RIIA-26-00020 JA 4.15.2026 CO Signed.pdf

FY26-0086

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION

(41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(7))

Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.103 (FAR Class Deviation 25-111) and in accordance with the requirements of RFO 6.104, the justification for the use of the statutory authority under RFO 6.103 is justified by the following facts and rationale required under RFO

6.104-1 as follows:

1. Agency and Contracting Activity. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of

Procurement Operations (OPO), proposes to enter into a contract on a basis other than full and open competition on behalf of the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A), Homeland Identities and Intelligence Center (HI2C).

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action being Approved.

(a) Nature of Action: DHS intends to procure on a sole-source basis a renewal of the Web of Science Core Collection and platform for Science Citation Index Expanded, Social

Science Citation Index, Conference Proceeding Citation Index, Korean Journal Database, Chinese Database, SciELP Citation index. This sole-source contract is a follow-on award to 70RDA225P00000013, which has a period of performance from April 23, 2025 to

April 22, 2026.

(b) Name and Address of the Contractor: Clarivate Analytics, LLC, 789 E. Eisenhower

Parkway, Ann Arbor, MI 48108

(c) Contract Type: Firm-Fixed Price

(d) Estimated Total Value (including options):

Period Unit Price Total

Base Year

12 mo.

$301,072.03

$301,072.03

Total $301,072.03

(e) Type of Funding: The funding is coming from spending line item 1425

(f) Year of Funding: FY26

1 In this document, citations to RFO Parts 6, 10, 15, 25 are citations specifically to FAR Class Deviation 25-11 for FAR Part 6, FAR Class Deviation 25-06 for FAR Part 10, FAR Class Deviation 26-08 R1 for FAR Part 15, and

FAR Class Deviation 25-09 R1 for FAR Part 25, which were issued as part of the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul

(RFO), implemented in response to Executive Order 14275, Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement, signed April 15, 2025.

(g) Solicitation Number: 70RDA226Q00000020

(h) Background Information about the Requirement: The contract requirement is for continued access to the Web of Science platform with the Chinese Science citation

Database plugin, a critical research and analysis tool for Department of Homeland

Security (DHS) Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) Homeland Identity

Intelligence Center (HI2C),

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

The DHS Office of Procurement Operations will procure a Web of Science subscription for

Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) Branch, Homeland Identities and Intelligence Center

(HI2C). The Web of Science is a paid-access platform that provides access to multiple databases that provide reference and citation data from academic journals, conference proceedings, and other documents in various academic disciplines. Web of Science plays an essential role in HI2C research and analysis of non-traditional collectors and threat actors.

There is no other tool available that provides us comprehensive information on foreign and

US researchers’ research topics, institutional affiliation, sub-institutional affiliations (i.e.

research labs) that is not always found in visa applications, funding sources/grant numbers, and co-authors. Critical targeting information, especially connections between individuals and entities, that previously took analysts hours to find, or was often inaccessible, especially in aggregate, takes minutes to access via Web of Science. HI2C combines this information with other classified and unclassified sources into analytic products that inform intelligence and law enforcement operations conducted by DHS and interagency partners. Without access to Web of Science, there is an extreme risk of not identifying high-risk individuals who pose a non-traditional collection threat. HI2C’s ability to identify relationships between entities and persons of concern who aim to exploit the US visa system to facilitate non-traditional collection and technology transfer would be severely degraded. As a result, HI2C’s partners, including CBP and HSI, will lack critical information to execute their visa, immigration, and border security missions.

4. Identification of Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open

Competition.

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C.

3304(a)(1) implemented by the RFO Subpart 6.103-1 entitled “Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.”

5. Identification of Exception to the Buy American Statute

The Buy American Statute does not apply to this acquisition.

6. Demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

The Web of Science is a paid-access platform that provides access to multiple databases that provide reference and citation data from academic journals, conference proceedings, and other documents in various academic disciplines. Web of Science plays an essential role in

HI2C research and analysis of non-traditional collectors and threat actors. There is no other tool available that provides us comprehensive information on foreign and US researchers’ research topics, institutional affiliation, sub-institutional affiliations (i.e. research labs) not always found in visa applications, funding sources/grant numbers, and co-authors. Critical targeting information, especially connections between individuals and entities, that previously took analysts hours to find, or was often inaccessible, especially in aggregate, takes minutes to access via Web of Science. HI2C combines this information with other classified and unclassified sources into analytic products that inform intelligence and law enforcement operations conducted by DHS and interagency partners.

Without access to Web of Science, there is an extreme risk of not identifying high-risk individuals who pose a non-traditional collection threat. HI2C’s ability to identify relationships between entities and persons of concern who aim to exploit the US visa system to facilitate non-traditional collection and technology transfer would be severely degraded.

As a result, HI2C’s partners, including CBP and HSI, will lack critical information to execute their visa, immigration, and border security missions.

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

Sources as is Practicable.

A presolicitation notice will be posted to the Governmentwide point of entry (GPE) on April

10th, 2026.

8. 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 prior acquisition history.

9. Description of Market Research. The Market Research was conducted by three HI2C employees and one TDS employee. The research of both the Commercial and Government applications we conducted. The result was there were no other products that can offer the unique information needed to complete the mission.

10. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other Than Full and Open Competition. This section presents an opportunity to strengthen the justification by presenting supplemental or supporting information. Do not summarize or duplicate information already stated in previous sections. This section should include information such as: There are not other facts other than the ones mentioned earlier.

(a) An explanation why technical data packages, specifications, statement of work, or purchase descriptions are not suitable for full and open competition.

(b) Discuss why your requirement cannot be modified to enhance competition.

(c) For a proposed contract subject to the restrictions of RFO 6.103-1 for follow-on acquisitions as described in 6.103-1(c)(2)(i), all Components must provide an estimate of the cost to the Government that would be duplicated and detailed information on how the estimate was derived.

11. A Listing of the Sources, if Any That Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the

Acquisition.

There were no other sources that could meet or expressed interest in the acquisition.

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.

The government will conduct market research prior to the conclusion of the award to determine if there are additional viable alternatives that can meet its needs.

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13. Contracting Officer’s Certification. 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.

Kerri B. Williams

Contracting Officer

Date

14. Technical/Requirements Personnel Certification. I certify this requirement meets the

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

Brian Mario Maye

Technical Representative

APPROVAL:

Kerri B. Williams

Contracting Officer

4/15/2026