JOFOC_Redacted.pdf

This is a Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition document for a federal contract acquisition at or below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold.

The contracting activity involves the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), specifically the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), seeking to procure fee-for-service costs for X-ray crystallographic applications using the SER-CAT synchrotron beamline at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. The project is titled "SER-CAT beamline at the University of Georgia" with a total estimated dollar value of $236,819 and a performance period from March 20, 2026 through March 19, 2027. This is a new requirement under AMBIS Sequence number 2278124.

The proposed contractor is the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. (310 E. Campus Road, Tucker Hall 409, Athens, GA 30602). The justification for sole-source procurement is based on 41 USC 253(c)(1) and FAR Part 6.302-1, citing that only one responsible source is capable of providing the required services due to their unique qualifications. The government justifies this selection because UGA developed and owns the SER-CAT beamline facility, which operates as one of the most advanced X-ray synchrotron data facilities widely used by academic institutions in the southeastern United States. Additionally, NIH has maintained over 20 years of collaborative experience with UGA on SER-CAT beamline usage, and UGA provides significantly lower access costs than other industry-sponsored beamlines due to federal funding contributions to the beamline's development.