NCSA_JA_W912LN-24-C-A006_Sole_Source_Redacted.pdf

Sole Source Justification and Approval Under FAR 13.501

1. Contracting Activity: United States Purchasing and Fiscal Office - Vermont

(USPFO-VT), W912LN

2. Description of Action: Vermont Army National Guard (VTARNG), Recruiting and Retention Battalion (RRBN) requests a sole source firm fixed priced contract with the Vermont Association of Broadcasters (VAB). The Government projects award for FY 2024 through FY 2028 using Army Operations and Maintenance funds. An acquisition plan is not required because this procurement does not meet the $50M threshold at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 207.103(d)(i)(B). This action is a follow-on to contract to W912LN-23-P- 0028, which was awarded on a sole source basis. The requirement was previously met via a task order (W912LN-20-F-0003) on an Indefinite Delivery and Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract (W9133L-17-D-0001) awarded and managed by National Guard Bureau (NGB), which had CLINs for each state and included option years.

The contractor for the national IDIQ, Lempugh, Inc., was a small business prime contractor which managed the NSCA program for NGB including but not limited to establishing business-to-business relationships/agreements with each of the State Broadcasting Associations (SBA) through which the NCSA program is executed. In at least some instances (according to a Sources Sought Notice response received by VTARNG) Lempugh appears to have further subcontracted all or part of the work.

In 2022, NGB made the decision to decentralize the contract with the expectation that annual Non-Commercial Service Announcement (NCSA) fees would be reduced via negotiations directly between SBAs and individual state contracting offices. Furthermore, there is an expected cost savings at the national level because there is no longer a need for the prime vendor to provide program management services.

3. Description of Services: The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and quality control necessary to perform Non-Commercial Sustaining Announcement (NCSA) Services, also known as Public Service Announcement (PSA) Services.

The NCSA program is a mechanism by which the VTARNG obtains television and radio advertising airtime at significantly reduced rates available only to governmental and not-for-profit entities. Broadcasters donate airtime to their state’s State Broadcasters Associations (SBA), which in turn offers that airtime to governmental and not-for-profit entities at reduced rates. The objective of this requirement is to have radio and television enhance VTARNG’s image in the minds of potential recruits and their influencers, resulting in qualified recruitment leads.

Access to the NCSA program is available exclusively through SBAs, which are represented nationally by the National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations (NASBA). No other association or business provides either the comprehensive, statewide coverage or the advantageous rate structure provided by the SBAs. Each state has its own SBA which represents its radio and television broadcasters; VAB is Vermont’s SBA. This association is the only one of its kind serving Vermont.

Base Period: 29 SEP 2024 – 28 SEP 2025 Value: $156,780.00 Option Period 1: 29 SEP 2025 – 28 SEP 2026 Value: $157,563.90

Option Period 2: 29 SEP 2026 – 28 SEP 2027 Value: $158,351.72 Option Period 3: 29 SEP 2027 – 28 SEP 2028 Value: $159,143.48

Total: $631,839.10

4. Authority Cited: 41 United States Code 1901 as implemented by FAR 13.501(a)(1)(ii), sole source (including brand name) under the authority of the simplified procedures for certain commercial items.

5. Reason for Authority Cited: This action will be solicited under FAR 13.501. The proposed acquisition must be accomplished through other than full and open competition because the VAB is the only vendor that is capable of satisfying agency requirements.

The former NGB-awarded contract was managed by a third-party vendor, which added overhead and profit costs to the contract. Contracting directly with the VAB removes the need for this third-party vendor, thus eliminating these additional costs. For example, under W9133L-17-D- 0001 the CLIN for VTARNG’s participation in the NCSA program for the period of performance ending 28 APR 2022 was at a rate of $13,837.38/month, which equates to an annual rate of $166,039.92; by decentralizing this contract and enabling VTARNG to contract directly with VAB, VTARNG was able to reduce the annual cost for the FY 2023 contract to $156,000.00/year. According to an NGB Information Paper published 15 June 2022, the potential for such cost savings was a key factor in the decision to decentralize this contract from NGB to the individual states. Based on these calculations, VTARNG estimates an annual savings in excess of $10,039.92/year (6%), which over the life of the contract would result in savings of approximately $40,159.68.

