Sofar_Ocean_SSJ_Redacted_1.pdf

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION FOR ACQUISITION UNDER THE

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

1. Contracting Agency and Activity. The Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey (USGS), plans to award a on a sole source basis. This document sets forth the justification and approval as required by FAR 13.106-1(b)(1).

2. Nature of Action Being Approved. This requirement is a firm fixed priced award for a five-year contract for the subscription to access to the marine sensing data in the Spotter Dashboard that is owned and operated by Sofar Ocean Technologies.

3. Description of Supplies or Services. The USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) requires full access to the Spotter Platform, which includes the Spotter Dashboard and Application Programming Interface (API). The dashboard gives the user the ability to view real-time and historical data collected by Sofar Ocean’s network of Spotter buoys. The API gives the user the tools to build custom dashboards to visualize data and direct observations that pertains directly to their research.

4. Estimated Dollar Value. Annual Cost $35,000.00/Total $175,000.00

5. Statutory Authority. The proposed action may be awarded on a sole source basis under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) – only one source reasonably available.

6. Rationale Supporting Use of Citation in No. 5. Since 2021, the SPCMSC has been collecting marine data using the Spotter Platform. To date, the center has purchased ten Spotter buoys, valued at $10,400.00 apiece. There are more than 1,000 privately owned and operated Spotter buoys deployed throughout the world’s oceans that transmit data to Sofar Ocean. The Spotter buoys transmits the data either by cellular or satellite to Sofar Ocean's proprietary marine weather prediction model, which then directs it to the Spotter Dashboard for viewing. Sofar Ocean stores all data and custom dashboards in its cloud storage, allowing instant access from any internet-connected IP address. By utilizing another entity, the government will lose the existing investment of $104,400.00 in Spotter buoys as they are not compatible with other software and loss access to Sofar Ocean’s global network of Spotter buoys.

7. Other Information. In 2023, Sofar's Spotting buoy and Smart Mooring emerged as the most suitable products to assist SPCMS in monitoring the coastal shores through competition. The Spotter buoy instrument package is a solar-powered GPS wave measurement buoy capable of collecting data autonomously for periods of at least 6 months. The buoy's small size—45 cm and less than 6 kg—allows for transport and deployment off small vessels. In addition to measuring various observational data, Sofar Spotter buoys can integrate with other sensors and provide a complete description of wind waves (height, period, direction, etc.), sea surface temperature (SST), and atmospheric (barometric) pressure.

8. The Efforts to Identify Additional Sources Including the Market Research Conducted. The market research indicated there are other entities that offer access to collected marine data

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION FOR ACQUISITION UNDER THE

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

through a subscription service. Like Sofar Ocean each entity has their own proprietary hardware and algorithm to process the data.

9. Future Plans to Permit Competition. Future requirements will undergo market research for the same or similar items. As technology develops and other vendors of these type of instruments enter the marketplace USGS will compete for the procurement of these services to the maximum extent practical.

10. Recommendation and Certification from Program Office

Based on the above, I recommend this acquisition be conducted on a sole source basis and certify the above statements are true and accurate.

11. Certifications from the Contracting Officer:

a. Prices will be determined fair and reasonable by comparing prices paid for similar items on previous purchase orders.

b. This justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

12. Approvals

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) considers employee signatures to be Personal Protected Information, and therefore all employee signatures have been redacted. By posting this document, the Contracting Officer attests all appropriate signatures have been obtained.