SIGCSE Justification.pdf

Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition

(i) Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition

The National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Acquisition and Cooperative Support provides this justification for other than full and open competition in support of the Division of Undergraduate Education's sponsor and booth fee for the SIGCSE 2020 Conference.

(ii) Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

NSF intends to participate in the SIGCSE 2020 Conference as a sponsor from March 11, 2020 through March 14, 2020. NSF can only secure conference sponsorship and booths from the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc.

(iii)A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency's needs (including the estimated value).

The Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. coordinates the SIGCSE conference, bringing together members such as educators, researchers, and professionals for dialogue and sharing of information related to the computing industry. The Association for Computing Machinery will host the SIGCSE conference in Portland, Oregon and shall provide NSF with the following:

• Gold Level Sponsorship

• Two conference booth spaces

• Two conference registration badges

• Audio/Video equipment such as screen, LCD projector, and lavalier microphone

• Room configuration support

• Conference registration link

NSF's price for SIGCSE Conference 2020 Gold Level Sponsorship is $16,150.00.

(iv) An identification of the 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), indicating that only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

(v) A demonstration that the proposed contractor's unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

The Association for Computing Machinery is a membership-driven computing society, responsible for connecting computing educators, researchers, and professionals for knowledge-share and other resources. The Association for Computing Machinery, Inc conducts over 170 computing conferences, and workshops around the world. The SIGCSE 2020 conference is only available through the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. No other vendor has authority to conduct the conference on behalf of the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc.

NSF has secured Gold Level sponsorship for the conference that includes two conference booths. No other supplies or services can satisfy NSF's requirement for sponsorship and booth space for the SIGCSE 2020 conference.

(vi) A description of efforts made to ensure that offerors are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Federal Acquisition subpart 5.2.

Based on the unique nature of this requirement and a notation that the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. is the only available source for NSF to secure conference sponsorship, no additional effort was conducted to solicit other sources. Per posting requirements as indicated in procedures for FAR subpart 13.5, NSF intends to notify the public of this award action via the agency's website.

(vii)A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer will review the contractor's conference fee to conduct a fair and reasonable determination. At a minimum, the Contracting Officer will review past fees paid by NSF for attendance at the same or similar conferences to ensure that the price is fair and reasonable.

(viii)A description of the market research conducted and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

Market research was not conducted for this effort based on information as indicated in section (v) of this document.

(ix) Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

All facts supporting use of other than full and open competition have been described in this document.

(x) A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

Based on the unique nature of requirements and the fact that NSF can only acquire conference sponsorship from the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc, the Contracting Officer is not anticipating interest from other sources for this procurement action.

(xi)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.

No action was conducted to remove or overcome barriers to competition as no other vendor can satisfy NSF's needs for sponsorship as the SIGCSE 2020 conference.

(xii) Contracting Officer certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the contracting officer's knowledge and belief.

The Contracting Officer certifies that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of their knowledge.

(xiii) Evidence that any supporting data that is the responsibility of technical or requirements personnel (e.g., verifying the Government's minimum needs or requirements or other rationale for limited sources) and which form a basis for the justification have been certified as complete and accurate by the technical or requirements personnel.

The Contracting Officer's Representative has provided all relevant supporting facts to support the Task Order extension.