JOFOC TDLinx 9.2.21.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity

USDA/ARS/AFM/APD

805 Pennsylvania Avenue Kansas City, MO 64105 Jessica Edwards, Contracting Officer Phone: (913)277-0218

2. Nature/Description of Action

Acquisition of Food at Home Establishment Data and Information through a firm fixed price contract.

3. Description of Supplies/Services The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) seeks to purchase store-level data on commercial food at home (FAH) establishments’ characteristics and location, including (but not limited to) store name, address, type (supermarket, supercenter, etc.), type sub-channel (supermarket/store format type), and size (square feet of selling area); geographic identifiers (State FIPS code; County FIPS (Federal Information Processing System) code; latitude-longitude); annual commodity volume (ACV)/annual sales (total); ID to link individual stores to firm ownership and parent firm; information on store categories (food, sales of gasoline, etc); market area identifiers (Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas, Information Resources, Inc. Infoscan); data documentation; and SNAP and WIC authorized store identifiers.

4. Statutory Authority

In accordance with FAR 6.302-1 and 41 USC 253(c)(1), authority for other than full and open competition is granted by FAR 6.302-1(2)(ii), which specifies that supplies and services may be deemed to be available only from the original source in the case of a follow-on contract when it is likely that award to any other source would result in

(A) Substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition, or (B) Unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements.

5. Demonstration of Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or Nature of the Acquisition that

Requires use of the Authority Cited Both the original and this acquisition are a TDLinx product from Nielsen company.

This product is essential to USDA’s mission area. TDLinx is the only source that can provide more recent data every year. Other food store datasets ERS currently has does not have that advantage. TDLinx provides more information about each establishment that is not available in other sources, such as the number of checkout registers, square footage of the selling area, and whether certain products are sold at each establishment (e.g., gas and liquor). In addition, the classification system in TDLinx is better for those interested in examining nontraditional FAH establishments that sell food, particularly supercenters. Furthermore, because TDLinx classifies supercenters as grocery stores, their sales are calculated for the grocery store portion rather than for the entire store. This is needed when categorizing stores for the Food Access Research Atlas (an ERS data product), because stores that are included in the Food Access Research Atlas have at least $2 million or more in annual sales. Also, selection of any other source would require substantial duplication of cost to USDA.

The following ongoing projects use TDLinx:

(a) Food Access Research Atlas. ERS maintains a database that depicts areas with limited access to supermarkets and large grocery stores. This database is used by policymakers, researchers, and the general public, remaining one of the most used ERS products. In addition, ERS has invested a significant amount of personnel resources into this work, including two ERS staff members. Replicating this work is estimated require on average over 3,000 hours.

(b) Food Environment Atlas. ERS maintains a database that depicts the food environment across the U.S. The database is used by policymakers, researchers, and the general public, remaining one of the most used ERS products. In addition, ERS has invested a significant amount of personnel resources into this work, including three ERS staff members. Replicating this work is estimated require on average over 2,000 hours

In addition to these direct costs, there are several projects using this data through co-operative agreements and Third Party Agreements that would need to be duplicated.

Therefore, total (indirect and direct) costs will exceed the amount of using TDLinx data.

6. FedBizOpps Announcement/Potential Sources

A Sources Sought Announcement was posted to FBO on 6/21/2021 and responses were due back on 6/28/2021. No responses from other sources were solicited. The announcement number is 1040951.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost

Will be done in comparison with previous pricing at time of award.

8. Market Survey

ERS inquired to Nielsen for a quote for different years of deliverables (i.e., one year to five years of data).

The quote for one Base year of licensing with four optional years is $1,779,871.

9. Additional Support

None.

10. Other Interested Sources

No other interested sources.

11. Actions Taken to Remove Barriers to Competition

Future competition is not planned.