A03_-_Simplified_Acquisition_Sole_Source_Justification_over_ 150K_(FAR_13_5)_Redacted.pdf

Control No: JA-Adel-17-100 Contractor Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)

Supply/Service: Xplore digital library subscription

MAPAPP Version – November 2015 Last adjusted by Adelphi on 9/6/2016

JUSTIFICATION REVIEW DOCUMENT

FAR PART 13 SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR

OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

Supply/Service: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Xplore digital library subscription

Authority: 41 U.S.C. 1901(e)(2), implemented by FAR 13.501(a) -- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

Amount: $ 664,430.00

Prepared by: DSN:

Supervisory Librarian Date: 11/10/2016 Email:

Contracting Officer: DSN:

Contract Officer Date: 11/09/2016 E-mail:

Technical: DSN:

Supervisory Librarian Date: 11/10/2016 Email:

Requirements: DSN:

Supervisory Librarian Date: 11/10/2016 Email:

Reviews: I have reviewed this justification and find it adequate to support other than full and open competition.

Program Manager:

11/30/2016

X Program Manager Signed by:

Version – November 2015

Department of Army FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Sole Source Justification and Approval for

Other than Full and Open Competition

1. Contracting Activity: U.S. Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground, Adelphi Contracting Division, (ACC-APG-CCAP-SCA), 2800 Powder Mill RD, Adelphi, MD 20783.

2. Description of Action: The U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL), requests a firm-fixed price contract with the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, 445 Hoes Ln. Piscataway, NJ 08854- 4141.The Government projects award for DEC 2016 and fiscal year 2017, RDT&E funds will be used.

_X_ An acquisition plan is not required because this procurement does not meet the threshold at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 207.103(d)(i)(B) and is not a cost reimbursement type contract (FAR 16.301- 3(a)(2)).

3. Description of Supplies/Services: One (1) six (6) month Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Xplore digital library subscription, with seven (7) six (6) month options. Nine (9) month Option Period 1 price is with a credit applied to this option period, so long as the contract was awarded by 12/1/2016.

CLIN

ITEM PERIOD OF

PERFORMANCE

QUOTED

AMOUNT

GOVERNMENT

DISCOUNT

CLIN 0001 Base Period 1 Dec 16 – 31 May 17 CLIN 0002 Option Period 1 1 Jun 17 – 28 Feb 18 CLIN 0003 Option Period 2 1 Mar 18 – 31 Aug 18 CLIN 0004 Option Period 3 1 Sep 18 – 28 Feb 19 CLIN 0005 Option Period 4 1 Mar 19 – 31 Aug 19 CLIN 0006 Option Period 5 1 Sep 19 – 29 Feb 20 CLIN 0007 Option Period 6 1 Mar 20 – 31 Aug 20 CLIN 0008 Option Period 7 1 Sep 20 – 28 Feb 21 Total Total with Discount

4. Authority Cited: 41 U.S.C. 1901(e)(2), implemented by FAR 13.501(a) -- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

5. Reason for Authority Cited: The Government requires One (1) ARL-wide Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Xplore digital library subscription with unlimited, full-text access. The IEEE database provides all authorized ARL employees, at all ARL authorized locations, a vast collection of engineering information and

Supply/Service: Xplore digital library subscription

Version – November 2015 extensive search and retrieval capabilities. With state of the art search and retrieval capabilities, employees have the ability to access journal information dating back to the original issue date of each IEEE titled publication. Additionally, IEEE guarantees maximum uptime and unlimited searching time, and their servers provide for information sharing across several platforms. This is helpful for ARL employees using the IEEE database for continued research and analysis projects.

this is vital to the users at ARL because any downtime or limitations to access of information can cause serious setbacks to ongoing research projects in the user community across all directorates.

The IEEE service also offers ARL users a wealth of in-depth on-line access across a wide range of products and disciplines. The breadth of disciplines covered by “IEEE Xplore” products range from medicine to engineering to industrial applications and intelligent transport systems. Products include all IEEE society publications, magazines, transactions, newsletters, conference proceedings, standards and periodicals, as well as other IEEE or IEEE jointly published information. This exclusive online service allows researchers a dynamic forum where leading experts in the field exchange ideas on cutting-edge applications and new research. IEEE’s proprietary content is peer reviewed by leaders in the field, and will include all updates, changes and patches as needed.

IEEE service will provide the following unique support:

• Provision of general information and background materials

• Troubleshooting individual problems

• Regular system and project updates via newsletters and email

• As practical, maintenance of discussion groups via listserv and/or email

IEEE is currently the only vendor with the ability to meet the government’s minimum requirements in providing access to the vast collection of engineering information and extensive search and retrieval capabilities. Without access to IEEE database, ARL research community would not have access to a valuable automated research tool that contributes to ongoing and planned research in the areas of electrical engineering and computer science. The loss of access to these resources would have a negative impact on the workload of researchers who would be unable to complete their current mission requirements involving the evaluation of basic and applied science in these areas. If the contract were not awarded, a vast collection of engineering information and the extensive search and retrieval capability currently available to researchers would be eliminated.

IEEE service is commercial and fulfills a unique market niche in the research community;

they are the sole publisher of IEEE journals, standards and conference proceedings.

