Malaysia SAROPS J and A_Signed.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

10 U.S.C. § 2304

In compliance with FAR 13.501(a)(ii), this justification uses the format at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303-2.

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The Department of Homeland Security, United States Coast Guard (USCG), Office of Contract Operations (CG-912), Foreign Military Sales Formal Contracts Branch (CG- 9123-3) prepared this justification for other than full and open competition.

2. Nature or Description of the Action being approved.

(a) Nature of the action:

The USCG intends to procure, on a sole source basis, Environmental Data Server (EDS) subscriptions and ArcGIS licenses and maintenance to support the Search and Rescue Optimal Planning Systems (SAROPS) for the Country of Malaysia.

(b) Name and address of the contractor:

Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) 380 New York St. Redlands, CA 92373

(c) Type of action: Firm Fixed-Price Purchase Order

(d) Estimated total value (including options): $137,102.10

(e) Type of funding: O&S

(f) Year of funding: FY21 funds

(g) Solicitation number: 70Z02321QMIX00200

(h) Background information about the requirement: The USCG developed a

SAROPS to improve the ability to establish search areas based on environmental factors in order to increase the probability of successful rescue and recovery, which saves lives. Our partner nations, working with the USCG, have adopted the same SAROPS that the USCG uses.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

The Requirement is to provide EDS subscription renewals, EDS helpdesk support, ArcGIS licenses and maintenance renewals for Malaysia’s SAROPS as described in the Statement of Work.

4. Identification of Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition. The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C. § 2304(c)(1) implemented by FAR Subpart 6.302-1 Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

5. Demonstration that the Proposed Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or the Nature of the Acquisition Require Use of the Authority Cited.

The USCG SAROPS is made up of the Graphical User Interface displayed on ArcGIS, the EDS and the Simulator (SIM). ESRI’s ArcGIS has been altered to include U.S. Coast Guard specific applications such as the SAR Tools Extension and SAROPS Extension. The applications work within the ArcGIS layered environment. RPS Group developed the USCG EDS, which collects, modifies, and stores environmental information for use within SAROPS. SAROPS servers request environmental information from the EDS based upon the area of interest and time parameters. Different environmental products are cataloged on the server ranging from observational systems to modeling products. The RPS Group EDS was designed to be interoperable with ESRI’s ArcGIS. In order to ensure the correct EDS product is provided, proprietary information about ESRI’s ArcGIS would be needed. Our partner nation in this requirement has adopted the USCG SAROPS as their Maritime Search Planning system. To use any other GIS Display or EDS at this time would result in significant development, integration and testing to ensure interoperability with the USCG extensions. This would result in a duplication of costs already expended on the current system and unacceptable delays. Delays in operational availability of Malaysia’s SAROPS system would compromise Maritime Search and Rescue abilities dramatically reducing the probability of success. There are a number of US domestic based entities who can resell ESRI products within the US. However, none are permitted by ESRI to sell or distribute internationally. Based on the above and because only ESRI can provide both the ArcGIS and EDS that will be interoperable with the USCG SAROPS Extensions, ESRI is the only source to satisfy the SAROPS requirements of Malaysia.

6. Description of Efforts Made to Ensure that Offers are Solicited from as Many

Potential Sources as is Practicable. The solicitation will be posted to Contract Opportunities. This Justification and Approval will be posted within 14 days after award.

7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the

Government will be Fair and Reasonable. The contracting officer determines that the anticipated prices will be fair and reasonable based on a number of historical contracts with ESRI for the same products in support of other countries SAROPS procured through the FMS program.

8. Description of Market Research. No additional market research was conducted as the

ArcGIS and EDS needs to be the same as used by the USCG in order for the system to function without the need for additional development, integration and testing.

9. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

If ESRI is not awarded the contract, the new contractor will need to customize its own software to work with the USCG extensions and develop an EDS to provide thousands of data points in all areas of the globe, which requires a significant amount of IT infrastructure, follow-on maintenance and updates. This would duplicate the entire original cost of the USCG SAROPS GUI and EDS effort and result in unacceptable delays. The current SAROPS for Malaysia already use the ArcGIS and EDS described in the SOW.

10. A Listing of the Sources, if Any, that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition. This solicitation is being released as a combined synopsis/solicitation.

No sources have expressed an interest in this acquisition at the time this J&A was written. In addition, the USCG FMS office has posted solicitations and J&As multiple times for these same products from ESRI for other countries and those also did not receive any expressed interest in writing.

12. A Statement of the Actions, if Any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome

Any Barriers to Competition Before Any Subsequent Acquisition for Supplies or Services Required. Due to the technical nature of this requirement, there is no action the USCG can take at this time to overcome barriers to competition. In the future, if the USCG re-competes their entire SAROPS system, interested vendors will have an opportunity to compete for that requirement. For FMS, our partner nations will always use the same SAROPS as the USCG as we are the global leaders in this type of technology.

13. Technical/Requirements Personnel Certification.

I certify that this requirement meets the Government’s minimum need and that the supporting data, which forms a basis for the justification, is accurate and complete.

Karl Harris Technical Representative/COR

14. Contracting Officer’s Certification and Approval.

I certify that the data supporting the recommended use of other than full and open competition is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Devin J. Fitzpatrick Contracting Officer