JA N0017310P2016 Redacted.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL RESEARCH LABORATORY

4555 OVERLOOK AVE SW

WASHINGTON, DC 20375-5320

Purchase Request No.: 55-9675-19/1300 J&A No.: J&A13.501-20-SP01

Estimated Cost: $647,595

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition Under Simplified Procedures For Certain Commercial Items In Accordance With Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.5

On the basis of the following, I, as the Contracting Officer, hereby approve the use of a sole source proposed contractual action pursuant to the authority of: 41 U.S.C. 1901 41 U.S.C. 1903

1. The Naval Research Laboratory Contracting Division proposes to enter into a sole source contract with the American Chemical Society, under simplified procedures for certain commercial items included in FAR subpart 13.5.

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved: sole source under procedures for certain commercial items in accordance with FAR 13.5.

This Justification and Approval (J&A) authorizes and approves the renewal of online only subscriptions to American Chemical Society online subscriptions package. The resulting contract will be Firm Fixed Price using Simplified Acquisition Procedure (SAP).

3. A description of the supplies and/or services required, including the delivery schedule and/or the period of performance (inclusive of all option periods), and the estimated dollar value of the acquisition.

The purpose of this contract is to provide access to licensed information content on the American Chemical Society (ACS) website. An ACS license with access to over one million articles and book chapters from the most trusted, most cited, and most read publications in the chemical and related sciences, ACS provides authoritative, comprehensive chemistry-related resources to members, authors, researchers, and others involved with the chemical sciences.

The contract for subscription to ACS journals and archives will be for a period of 3 years (Base + 2 Options).

It is estimated that subscription total cost for the three year period will be $647,595 Distributed as follows.

American Chemical Society Subscription Purchase Request No.: 55-9675-19/1300

4. The statutory authority permitting sole source.

The authority for permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 1901(e)(2), implemented by FAR 13.501(a).

41 U.S.C. 1901 41 U.S.C. 1903

5. A statement demonstrating the unique qualifications of the proposed contractor or the nature of the action requiring use of the authority.

Subscription to ACS journals and archives provide NRL chemists access to a multitude of cited publications, advances and technological standards, and the global network community of subject fit organization, chartered by Congress, ACS is at the forefront of the evolving worldwide chemistry enterprise and the premier professional home for chemists, chemical engineers and related professions around the globe.

articles in ACS journal for decades. At the same time they gave access to download over 3000 exclusive articles per month. Researchers continue to request archival nly be provided by the their platform

6. A description of efforts made to ensure offers/quotes are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized in FEDBIZOPPS (as required by FAR 5.2) and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies.

A Request for Information was posted on Beta SAM, only one response was received. The Technical Cognizant assessed the proposal and found it did not capable of fulfilling the requirement.

Following guidelines for a sole source action a synopsis will be posted to Beta SAM to allow industry to comment and also allows the requirements office an opportunity to examine the results of industry inquiries and reach a conclusion concerning the potential degree of competition.

7. The anticipated dollar value of the proposed acquisition, including options if applicable, and a determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable.

The anticipated value of this action will be $647,595 over a 3-year period. A price analysis will be conducted by the Contracting Officer to determine that the offered price presented to the Government is fair and reasonable. Since this is a commercial subscription, online pricing is publicly available on the ACS website which will be used as part of the basis for fair and reasonableness.

8. A description of the market research conducted and the results or the reason market research was not conducted.

In accordance with FAR 10.001, market research was conducted to determine if sources capable of satisfying the subject requirements exist. The Chief Librarian (requiring activity) conducts ongoing market research for additional resources that can provide comprehensive research capabilities for NRL chemists and scientists. In addition, an RFI was posted to determine if other sources existed that could complete this requirement.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of sole source.

American Chemist Society holds the copyright to the information, media, and their platform. ACS also holds the intellectual property rights and distribution rights for all journals covered by this requirement.

access to download over 3000 exclusive articles per month, which includes access to the archives.

NRL researchers require access to journal content from multiple national and international scientific publishers. Journal literature is critical to successful research. The content of one publisher does not substitute for another. No other supplier or agent can license this content to NRL.

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

Resulting from the RFI posted on Beta SAM on March 11th 2020 one response was received from a third party reseller, who submitted a capability statement.

11. A statement of any actions the agency will take to remove or overcome any future barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required.

The library staff continually canvass the NRL scientists and chemists to determine their need to continue and advance their researches. Based on this need, the library staff reviews scientific literature and the marketplace to determine available sources and pricing to meet the needs of the NRL scientific community.

CERTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

TECHNICAL/REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION

I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance, which are included in this Justification and its supporting acquisition planning documents, except as noted herein, are complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

LEGAL SUFFICIENCY REVIEW

I have determined that this Justification is legally sufficient.

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION

I certify that this Justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

COMPETITION ADVOCATE APPROVAL