The breadth of services offered is not matched by any commercial entity in the market place and the cost in both time and dollars to develop an alternate source would not be offset by the benefits of competition as this is not a Federal requirement, but a research

Supply/Service: Xplore digital library subscription

Version – November 2015 requirement. No other commercial entity has chosen to enter this market niche and the services offered are specialized and required in support of ARL research efforts. Due to the aforementioned IEEE is the only source that will satisfy ARL’s requirements.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Based on the market research performed by the TPOC (See Section 8), no other vendor other than IEEE were found to fulfill the Government’s requirement. ARL researchers have not identified alternate sources for services either of the breadth or depth of those offered under IEEE Xplore. The commercial market will continued to be surveyed for resources that enhance the technical research missions of ARL and this action will be conducted competitively should an alternated commercial source be identified offering similar services and access.

In accordance with FAR 5.201, a sources sought synopsis was posted to FBO with a closing date of 11/14/2016. To date, no other vendors have expressed interest. A synopsis and this J&A will be posted in accordance with FAR Part 13.501(a)(iii) within 14 days after the award date; therefore meeting the requirement to provide the general public knowledge of the types of requirements at ARL by demonstrating the unique capabilities offered by IEEE. This in of itself provides potential for future competition as other sources may commercially develop competing databases in order to fulfil future needs of the Army Research Laboratory.

Due to the aforementioned, the Government will pursue this action under FAR 13.501(a), where the Government has found only one responsible source and determined no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: ARL will continue to pursue web searches and hold discussions among the library community to help locate other sources that can provide online, full-text access to a database with publications, journal subscriptions, etc, similar to that of IEEE. Any known sources that can provide similar online accessibility to IEEE’s database will be sought after for competitive interest in the future.

8. Market Research: Market research conducted 15-30 October 2016 by , Supervisory Librarian, , 37 years of professional experience. Web searches have identified IEEE Xplore as a unique service, which matches ARL‘s mission with regard to content and capabilities. ARL researchers have not identified alternate sources for services either of the breadth or depth of those offered under IEEE Xplore. The commercial market will continued to be surveyed for resources that enhance the technical research missions of ARL and this action will be conducted competitively should an alternated commercial source be identified offering similar services and access.

IEEE Xplore is a commercially available, off-the-shelf service offered to special interest groups and libraries. It is in the best interest of the government to purchase this online

Supply/Service: Xplore digital library subscription

Version – November 2015 reference service directly from IEEE rather than attempt to develop an alternate source.

Market survey efforts will continue to be conducted to ensure that IEEE remains the premier service provider and that alternate sources for like services have not entered the commercial market place.

The IEEE is the owner of all rights, title and copyright to the material contained within IEEE Xplore and is the only vendor with the legal rights to publish and distribute the material worldwide. Therefore, market research concluded that IEEE is the only source able to provide the required renewal of IEEE Xplore.

9. Interested Sources: 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) the Contracting Officer published a sources sought synopsis on Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) on 11/08/2016 for seven (7) days and requested information on possible competition. This sources sought resulted in no interested vendors responding. As required by FAR 5.201, a synopsis was posted to FBO with a closing date of 11/30/2016. To date, no other sources have written to express interest in the acquisition.

10. Other Facts:

a. Procurement History

The US Army Research Laboratory procured the same access to the online database from IEEE under contract numbers DAAD17-03-C-0084 ($139,955.00), W911QX-08-P-0160 ($206,495.00), and W911QX-12-C-0097 ($704,327.00).

Contract numbers and dates of the last several awards.

DAAD17-03-C-0084 awarded 21 May 2003 awarded under other than full and open competition.

W911QX-08-P-0160 awarded 27 March 2008 awarded under other than full and open competition.

W911QX-12-C-0097 awarded 30 April 2012 awarded under other than full and open competition.

Authority Cited: 41 U.S.C. 1901(e)(2), implemented by FAR 13.501(a) -- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

11. Technical Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Signer’s Title:

11/30/2016

X Technical Certifier (Tech)

12. Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Signer’s Title:

Requirements Certifier

13. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable.

This determination will be made using the following:

__ Cost analysis _X_ Price analysis __ Should-cost

__ IGCE

__ Audit: __ Other:

As a part of this basis, certified cost or pricing data:

__ will be required.

_X_ will not be required and the following exception applies (FAR 15.403):

__ Prices that will be agreed upon are based on adequate price competition.

__ Prices that will be agreed upon are based on prices set by law or regulation.

_X_ A commercial item is being acquired.

__ A waiver has been granted by the head of the contracting activity (HCA) in accordance with DFARS PGI 215.403-1.

__ The contract action is a modification to a contract or subcontract for commercial item(s).

__ The estimated cost of the contract action is less than the threshold for certified cost or pricing data.

Contracting Officer (KO)

14. Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Approval Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of One (1) six (6) month Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Xplore digital library subscription, with seven (7) six (6) month options. Nine (9) month Option Period 1 price is with a credit applied to this option period on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of 41 U.S.C. 1901(e)(2), subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services or supplies herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

If the proposed contract action is not completed within 180 days from the below date, this Justification shall be returned to the Contracting Officer for revalidation. Additionally, if any changes to the requirements, basis for the justification, market conditions, or increases in the estimated value of the proposed action occur at any time, the Contracting Officer shall document these changes in a memorandum.

(End of Justification)