Justification_140F0918C0002_Redacted.pdf

United States Department of the Interior

U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE

Contracting and General Service

5275 Leesburg Pike Falls Church, VA 22041

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Identification of the agency, contracting activity and specific identification of the document as a “Sole Source Justification for Commercial Items."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Headquarters, Contracting and General Services, Falls Church, Virginia.

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved.

This request is for a new action for a firm fixed price contract to Tandem Stills and Motion, Inc (Tandem). The services have previously been provided by Tandem Vault under Cooperative Agreements F16AC00179 , F17AC00013 , F17AC00610 , F17AC00826 , and F17AC000827 .

The requirement discussed in this justification will be a follow-on contract to those agreements.

This requirement is being pursued as a contract based on the deliverables that will be produced. Previous agreements through the National Wildlife Refuge Association and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were pursued through the cooperative agreement process based on the needs for individual film products and the specific deliverable of short films for tailored purposes. The pending contract contains the previous work that has been produced which will be included for distribution purposes, new work to supplement existing content in order to complete a suite of film products and still images for use by the USFWS and partners in order to significantly expand the awareness and relevancy of the refuge system, the use of storage system so that USFWS can use the content on a broad scale, and consultation and input from industry experts regarding media and outreach efforts for the refuge system. This is a much larger scale arrangement and encompasses the entire refuge system branding effort as compared to individual and specific refuge film products done on a case by case basis. Consultation with the DOI-Bureau Procurement Chief, the FWS- Contracting Chief, and the Region 1 Contracting Chief determined that the requirement is best pursued as a contract.

The purpose of this project will be to develop visual content regarding the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) which shares the mission and purpose of that system. The content developed will share public access opportunities as well as increase visibility about the

Subject: Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition refuge system. In association the content will be housed in a platform that is available for multiple refuge events and platforms for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and partners. This contract will also support advisory and content direction on the part of the contractor based on experience with the refuges and the system attributes.

These efforts are intended to demonstrate the broad spectrum of environments and conservation purpose that the NWRS provides for the benefit of wildlife and people alike.

The content obtained will be used to visually illustrate the attributes of the refuge system in the form of film and photographic content, as well as supporting visual assets and collaborative consultation with partners.

The period of performance for these services will be one year from the date of award, with a one year option for the digital asset management services. The Independent Government Estimate for this requirement is , inclusive of the option.

3. A description of the supplies and/or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the total estimated value).

This contract will include asset management through the digital asset management solution, Tandem Vault. All Tandem-created visual products, in their final form, which shall include:

all USFWS content (including previous projects with National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) and USFWS on Urban project and other efforts), will be stored and managed in Vault. The content that is currently available on Tandem Vault includes use of refuge system imagery and assets for USFWS use. The current content uses 6k film and the follow-on requirement will be 6k. Copyright authority remains with Tandem as the creator of the images.

As part of the contract Tandem Vault will 1) be available to USFWS employees and partners as authorized by the USFWS Project Officer, 2) include distribution of visual assets to external outlets, 3) include finished photographic content for NWRS chief’s office to promote restore refuges campaign, and 4) provide training and support services to Vault users.

This contract will include the contractor as primary contributor to external media outlets and commercial entities for the purpose of distributing NWRS content and information for use in media and other public forums.

This contract will incorporate branding efforts by NWRS and Tandem Partnership to reach platforms difficult or inaccessible to the agency. They will include but will not be limited to national/international newspapers, magazines, outdoor industry contacts, film festivals, NGOs, strategic distribution outlets, and other conservation entities.

Distributed content will include film products and still images created as part of current and prospective projects. Film promotions will include all Tandem created products where determined appropriate and feasible.

This requirement will also include editing and post-production requirements for film and photographic content created as part of the restore refuges effort and national NWRS branding campaign. It will include previously created content for HQ and Region 1 projects (Midway, Monuments, Rose Atoll, Urban, and Meet the Refuges. The requirement will include allocations for equipment costs, upgrades, additional needs for locations and technical requirements, and will also include allocations for voice over elements, musical composition, graphics rendering, and other technical requirements.

The requirement will include the distribution of final products to FWS and partners on platforms needed for broad scale availability. This will include visitor centers, external audience locations, or other determined appropriate and available. The requirement will also include creation of a lookbook of visual images for use by NWRS executive leadership. All of the content created is unique and specific for the refuge system and includes access to locations typically closed to public or otherwise restricted (i.e. aerial viewing).

