Redacted_JA_FINAL.pdf

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

SOURCE SELECTION SENSITIVE

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NOTE: If a Justification was approved for the preceding acquisition, a copy of the approved Justification for the predecessor action must be included in the staff package for approval of the instant Justification. This applies to Justification staff packages that are submitted for review and approval at a level above the contracting officer. The predecessor Justification will be used as a reference document by the approving official.

Is this a new or amended J&A Document? New Amended ( Prior to Award Only! )

Is this a Bridge Action as defined in the AF Bridge Action Reduction Plan? Yes No

$700K and < $13.5MFunding level for this acquisition: >SAT and < $700K >

Contracting Activity: AFLCMC/PZIEC

Purchase Request / Local ID Number: / FA8604-19-P-5063

Program / Project (and PE, if applicable): rbdigital Great Courses Library Collection

Program Type (PEO or Other Contracting): Other Contracting

Authority: AFFARS 5313.501 - 10 U.S.C. 2302b, Implementation of Simplified Acquisition Procedures (41 U.S.C. 1901)

AFFARS 5313.501 - 10 U.S.C. 2304a, Special Emergency Procurement Authority (41 U.S.C. 1903)

Estimated Contract Cost (including options): Justification Type: Class Individual

COORDINATION (AFFARS 5306.304(a) )

Date

22 Aug 2019

Requiring Activity Signature

APPROVAL (AFFARS 5306.304(a) )

Date

22 Aug 2019

Contracting Officer Signature

.1 Digitally signed by

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

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I. Contracting Activity.

This justification and approval to request authority for Other Than Full and Open Competition supports requirements generated for the Air Force Libraries. The contracting activity for this requirement is the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), Specialized Contracting Section (AFLCMC/PZIEC).

II. Nature and/or description of the action being processed.

Due to circumstances described herein, the activity requests authority to renew electronic access to rbDigital Great Courses Library Collection using Other Than Full and Open Competition as prescribed by FAR 13.106-1(b), Soliciting from a Single Source, and 13.501(a), Sole Source Acquisitions. This individual action will result in the award of a new Firm Fixed Price Contract. The current subscription will expire on 29 SEPT 2019. The subscription period of performance will run from 30 SEPT 2019 to 29 SEPT 2020. This subscription will be purchased with F

This sole source requirement will be acquired from the following organization:

III. Description of supplies/services required to meet agency needs.

The DoD Library Consortium wishes to procure rbDigital Great Courses Library Collection.

The mission of DoD MWR Libraries is outlined in DoDI 1015.10 stating DoD Libraries will provide information resources and services required to accomplish the mission. The libraries support military personnel assigned to contingency operations, remote sites, and military missions IAW DoDI 1015.10, Military Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Programs.

The program provides professional military and voluntary education programs materials and services. Libraries also provide facilities, resources, and services to enhance the quality of life, regeneration, and resiliency for authorized customers. The DoD Library Consortium exists to create partnerships among the libraries within the various services of the DoD. They cooperatively acquire materials that are made available to military and civilian employees across the DoD. These resources relate to various overarching goals of the DoD such as recreation, physical wellness, emotional resiliency, and educational pursuits.

To meet these needs, the DoD libraries must procure resources that can be accessed globally, including in areas with low or no internet access, and provide the below stated requirements. These resource need to include access to education resources. This database is a vital reference, educational, mission, and leisure tool for DoD personnel.

rbDigital is important to service personnel and library staff for having the ability to provide instantly accessible digital information in multiple platforms that can be streamed or downloading with no waiting. This subscription must be firm-fixed pricing so there is no increase when new titles are accessed. It should also not limit the number of titles or electronic checkouts per title. This database collection provides information that enhances quality of life for AF personnel, supports educational efforts, and mission.

The DoD Library Program has a requirement for video lectures on advanced subjects to supplement their education collection. These courses need to meet the criteria set in AFI 34-150 and academic curricula and accreditation standards, and must be conducted by recognized professors and experts in their field. The courses must cover subject that are critical to professional military education, STEM, and support voluntary education pursuits. This includes subjects on history, logic, mathematics, leadership, military history, science, communication, health and fitness, statistics, and stress management. The courses should include videos of the lecture combined with graphics and supplemental information. The courses should also provide a booklet with syllabus of the course and supplemental text information These courses need to be delivered in packaging which are designed to sustain the rigors of library circulation. These courses need to be dropped shipped by the vendor to all Air Force libraries around the world. This acquisition will result in a firm fixed price contract with Recorded Books. The DoD Libraries also require a resource that provides research for personnel development that meet the quality of life, regeneration, and resiliency as stipulated by DoDI 1015.10. To meet those needs, the DoD Libraries require a resource that provides diversified educational training.

The period of performance for this subscription will be from 30 SEPT 2019 to 29 SEPT 2020.

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IV. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

AFFARS 5313.501 - 10 U.S.C. 2302b Implementation of Simplified Acquisition Procedures (41 U.S.C. 1901)

V. Demonstration that the contractor's unique qualifications or nature of the acquisition requires the use of the authority cited above (applicability of authority).

