NF-FN7600-21-01989 Sole Source Redacted.pdf

Version 3.0

SOLE SOURCE/BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION

FOR AN ACTION EXCEEDING THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

USING SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS

(AUTHORITY: FAR 13.501(a), 41 U.S.C. 1901)

NF-FN7600-21-01989

1. Agency and contracting activity. Department of Commerce, NOAA Acquisition and Grants

Office (AGO), Western Acquisition Division, and NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fisheries Science Center.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

This is a sole source justification for a follow-on, commercial, firm-fixed price contract with Vaughn Analytics for needed upgrades and support to an existing decision support tool developed by Vaughn Analytics for a period of a base year plus two (2) one-year option periods from August 1, 2021 – July 31, 2024.

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

The requirement is to:

A) Provide scientific advice on how to update an existing Decision Support Tool for compatibility with Stock Synthesis version 3.30 and incorporate environmental and management uncertainty into projections.

B) Continue to support NOAA’s mission of providing stock assessment advice by maintaining and updating the Decision Support Tool by generalizing modifications.

C) Advance NOAA’s mission by improving the capability of using Stock Synthesis to provide projection advice, particularly under changing climate conditions.

This will be at a total cost of inclusive of all travel, equipment, and indirect costs. This will allow the NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Miami FL to accomplish its mission of providing timely and accurate fisheries management advice.

4. Statutory authority permitting the sole source (including brand name) acquisition.

X 41 U.S.C. 1901, using SAP up to $7.5M as authorized by FAR 13.500(a) and implemented by FAR 13.501(a).

□ 41 U.S.C. 1903, using SAP up to $15M for contingency operations as authorized by

FAR 13.500(c) and implemented by FAR 13.501(a).

5. Demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited. The contracting officer has determined the following circumstances justify the use of a sole source as supported below:

Only one source - Only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized.

NF-FN7600-21-01989 – Vaughn Analytics

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 price(s) will be fair and reasonable based on market research. Prior to award of the proposed contract/modification/order, cost or price information shall be obtained from the contractor and a price/cost analysis will be performed and documented to sufficiently determine that the cost to the Government of the proposed acquisition will be fair and reasonable. No award will be made if the prices are not determined to be fair and reasonable.

8. Description of the market research conducted (see Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

Market research was conducted by and the Western Acquisition Division to identify available sources and to evaluate the availability of the marketplace to meet the requirement as follows:

Based on the results of market research, the government determined that a limited number of vendors were available but each of them would have likely had to hire the current potential contractor (Vaughan) due to the unique qualifications listed in (5) above, which would result in a pass-through cost for the same outcome.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of a sole source (including brand name), such as:

This contract is necessary to avoid a break in service for this critical mission requirement. Dr.

Vaughan possesses the unique qualifications and specialized capabilities required to perform this requirement. The requirement cannot be modified in any manner to increase competition due to the time delays and the fact that only one contractor could perform the work.

10. List of the sources that expressed a written interest in the acquisition.

No other sources expressed a written interest in the acquisition.

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required.

The Government will continue to conduct thorough market research to gauge the marketplace capabilities for future requirements.

12. Technical/Requirements Representative Certification

I certify that this requirement constitutes the Government’s minimum needs and the supporting data provided herein is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.