Redacted Simplified Acquisition Sole Source Justification.pdf

Control No:

JUSTIFICATION REVIEW DOCUMENT FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS

FAR PART 13 SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR

OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

Programs/Equipment: The Government seeks to procure one (1) base year membership with four (4) additional option years in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Industrial Liaison Program (ILP).

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: $

Prepared by: Cell:

Date: 04/15/2024 Email:

Contracting Officer: Joseph M. Dellinger DSN:

Contracting Officer Date: 04/15/2024 Email: joseph.m.dellinger2.civ@army.mil

Technical: Cell:

Requirements: Cell:

FAR PART 13 SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR

OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

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

2. Description of Action: The Army Research Laboratory (ARL), Research Business Directorate, Combat Capabilities Development Command requests a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), One Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. The Government projects award for June 2024 and Fiscal Year 2024/2025 Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) Basic Research funds will be used.

_X_ An acquisition plan is not required because this procurement either does not meet the threshold at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 207.103(d)(i), or is an R&D acquisition and does not meet the definition of services in 10 U.S.C. 2330(c)(2).

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The Government seeks to acquire membership in MIT’s Industrial Liaison Program (ILP) for one (1) base year with the option to purchase membership for four (4) additional years.

Base Period (CLIN 0001): June 2024 to June 2025 Value: $ Option Period 1 (CLIN 0002): June 2025 to June 2026 Value: $ Option Period 2 (CLIN 0003): June 2026 to June 2027 Value: $ Option Period 3 (CLIN 0004): June 2027 to June 2028 Value: $ Option Period 4 (CLIN 0005): June 2028 to June 2029 Value: $

Total: $

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:

As described at FAR 6.302-1(a)(2), when the supplies or services required by the agency are available only from one responsible source, or for DoD, NASA and the Coast Guard, from only one or a limited number of responsible sources, and no other types of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, full and open competition need not be provided for.

The U.S. ARL, Research Business Directorate, Combat Capabilities Development Command, requests a FFP contract with MIT to procure a base membership of one (1) year and four (4) additional option years in MIT’s Industrial Liaison Program (ILP).

The Government requires membership in a program sponsored and administered by a major research university to identify strategic partners and potential new areas of research that could impact national security and defense. The membership must touch upon a wide breadth of fundamental research topics spanning multiple academic disciplines in a university setting. The membership must also provide connections to startup companies that continue to mature technologies. The membership must provide content that is focused in areas of interest to the Department of Defense (DoD), the Army, and ARL.

The MIT ILP is dedicated to creating and strengthening mutually beneficial relationships between MIT, the research community, and corporations worldwide. Established in 1948, the ILP continues to be a key player in making industrial connections. Over 200 of the world’s leading companies partner with the ILP to advance research agendas. With continued acceleration of advances in technology and knowledge discovery, and a more demanding corporate funding environment, the ILP is committed to creating productive interactions with industry. The ILP continually evolves to meet the interests, needs, and aspirations of MIT faculty and corporate partners. Due to ARL’s presence in the Northeast Region and its proximity to the MIT campus, ARL would benefit greatly from ILP membership. It will enable ARL to pose unlimited, difficult and complex problems and questions at a corporate level; in turn, MIT will canvas its extensive research network of more than 300 research centers and thousands of faculty and staff to target people and projects relevant to the Government’s research needs. The ILP will enable key players to meet, confer, and discuss new and existing problems and/or answer specific questions. ILP membership will also fulfill ARL’s high demand to engage MIT and its resources in the most efficient and effective manner.

The ILP is the only program of its kind in the Northeast region that offers membership to industry and Government partners.

There are no viable alternatives to MIT ILP membership since it is a wholly unique program offered by one of the world’s most respected research universities. No other U.S.-based research university offers similar programs. Internal ARL staff does not have access to the resources, facilities, knowledge base, or industrial connections that the ILP Program can provide.

Without ILP membership, ARL’s staff’s ability to collaborate with world-renowned MIT researchers and ILP industry partners on complex questions and issues would be uncertain and unpredictable. Such collaboration would occur on an ad-hoc basis, or not at all, which would cause ongoing research projects to stall and future research projects to be reevaluated or even shelved. This would harm ARL’s mission to advance knowledge discovery and research in support of defense and national security.

MIT ILP Membership is only available direct through MIT. Based on the aforementioned, MIT is the only source capable of meeting the Government’s minimum requirements.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: As required by FAR 5.201, the Contracting Officer published a synopsis on SAM.gov on April 11, 2024, which closed on April 26, 2024. No vendors responded to the synopsis.

Because this is a sole source action, effective competition is not applicable.

There are no subcontracting possibilities for this contract and thus the Prime contractor will not seek to compete any work to subcontractors.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: Future competition will depend on whether other universities establish targeted programs that are comparable to MIT’s ILP Program.

While market research did not uncover such programs, universities may, in the future, decide to enter this space to raise their profiles and to enhance their relationships with corporations and the Federal Government.

8. Market Research:

Market research was conducted between February 2024 and May 2024 by

As part of the market research performed, the contacted to gather information concerning those individuals’ knowledge regarding programs other than MIT’s ILP that can potentially meet the Government’s requirements. Each expert indicated that they were unaware of any relevant programs other than the MIT ILP Program.

In addition, the conducted a comprehensive web search for other university-sponsored programs that partner with Government agencies and the business community to further research interests. The only other such program that was identified is sponsored by the University of Massachusetts-Lowell (UMass Lowell).

UMass Lowell sponsors a corporate partnership program offering members tiered packages that provide varying levels of access to the University based on annual membership fees paid. UMass Lowell’s highest-level offering is called the “Preferred Partner Program” and provides members access to the entirety of the University’s portfolio with a dedicated liaison. But while one (1) component of UMass Lowell’s program is access to academic experts and corporate partnering, the program includes features such as customized corporate education, recruitment, philanthropy, and branding that are outside the scope of the Government’s requirements. As a result, the UMass Lowell program does not meet the Government’s requirements.

The obtained a market research quotation from MIT for one (1) base year and four (4) option years.

MIT ILP Membership is only available direct through MIT. Based on the aforementioned, MIT is the only source capable of meeting the Government’s minimum requirements.

9. Interested Sources: See Paragraph 6 for the synopsis information. To date, no other sources have written to express interest in the acquisition.

10. Other Facts:

a. Procurement History: In a prior contract action, the Army Research Laboratory purchased membership in the ILP Program for one (1) base year and one (1) option year. See W911QX-22-P-0063, Award Date of 24 May 2022.

(1) Contract & Award Date: W911QX-22-P-0063, Award Date of 24 May 2022

(2) Competitive status of action: Sole Source

(3) Authority FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements

(4) If a justification was prepared to support the procurement made before this one, a summary of the contents of paragraph 7 of “the justification for that procurement” and an explanation of the results. A Determination and Findings (D&F) for Other Than Full & Open Competition was prepared in the prior action. The D&F noted that only one

(1) responsible source (MIT) is capable of satisfying agency requirements. Since the prior procurement, additional market research was conducted by requirements and contracting staff, but no alternatives were found to the MIT ILP Program that meet agency requirements.

(5) If any prior contract for this requirement was accomplished using full and open competition, include a detailed explanation of the changed circumstances causing this action to now limit the sources. N/A

(6) An explanation of any unusual patterns that may be revealed by the history, e.g., several consecutive, urgent buys. N/A

(7) If a justification was prepared to support the procurement made before this one, briefly describe the circumstances justifying the procurement and whether there have been any significant changes. N/A