Great Courses Library Collection from rbdigital is a unique resource and database for the DoD Library Program.

It supplies access to e-audiobooks to cover a broad range of subject matters that allows the DoD Libraries to complete their program mission as outlined in DoDI 1015.10, Section III. The Great Courses provides the highest quality material needed by the libraries to support voluntary education as required by DoDI 1015.10. These courses have expert lecturers from top universities and respected subject matter experts. This package has also been curated to support the needs of CCAF and PME education by including courses on leadership, logic, STEM, and military history. This package of Great Courses contains 30 different courses taught by respected college professors and subject matter experts. Courses to include: Secrets of Mental Math, Essentials of Strength Training, My Favorite Universe, What Are the Chances?

Probability Made Clear, How Ideas Spread, The Power of Mathematical Thinking, How to Stay Fit as You Age, How to Make Stress Work for You, Algebra I, Masters of War, Transformational Leadership, Prove It: The Art of Mathematical Argument, Meaning from Data, History's Great Military Blunders and the Lessons They Teach, War and World History, From Yao to Mao, and The Decisive Battles of World History. The Great Courses are video lectures with additional graphics and each course comes with a booklet that contains a syllabus and additional educational text.

The Air Force Libraries need the Library Edition packaging to maintain heavy circulation. The Library Edition has reinforced packaging designed for repeated use. Recorded Books has the exclusive rights to provide the Great Courses Library Edition. Without this sole source acquisition, the Air Force Library's mission to provide airmen with safe recreational support would be seriously harmed or delayed without the latest, up-to-the-minute information available from this subscription.

Great Courses Library Collection has a collection of 30,000 titles that grows by more than 4,000 new titles annually.

The service provides access to e-audiobooks without limiting the number of titles or the number of electronic checkouts. The audiobooks are able to be accessed through the rbdigital app or online on any device. Great Courses Library Collection provides titles on the professional reading lists of all branches of service.

rbDigital is the exclusive publisher of their own audiobooks that has content not obtained anywhere else plus exclusive rights to other publisher's audiobooks. rbDigital has exclusive legal copyright to its content collection and is a "must order direct" company. rbDigital is the only known source capable of providing the item described above for the Department of Defense to accomplish the libraries' mission.

VI. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable.

A sources sought notice was posted on Federal Business Opportunity (FBO) from 16 July 2019 - 6 August 2019 requesting any interested firms to submit a capabilities package indicating their capability to provide the requirement.

The synopsis outlined minimum characteristics a similar product would have to meet to fulfill the requirement as described in sections III. and V. above. A response was received, however, it was deemed to be technically unacceptable.

An intent to award sole source was posted on FBO from 8 August 2019 - 14 August 2019 advising industry of the intent of the government to award sole source and requesting any interested firms to submit a capabilities package indicating their capability to provide the requirement. The synopsis outlined minimum characteristics a similar product would have to meet to fulfill the requirement as described in sections III. and V. above. No viable responses were received.

AFSVA/SVPL surveyed the market for vendors to determine if competition was available for the requirement. The library used publishers' advertisements, professional conferences, vendor demonstrations, customer suggestions and

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

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VII. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

In accordance with FAR 13.106-3(a), the Contracting Officer shall determine that the proposed price is fair and reasonable. The basis of this determination is anticipated to be based on FAR 13.106-3(a)(2)(ii) and FAR 13.106-3(a)(2) (iii). This has been previously procured by AFLCMC/PZI for AF Libraries and the price shall be verified against price lists, catalogs, or advertisements and by comparison to prices previously paid.

VIII. Description of the market research conducted and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted.

As described in Section VI above, market research, in accordance with FAR Part 10, was conducted by synopsis of the proposed acquisition, advising industry of the pending acquisition and soliciting inquiries from interested parties.

Moreover, the AFSVA/SVPL surveyed the market in order to determine if competition was obtainable. The library reviewed advertisements, new publications, and available conferences to ensure the course of action for a sole source acquisition was the most appropriate moving forward.

IX. Any other facts supporting the use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

rbDigital has exclusive rights to distribute Great Courses Library Collection so this is not available from any other library vendor.

X. List of any sources that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

responded to the Sources Sought posting but were deemed as technically unacceptable.

XI. 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.

The contracting activity will post a Sources Sought and Intent to Award Sole Source on FedBizOpps, as described in Section VI above, in order to obtain competition. If acceptable responses are received, the contracting activity will modify its strategy accordingly.

AFSVC/SVPL will keep an open dialog with the users/patrons and evaluate statistics to determine the necessity to use this resource to supplement its collection of research databases. AFSVC/SVPL will continue to survey the market for vendors to obtain competition in databases. The library uses publishers' advertisements, professional conferences, vendor demonstrations, customer suggestions and new publication reviews in conducting its surveys.

XII. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

As evidenced by my signature above, I have determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

XIII. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel.

As evidenced by my (our) signature(s) above, I (we) certify that any supporting data contained herein, which is my (our) responsibility, is both accurate and complete.

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