The NCSA program is a hybrid of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and paid broadcast advertising. Each state has its own State Broadcasting Association (SBA) that represents its radio and television broadcasters. SBAs are represented nationally by the National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations (NASBA). SBAs created the NCSA program so that the radio and television stations served by these associations could benefit indirectly from the announcements they air. NCSAs are only available to non- profit organizations or Government agencies that have not previously and are not currently using paid broadcast advertising. The NCSA program is designed to help organizations that operate in the public interest, such as non-profits and state agencies get their messages heard in an organized manner. Typically, SBA agreements guarantee a minimum 4:1 "airtime-to-stipend" ratio, meaning the ARNG-HRR must receive at least four dollars of airtime value for each dollar of stipend paid to the SBA.

According to NGR 601-1, Chapter 7, paragraph 7-7, f (4), the VTARNG is an unpaid public service advertiser on television and radio and is prohibited from purchasing television or radio advertising. Thus, the VTARNG relies on the NCSA program to solicit donated television and radio PSA airtime for VTARNG recruiting and retention efforts. NGR 601-1 paragraph 7-13a specifically states “The NCSA program, sometimes referred to as the Public Education Partnership (PEP) program, is the means by which the ARNG obtains television and radio advertising airtime.

Services obtained from SBAs that promote increased radio or television PSA airings or that enhance placement of PSAs in these media are authorized.”

The VAB is the sole organization capable of administering the NCSA program in Vermont because they are the only agency able to arrange for VTARNG to use airtime donated by member television and radio broadcasters. The VAB has 45 radio station and 6 television station members; there are no other equivalent state-wide member organizations of radio and television stations that could solicit donated airtime for the VTARNG.

There are no acceptable alternatives available to the Government. Under the current contract, the VAB is delivering a minimum of $629,910 worth of advertising for $156,000, including 18,000 radio spots and 2,880 television spots. Loss of the resulting impressions would have a profound detrimental impact our recruiting efforts and could lead to critical mission failure.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: The Contracting Office published a Sources Sought Notice on 21 MAR 2024 to provide interested parties an opportunity to submit capability statements. The Notice clearly stated that the requirement is “for broadcast advertising (including both television and radio advertising) using the Non-Commercial Sustaining Advertising (NCSA) program.” Interested parties were advised that to be considered responsive, their submissions should “contain sufficient information to support a conclusion that the submitting contractor has the capability to meet all requirements of the PWS.”

Responses were received from three contractors, one of which indicated it had acted as subcontractor to Lempugh, Inc., on the NGB IDIQ. However, all of the responses failed to demonstrate current capability to place advertisements using the NCSA program. VTARNG therefore intends to proceed on a sole source basis directly with VAB; a notice to that effect will be publicized in accordance with FAR 5.203.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: Not applicable. As outlined in the finding from the market research below, competition is unlikely to produce meaningful benefits to the Government.

8. Market Research: Market Research was conducted by Kristina Andrea and the completed document was signed on 12 SEP 2024. In accordance with Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 205.205-71, DFARS 206.302-1(d), and DFARS Procedures, Guidance and Information (PGI) 206.302-1(d), a Sources Sought was posted to System of Award Management (SAM) website on 21 MAR 2024 for 15 days. Three contractors responded, none of which had access to the NCSA program. All other responses would require the contractor to be prime vendor, subcontract the work to VAB, rather than performing the work directly in accordance with the Performance Work Statement (PWS). The entirety of the work set forth in the Performance Work Statement would be performed by VAB.

9. Interested Sources: See Paragraph 6 for the synopsis information. The vendors responding to the Sources Sought Notice were:

Team Up 10x, LLC (CAGE: 9Q2N4 / UEI: JT9PNSLHGXZ9) Laughlin, Marinaccio & Owens (CAGE: 1B4M8 / UEI: EG97KJLUM4E3) Gimball, LLC (CAGE: 8RCB6 / UEI: VKHJZB6U7RK8D)

None of the companies demonstrated capability to obtain donated radio & television airtime from stations across Vermont for VTARNG public service announcements through the NCSA program.

The only entity that can provide that service was VAB.

To date, no other sources have written to express interest in the acquisition.

10. Other Facts: According to an NGB information paper published on 15 June 2022, NGB’s intent in decentralizing the NCSA contract is to “maximize return on investment, drive cost for participation in the program down, and monitor effectiveness at the state- level…” as well as