FAR 13.501 JA Marketmap_JZ.CW.pdf

Justification and Approval (J&A) Enterprise Services Office of Acquisition

1401 Constitution Avenue NW Washington, D.C. 20230

SSL#: FY23-28

(1) Identification of the agency and the contracting activity:

Program Office: Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

4600 Silver Hill Road Suitland, MD 20746

Contracting Activity: Department of Commerce Enterprise Services - Acquisition

1401 Constitution Ave, NW Washington, D.C. 20230

(2) Nature and/or description of the action being approved:

The agency plans to enter into a contract in a manner other than full and open competition because there are items peculiar to one manufacturer, and no other supplies or services will satisfy the agency's requirements.

The Department of Commerce (DOC) Office of the Secretary, Enterprise Services intends to issue a five

(5) year (one 12-month base and four 12-month option periods, if exercised) contract for the storage, management and analysis of economic and financial data of the Market Map Analytic Platform Software at Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

(3) A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency's needs:

BEA is one of the world's leading statistical agencies. Although a relatively small agency, BEA produces some of the most closely watched economic statistics that influence the decisions made by government officials, businesspeople, households, and the American public. BEA collects source data, conducts research and analysis, develops and implements estimation methodologies, and disseminates statistics to the public, with the main goal of helping stakeholders understand the performance of the nation’s economy. BEA's economic statistics, which provide a comprehensive, up-to-date picture of the U.S.

economy, are key ingredients in critical decisions affecting monetary policy, tax and budget projections, and business investment plans.

The cornerstone of BEA's statistics is the national income and product accounts (NIPAs), which feature the estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) and related measures. To support BEA’s overall mission of continually improving the timeliness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness of its economic accounts data, the purchase of MarketMap is required. MarketMap is a strategic and integral part of BEA’s mission success and is a critical component in enhancing and managing BEA’s production of data. The performance of this contract does not include inherently governmental functions or personal services.

The annual value of this actions is estimated to be $462,267.65 per year with an estimated contract term of one (1) 12-month base period and four (4) 12- month options (if exercised), for a total estimated value of $2,311,338.25.

(4) An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

The authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C.3304(e), as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.501.

(5) A demonstration that the proposed contractor's unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

Name and address of proposed contractor:

FIS Capital Markets US LLC (FIS) 601 Riverside Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32204 USA

MarketMap is wholly owned by FIS and there are no resellers of this product; MarketMap can only be acquired from the manufacturer/FIS. A letter from FIS validating proprietary rights will be included in the contract file. More specifically, this procurement is a follow-on contract for data sets and functionality required for the continued production of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a critical data release for BEA. The contractor is the only validated source of the required data and functionality. It is highly likely that an award to any other source would result in failure to generate reliable GDP metrics, introduce critical risks, including substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition, as well as mission critical failure due to unacceptable delays in fulfilling key data releases.

Additionally, MarketMap is uniquely designed and optimized for handling time-series data. While time-series data can be stored in other types of databases (relational, NoSWL, etc.) there are benefits to using a database specifically designed for time-series, including scalability, usability, and optimization for measuring change over time. All BEA’s National accounts data are time-series and at the component/sector-level must be stored and processed efficiently as a time-series database. Tens of thousands of manhours have been invested by BEA analysts over the years to develop their national accounts data processing subsystems into MarketMap, which led to MarketMap being named as BEA’s standard for time-series data management. As BEA’s standard, it is mandated for use by BEA’s Architecture Standards Profile which is in accordance with DOC standards.

(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 Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies:

A Request for Information (RFI) for this requirement was posted on SAM.gov opening February 9, 2023, and closing on February 28, 2023 under NAICS code 513210 - Software Publishers. No responses were received from interested vendors.

After no responses received from the RFI, a notice was posted on SAM.gov on April 6, 2023 regarding award to FIS for the required data and functionality. No responses were received.

A search of the GSA e-Library and NASA SEWP revealed no results of FIS having a GSA Contract or a NASA SEWP contract. In addition, FIS, submitted a sole source proprietorship letter to ESA.

(7) A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The Contracting Officer determines that the anticipated price(s) will be fair and reasonable based on a comparison with historical pricing information that exists for similar services. The anticipated total contract value for this acquisition is $2,311,338.25 with one (1) 12- month base period and four (4), 12-month periods (if exercised). The Government will evaluate each line-item price and the total proposed price to determine if the Offeror's price is fair and reasonable utilizing price analysis techniques in accordance with the guidelines in FAR 13.106-3 "comparison with similar items in a related industry;

comparison with historical pricing; and comparison to an independent Government cost estimate.”

Because this is a commercial service, and cost and pricing data is not required; however, the Government will request for other than cost pricing data in order to understand the contractor’s pricing methodology.

(8) A description of the market research conducted (see Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted:

A notice synopsizing the requirement was posted on SAM with a request for interested vendors capable of performing to contact the Contracting Officer. No responses were received. Market research conducted for this acquisition included the activities summarized below.

• Contacts with other Federal Government Representatives

• Conducted searches on the GSA Schedule (Review of Internet Resources or Catalogs)

• Historical acquisition information

• Intent to Sole Source Posting on SAM.gov and confirmation of no interested parties

• Verification with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Provider that it is the sole source authorized to provide Market Map Analytic Platform Software

(9) Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition, such as:

N/A

(10) A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition:

No parties expressed any interest to the Government’s SAM.gov postings.

(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:

In accordance with FAR 13.501(a)(1)(iii) this justification will be posted within 14 days after contract award. This action does not limit any future acquisitions for alternative data products or functionality in the future. While Market Map data sets are anticipated to be integral to BEA’s data environment for the 5-year life of the award, in the event developments within industry provide opportunities for cost effective, low risk deployment of alternate data products and/or similar capabilities, without compromising data integrity or reliability, BEA will conduct further market research to assess viability of transitioning to an alternate product in the future.

(12) Program Official’s Certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the Program Official’s knowledge and belief:

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief, and I determine on the basis of the findings above that an other than full and open competition approach is in accordance with the requirements and is in the best interest of the Government.

Joanna Zhou Date Program Official

(12) Contracting Officer’s Certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the Contracting Officer’s knowledge and belief:

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief, and I determine on the basis of the findings above that an other than full and open competition approach is in accordance with the requirements and is in the best interest of the Government.

Jacqueline Brown Date Contracting Officer

(13) Pursuant to FAR 13.501(a)(2) and CAM 1306.70 Section 2.5(h), approval by the Operating

Unit Competition Advocate is required for any actions that exceed $750,000, but do not exceed $15 million (FAR 13.501):

Christopher Wallis Date Operating Unit Competition Advocate