FWS will have review and input authority during the edit process prior to final product creation. Created products will be of a commiserate quality and production with industry standards and Tandem high-end grade content completion.

Deliverables will include short film content as follows:

• 0:30-2:30 Nearby Nature

• 0:30-2:30 Unique Recreation

• 0:30-2:30 Thrive (social/solo)

• 0:30-2:30 Experience Wildlife Spectacles/Iconic wildlife

• 15-20 minute NWRS Intro Film

This requirement will add refuge locations to existing suite of content created for the NWRS.

Specifically unique content previously created will be combined with 4-8 new refuge locations for use in a final deliverable film referenced above. Final deliverables will be used as part of Refuge Week outreach.

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

10 U.S.C. 2304(c) (1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, “Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.”

5. A demonstration that the contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires the use of the authority cited.

Content Requirements:

Other approaches for using existing footage will be extremely costly and content restrictive. Specifically, purchasing all raw footage and copyright authority in order to deliver to another vendor for edit and final products will cost over four times as much as pursuing this contract. It will also result in significant time delays without guarantees of quality and content delivery that is commiserate with high end standards required. Time delays, inability to use previously created products and content and the unique storage system discussed below that exists for these projects will result in failure of this requirement for the refuge system.

Consultation Requirements:

The contractor is uniquely qualified for this requirement based on industry standard expertise and existing creative content and collaborative work with NWRS. This specific contractor is requested to contribute to the NWRS branding team as a core member based on his experience with the NWRS and the agency over the last seven years. Specifically he has traveled on assignment throughout the refuge system to film and photograph a host of refuges and areas not open to the public. In addition, assets that have been created by this contractor are authorized for USFWS use but copyright authority is retained by the contractor. The content that has been created is of industry standard quality and not available through any other context or format. In order to observe applicable copyright law and authority USFWS requires use and buildout of existing and forthcoming content for the purpose of the NWRS branding effort. This effort is aligned with the Secretarial and Directorate priorities of the agency.

The contractor uses a platform for creative asset accessibility that is solely unique within the industry and also formatted for use with USFWS IT systems as well as external partners. This approach is difficult and arduous to establish and allows USFWS to distribute NWRS content across a broad spectrum of contexts. Further the contractor and associated team is a conservation expert in the area of public lands and natural resources with an unmatched portfolio of projects in remote, politically sensitive, and species sensitive areas.

While access to the external platforms is not unique the content that Tandem is able to provide to the platforms is specific to the refuge system and unique based on current and prospective content creation as part of this contract. Thus the images and film content available are not possible through other arrangements, vendors, or otherwise.

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 Notice of Intent to Sole Source the requirements for this contract were posted on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOps) website on March 8, 2018, in accordance with FAR 5.2. Responses to this requirement were to be received within 15 days of the announcement, which expired on March 22, 2018. All responses received within the specified time frame after the date of publication of the notice were considered by the Government. Information received was considered for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement or if it will remain non-competitive.

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

The Contracting Officer will ensure that the services procured under this justification are at a fair and reasonable price. The contractor will be required to submit a proposal the award under this justification, with sufficient information to support the accuracy and reliability of the quote. The contracting officer will obtain whatever data are available from Government or other secondary sources and use that data in determining a fair and reasonable price in accordance with the FAR. Comparisons will be made to the Independent Government Estimate, historical information (previous cooperative agreements), and market prices. Under these procedures the contracting officer will have sufficient information to determine a fair and reasonable price.

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

Tandem Vault is the only entity company available who contains the refuge system content needed. Specifically the vendor has been afforded access and hired previously as the vendor for refuge system projects for six years. The content that has resulted is a unique suite of images and film of the refuge system. Because some refuges have restricted access, are extremely remote, and costly to get to, making a new requirement for another vendor to replicate the existing work will be extremely costly and a poor use of funds. The resulting content that this vendor holds is unique and does not exist on the market in other locations in this capacity. The market research compares other film and photographic image websites (Alamy, Shutterstock, etc).

13. Contracting Officer Approval:

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

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14. Concurrence by Chief of Contracting Office. (Required over $150,000.00)

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