costs compared to the current approach. Previous individual office contracts provided a per-person cost between $1000-$2000 per person. Under a bureau-wide contract the per person cost could be as low as $12.50 per employee. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a similar servicewide contract and it is utilized by approximately 25-30% of the employees. With this estimate, NPS may see usage of 4-5,000 employees, increasing the cost to approximately $40 per employee, which is still significantly less than the previous rate for individual offices.

8. A Description of the Market Research Conducted (see FAR Part 10) and the Results or a Statement of the Reason Market Research Was Not Conducted:

Extensive market research was conducted; as a result of market research, it was determined that three vendors total (including E&E News) provide some type of potentially equivalent media clipping services. The three vendors explored more thoroughly were E&E News, Burrelles and Bloomberg Government. Based on the deliverables and resources that each entity is able to tap into, E&E News currently remains the only source that provides the necessary media clipping services readily available to NPS. The other vendors require significant time investment from NPS employees to build portfolios and access databases instead of providing readily available digests. Of note, known previous contracts entered into for these services by the NPS and other DOI agencies have been acquired on a sole source basis.

9. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other Than Full and Open Competition (see FAR 6.302-2 (9) (i) – (iii) for some examples):

n/a

10. A Listing of the Sources, If Any, That Expressed in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition:

E&E News

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 Government will continue to monitor the market for any changes in availability of services of advances in news clipping services and will continue to promote competition to the maximum extent practicable.

12. Certification:

I certify that any supporting data that is the responsibility of technical or requirements personnel (i.e. verifying the Government’s minimum needs or schedule requirements or other rationale for other than full and open competition) and which form a basis for the justification have been certified as complete and accurate:

(Signature)__________________________________ _(Date)

(Type or Print Name):

(Title):

Contracting Officer Representative