Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition REQUIREMENTS-26-2413 redacted.pdf

This is a Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) document for a sole-source contract award to the Regents of the University of Colorado.

The Department of Commerce, NOAA Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO) intends to award a new Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) contract to the Regents of the University of Colorado for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Science (SBES) Data Discovery and Interoperability services. The contract period is three years, from September 19, 2026 through September 18, 2029, with an estimated total value that is redacted. The Government requires a contractor to deliver an existing data-rich SBES framework utilizing a modernized database of natural hazards research and manage competitive subcontract solicitations with academic researchers in multilateral expertise areas correlating to natural hazards research. Key contractor responsibilities include: designing and executing a competitive subcontract solicitation process subject to final Contracting Officer Representative (COR) approval; developing draft subcontract review criteria aligned with NOAA's data interoperability and operational goals; providing technical evaluations of subcontract proposals; monitoring subcontractor progress and performance timelines; synthesizing outputs across subcontractors to identify patterns and gaps; producing summary reports for NOAA program review and future investment planning; and conducting phased rounds of subcontract solicitation and administration. Services are non-severable.

The justification for sole-source award is based on 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1) under FAR Subpart 6.103-1 (Only One Responsible Source). The Government determined that only the Regents of the University of Colorado's Natural Hazards Center (NHC) possesses the unique qualifications because it has the only existing operational, data-rich SBES framework optimized for data discovery and interoperability studies, demonstrating 50+ years of experience in natural hazards research with an established network of 146+ researchers across 80 academic, nonprofit, and private sector institutions. The market research included a Sources Sought notice posted June 18, 2026 (two responses received) and a Notice of Intent to Sole Source posted July 9, 2026 (no responses received). Of the two interested sources (Inalab Group and Niyam IT, Inc.), neither was determined capable of fulfilling the requirements, as both lacked an operational, immediately available SBES framework and database necessary to complete the project successfully. The contracting officer determined the anticipated price will be fair and reasonable based on RFO 13.203(a) price reasonableness analysis, with price information and analysis to be performed prior to award. The JOFOC was certified by Adam Tasca (IT Acquisition Program/Project Manager), reviewed by the Office of General Counsel (Jaimie Clark, Senior Counsel, Contract Law Division), and approved by contracting officer Angela Royster on August 27, 2026.