SSJ 72795 Signedr.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR SOLE SOURCE PROCUREMENT (OPEN MARKET OR GSA)

UNDER $250,000

Sole source acquisitions may be used on a limited basis and only when the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)/Program Official has provided sufficient justification and the Contracting Officer has determined that the circumstances warrant such action. The content for a justification must contain detailed facts and rationale to justify the sole source acquisition. Soliciting from a single source must be done in accordance with FAR 13.106-1(b) or 8.405-6. At a minimum, the following information must be included:

Identification of Program Office, Contracting Activity, and Proposed Requirement, Justification and Program Office Certification:

A. Program Office:

NCEZID/ DFWED

Roybal Campus Bldg 24, 9th floor, Mailstop H24-9 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta, GA 30329

B. Contracting Activity:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office of Financial Resources Acquisition Branch 1

C. Identification of Requirement:

1. Nature of Action to be Approved by Contracting Officer:

a. Sole source acquisition of: Using the Salmonella accessory genome to pinpoint the source of human illness from chicken

b. Procurement Request (PR) Number (if available): 68461

2. Proposed Vendor and Estimated Procurement Amount (if available):

a. Proposed Vendor: UNIVERSIDAD DE CANTABRIA AVENIDA CASTROS, S/N

SANTANDER, CANTABRIA, 39005

b. Estimated Procurement Amount: REDACTED

3. Is the requirement on GSA Schedule? Yes No

If yes, provide schedule number: Click here to enter text.

Rev. 5/14/19

D. Justification:

1. The justification for this non-competitive action is:

In accordance with FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), “only one source [is] reasonably available” which states that, “For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold. (i) Contracting officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name or industrial mobilization). (ii) Where a single source is identified to provide a portion of a purchase because that portion of the purchase specifies a particular brand-name item, the documentation in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section only applies to the portion of the purchase requiring brand-name item. The documentation should state it is covering only the portion of the acquisition which is brand- name.”

Urgency

Exclusive licensing agreements/Proprietary data

Brand name required

Industrial mobilization

Other (e.g., compatibility, space issues, continuity, compatibility, etc.)

In accordance with FAR 8.405-6 “Limiting Sources” which states that, “the only circumstances that may justify the action are – (A) An urgent and compelling need exists, and following the procedures would result in unacceptable delays; (B) Only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized; or (C) In the interest of economy and efficiency, the new work is a logical follow-up to an original Federal Supply Schedule order provided that the original order was placed in accordance with the applicable Federal Supply Schedule ordering procedures. The original BPA must not have been previously issued under sole-source or limited-sources procedures.”

Urgency

Only One Source

Logical Follow Up

Brand name required

2. Other facts supporting sole source procurement:

a. What can this product/service do that other products/services cannot do?

The intended contractor has unique scientific expertise, leads a multidisciplinary group which has the technical knowledge and skill sets needed, and the computational support structure to successfully accomplish the tasks as written in the SOW. The primary investigator is Full Professor of Genetics in the Department of Molecular Biology, University of Cantabria, and has published more than 210 papers in several fields of bacterial genetics and genomics. He is a member of the research institute IBBTEC. His research group, Intergenomics, has long-standing experience analyzing bacterial genomics, with a special focus on mobile genetic elements and their adaptive potential. It is composed by 10 researchers. They are currently analyzing whole bacterial genomes with a focus on plasmid genomics, producing a taxonomic classification of plasmids for better understanding of the dissemination of antibiotic resistances. This group also has experience using Jaccard Index Network Analysis (JINA), a new way of assorting genomes, using Jaccard Index-groups, that allows genome clustering by the sharing of acquired genetic elements, rather than accumulation of chromosomal mutations. The group has ample experience in NGS

Rev. 5/14/19 analysis, bacterial genomics and metagenomics, development of bioinformatics pipelines and handling of computational data, including JINA, as demonstrated by publications in PLOS Genetics, Microbiome, Bioinformatics and Science Advances, among others.

b. What other products/services were considered and why did they not meet the need?

We considered performing the SOW tasks ourselves using CDC resources and personnel but currently lack the scientific expertise, technical expertise, and skill sets needed to successfully perform these tasks. Furthermore, since the intended contractor is the creator and primary user of the specific analytical methods needed for these tasks (COPLA and JINA), no other potential contracting individual or group has the ability to perform these tasks at this time, within the given timeframe.

3. Program Office efforts to seek potential offerors:

To identify potential individuals or groups that could perform the specific analytical methods needed for the tasks listed in the SOW, we performed a thorough literature search of PubMed using the terms “Jacard index” and “bacteria”. The result was 68 publications but only 29 of these were published in the last 3 years and none of these publications involved analysis of the accessory genome. We also searched with the term “COPLA”, a taxonomic classifier of plasmids, and found only one publication which was authored by the intended contractor. The search did not identify additional individuals or groups that could perform the analysis needed to successfully accomplish the tasks written in the SOW.

E. Program Office Certification:

I have reviewed this sole source justification and certify the justification is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge and adequate to support other than full and open competition.

Center/Institute/Office COR/Program Official Name/Title: Jason Folster/Microbiologist

Center/Institute/Office COR/Program Official Signature:

Certification Date: December 20, 2022

F. Contracting Office Certification:

I have fully relied on the information provided herein and hereby certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief:

Contracting Officer Name: William Brannen

Contracting Officer Signature:

Certification Date: