Sole Source Justification - Redacted.pdf

SOLE SOURCE - SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITIONS

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

RECOMMENDATION AND DETERMINATION TO SOLICIT FROM ONE SOURCE

I recommend that NSF negotiate with Guardians of Honor (GOH) only for Virtual Site Visits (VSV) and Virtual Reverse Site Visits (VRSV).

I have reviewed other products/services to identify other vendors which might meet NSF’s requirements through one of the following methods:

ϒ GSA Schedule ϒ Open Market Price Lists Xϒ Previous requirements Xϒ Other Discussion with NSF Program Officers

The total estimated cost, including shipping and handling (if applicable), of this effort is approximately $10,000 per meeting (12 total) and the period of performance or lead-time for delivery or start date is March 1 – April 30, 2021 for VRSVs and August 1 – September 30, 2021 for VSVs.

This recommendation is made pursuant to FAR 13.106, for the acquisition of supplies or services determined to be reasonably available from only one source. Competition is impractical for the following reasons:

Guardians of Honor is uniquely qualified to support the virtual site and reverse site visits due to their extensive experience supporting the NSF, including EPSCoR meetings and others, thus gaining valuable familiarity with the organization and the jurisdictions participating in these events. Running a virtual site visit (virtual due to COVID-19) requires an experienced vendor who will work with a complex Zoom plan that maintains panelist privacy and confidentiality in the presence of jurisdiction faculty, staff, and students, all while accommodating NSF EPSCoR’s needs to run the event as normally as possible. GOH has the experience to customize Zoom access links for three disparate groups (NSF staff, panelists, and jurisdiction participants) and facilitate presentations exactly when and where they need to be.

November 2, 2020 Loretta Moore Date Section Head OD/OIA/EPSCoR

I hereby accept the above stated recommendation and determine that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available.

Contracting Officer Date

Moore, Loretta Digitally signed by Moore, Loretta Date: 2020.11.02 10:40:17 -05'00'

12/10/2020