Gartner JOFOC OE SAM Posting.pdf

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Headquarters Procurement Services

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY UNDER

MULTIPLE AWARD CONTRACTS (FAR 16.505)

(SEE FAR 16.505(B)(2)(ii)(B))

1. Identification of the Agency and the Contracting Activity.

The requiring activity is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Electricity (OE), Advanced

Grid Research and Development (AGR&D). OE plans to contract with Gartner, Inc., located at 56 Top

Gallant Road, Stamford, CT 06902, by means of a Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity

(JEFO). The appropriate North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 519190, All

Other Information Services, and the applicable size standard is $30 million. The DOE, Office of

Headquarters Procurement Services (MA- 64) is the procuring activity for this requirement.

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

This acquisition will be conducted in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart

16.505 Ordering Procedures and will leverage the Library of Congress FEDLINK (Federal Library &

Information Network), Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract vehicle. This award will result in a Firm Fixed Price (FFP), sole source Delivery Order to Gartner, Inc. which provides access to various specialized license services for OE officials at DOE Headquarters (HQ).

Support will be provided through Industry Advisory Services-Energy and Utility Advisor Licenses for one (1) Base Year with an option to extend the Licenses for an additional year of services.

The period of performance for this action is April 1, 2022 through March 31, 2023.

Option period 1 performance is from April 1, 2023 through March 31, 2024.

Option period 2 performance is from April 1, 2024 through March 31, 2025.

3. A Description of the Services Required to Meet the Agency’s Needs (Including the Estimated

Dollar Amount).

The Office of Electricity, Advanced Grid Research and Development division requires access to the following subscription: Gartner Industry Advisory Services Individual Access Advisor. This service provides the following resources:

• Industry-specific IT Research

• Best practice and decision support content

• Select Harvard Business Review content

• Weekly Picks & News Analysis

• Role-specific IT Research

• Webinars

• IT Key Metrics Data

• Peer Networking

• Diagnostic Tools and Templates

• Talking Technology Series

• Selected Vendor Reports

• Individual Inquiry

• Core IT Research

• Summit Conference Ticket

In addition, services will include original methodologies and research. These Gartner Methodologies will include the Gartner IT Scores, Hype Cycles, Magic Quadrants, Vendor Ratings, and Critical Capabilities.

The estimated costs for two Gartner Industry Advisory Services-Energy and Utility Advisor Licenses are

$77,458 for the base year. The estimated costs for two Licenses in the option year 1 is $80,170 and option year 2 is $82,976. See the Independent Government Cost Estimate for details.

4. Identification of the exception to fair opportunity (see 16.505(b)(2)) and the supporting rationale, including a demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the exception cited.

As implemented by FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), “Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized.”

Proprietary products are available exclusively through Gartner’s subscription products. The services will provide deeper insight to the market landscape and technology trends and drivers of the energy and utility markets. This unique energy and utility information will help AGR&D in its efforts to advance new promising technologies to support the Nations grid infrastructure through OE’s R&D program and through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

All content in the service is copyrighted or otherwise owned by Gartner or is delivered as part of processes and technologies owned by Gartner. Title and ownership rights of all Gartner owned or developed software (including, but not by way of limitation, source and object code, and design), addresses or configurations (collectively the “Software”) associated with or contained in the service remain with Gartner.

5. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The anticipated total value for this acquisition is $240,604 for two licenses. This value was derived from the proposed work from Gartner, which includes the base plus 2 option years, and is in line with similar services from other companies. The anticipated cost appears to be fair and reasonable.

The costs associated with this Delivery Order submitted against the current FEDLINK Gartner IDIQ

#LCFDL21D0001 are based on competitive negotiated rates which were deemed fair and reasonable at the time of the IDIQ award.

Additionally, the Contracting Officer will ensure that a determination of fair and reasonable pricing is made prior to making an award.

6. Any other facts supporting the justification.

Due to the need for unique and proprietary subscription services, the Government did not solicit from any other sources. However, the Government intends to publicize this JEFO within 14 days after placing an order to the Government-wide Point of Entry (sam.gov) for a minimum of 30 days in accordance with

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(D).

7. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the exception to fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

Based upon prior discussions and details identified in Section 4 of this JEFO, OE has determined that there is not an alternative to the selected source that will be able to provide these specific services. OE will continue to make periodic surveys of the commercial marketplace for viable cost-effective options to meet this requirement and future needs, and will make every effort to ensure that future requirements are assessed for competition viability.

8. The contracting officer’s certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the contracting officer’s knowledge and belief.

As confirmed by the signature below, the Contracting Officer hereby certifies that the facts and representations included in this justification are accurate and complete to the best of his knowledge and belief.

9. Evidence that any supporting data that is the responsibility of technical or requirements personnel (e.g., verifying the Government’s minimum needs or requirements or other rationale for an exception to fair opportunity) and which form a basis for the justification have been certified as complete and accurate by the technical or requirements personnel.

The OE AGR&D division has a bona fide need and will obtain benefits from Gartner’s unique and proprietary information and products that will allow them to support and advance their R&D program and work through the IIJA. In addition, they have reviewed the justification for accuracy and completeness and have certified the data contained herein as evidenced by the signature of the

Acquisition Initiator.

10. A written determination by the approving official that one of the circumstances in paragraphs

(b)(2)(i)(A) through (E) and (G) of this section applies to the order.

It has been determined by the approving official that the circumstances identified in 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), “Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized,” applies to this order as referenced in Section 4 above.