Attachment 1 FAR 13.5 Sole Source Justification - Over SAT REDACTED VERSION.docx

VHAPG Part 813.5 Simplified Acquisition Procedures for Certain Commercial Items Attachment 1: Request for Sole Source Justification Template >SAT-$7.5M under FAR13.5

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION UNDER SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS IN ACCORDANCE WITH FAR 13.5

Acquisition Plan Action ID: 36C776-23-AP-1664

1. Contracting Activity Department of Veterans Affairs, Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC), 6100 Oak Tree Blvd., Suite 490, independence, OH 44131.

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

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) requires a brand name subscription-based access to select Mary Ann Liebert eJournals. These titles will facilitate the practice of evidence-based medicine and helping to ensure the highest quality of patient care. The Library Network Office (LNO) maintains the National Core Collection of Online Resources on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs and makes those resources available for use at all medical centers, community out based clinics (CBOC), VISNs and Program Offices.

Subscriptions to authoritative ejournals is a required source to VA clinical staff. These subscriptions are made available to physicians and other clinical staff to use to help educate themselves in the treatment of patients in the VA. Journals keep professionals abreast of the latest research, theories, and intervention approaches for patient care. These journals, among other resources, publishes scientific research on a wide variety of sources, including research from biological, psychological, and sociological approaches, and mental health approaches.

3. Description of Supplies/Services Required to Meet the Agency’s Needs:

Online enterprise-wide access for calendar year 2024 to 2 journal titles published by Mary Ann Liebert is required to support VHA clinical staff. The 2 titles are:

· Journal of Neurotrauma

· Journal of Women’s Health

Although technically a new contracting action, this contract is simply a renewal of the online access to these 2 titles.

Selection of these specific journals is based upon a multitude of criteria:

a. Input from a select group of VA medical librarians.

b. Recommendations from the multi-disciplinary Core Collection Advisory Committee (CCAG) that annually reviews all enterprise-wide online resources.

c. Reviews provided by librarians and clinical staff.

d. Doody’s Review – an authoritative medical review service designed to assist medical librarians and institutions with their purchasing decisions. Resources are reviewed by medical librarians and content specialists.

e. Recommendations/support of authoritative medical organizations such as the American Medical Association.

f. Impact factors and other bibliometric data

g. Annual review of usage of current resources

Estimated value: REDACTED for one (1) base year and 4OYs total.

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Restricted Competition:

FAR 13.5 Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items. The statutory authority for applying the Simplified Procedures for Commercial Items of FAR 13.5 is 41 U.S.C. § 1901 and is implemented by FAR 13.106-1(b)(2) for restricting competition on this procurement. Competition is restricted on this procurement for the reason below:

(X) Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements – Including Brand Name ( ) Unusual and Compelling Urgency ( ) Industrial Mobilization, Engineering, Developmental or Research Capability or Expert Services ( ) International Agreement ( ) Authorized or Required by Statute ( ) National Security ( ) Public Interest

5. Demonstration that the Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or Nature of the Acquisition Requires the Use of the Authority Cited Above (applicability of authority):

Although journal publishers work through 3rd parties, known as jobbers, these 3rd party entities are unable or unwilling to commit to a price that includes a base plus 4 option years. The jobbers are unable to control the pricing set by publishers and therefore could end up bidding too low and therefore facing a loss. Only the actual journal publisher is able and sometimes willing to provide extended pricing covering the 5-year period.

Only the journals specified will meet the needs of the clinical staff. As stated, these are highly specialized, respected journals in their field. The journals are renewals, not new subscriptions. The renewals will allow continuity of access.

Journal of Neurotrauma is the only peer-reviewed journal focused exclusively on traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, with far-reaching coverage ranging from the basic biology of trauma to clinical trials aimed at improving long-term care and recovery. It has an impact factor of 4.2 and a CiteScore of 9.4.

Journal of Women’s Health is the primary source of information for meeting the challenges of providing optimal health care for women throughout their lifespan. The Journal delivers cutting-edge advancements in diagnostic procedures, therapeutic protocols for the management of diseases, and innovative research in gender-based biology that impacts patient care and treatment. It has an impact factor of 3/5 and CiteScore of 5.6.

6. Description of Efforts Made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as deemed practicable:

Please see the market research for details about the actions taken to solicit other potential sources to provide the 2 journals.

As noted in the market research there are no authorized resellers that can provide the full base plus 4 option years.

7. Determination by the CO that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable:

The price will be compared to historical data and with known published prices to determine that the cost will be fair and reasonable.

8. Description of the Market Research Conducted and the Results, or a Statement of the Reasons Market Research Was Not Conducted:

The publisher was contacted via email, requesting information regarding authorized resellers and distributors. A response was received, in which the publisher stated that “we don’t have a list of authorized resellers and distributors though we do work with subscription agents, and anyone else the VHA chooses to handle their contracts and renewals.”

The Vendor Information Pages (VIP) was queried on 06/27/2023 utilizing 2022 NAICS 519290 to search for capable, verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) & Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) concerns. The VIP search produced zero (0) SDVOSB & VOSB businesses (See Attachment 1). Another search was made, utilizing the 2017 NAICS code, (519130), which yielded 212 results. These vendors were emailed the Statement of Work to see if any had the ability and the interest to provide the journals.

Three of the vendors responded, each stating they had the ability and interest to provide the journals. These vendors were:

· Graham Advisory Network, a SAM verified SDVOSB

· Async-Nu Microsystems, a SAM verified SDVOSB

· Axiom Corporation, a SAM verified SDVOSB

9. Listing of Sources that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition:

Market research performed by the contract specialist revealed three SDVOSBs who claim to have the ability and interest in providing these journals. As stated above, these SDVOSBs are Graham Advisory Network, Async-Ny Microsystems, and Axiom Corporation.

10. A Statement of the Actions, if any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome any Barriers to Competition before Making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required:

Market Research efforts did not produce an equal publisher. However, market research does indicate there is competition for this brand name requirement amongst SDVOSB.

Should the eJournals need renewed, market research will continue to be conducted ensuring that no other publisher can meet the needs of the VA. Additionally, the notice required by FAR 5.201 will be posted to Contracting Opportunities on SAM.gov.

Effective Date: 02/01/2022 Page 1 of 9