MICC_Justification_and_Approval_FAR_13.501-_Commericial_Test_Program__SCA_and_HCA_Approval_(0010647579)_Redacted.pdf

MICC Control No. 2015-68 West Point 2015-3

JUSTIFICATION DOCUMENT

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM: Assortment of Publications and Journals for the Jefferson Library

Authority: FAR 13.501(a) Test Program for Commercial Items

Amount: $300,000.00

Procuring Contracting Officer:

Name: Robin Meyer Title: Contract Officer

MICC Control No. 2015-68 West Point 2015-3

Reviews: I have reviewed this justification and find it adequate to support other than full and open competition.

Local Small Business Specialist

MICC Legal Counsel Name:

Signature: _________________________

Acting Division Chief

Director

MICC Control No. 2015-68 West Point 2015-3

JUSTIFICATION DOCUMENT

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

WALDO Library Databases

1. CONTRACTING AGENCY: MICC-West Point

2. DESCRIPTION OF ACTION: This justification authorizes and approves a firm fixed price contract is for the access of various online journals and periodicals for the West Point Jefferson Library. FY15 OMA funding has been provided for this contract.

3 DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES:

a. Description: The WALDO databases provide access for cadets and faculty for indexing, abstracts, and full-text article publications, which are required for research and study to cadets and faculty in direct support of the Academic mission of the United States Military Academy (USMA). This renewal is for the continuation of existing accesses to a suite of databases that have been required by the staff, faculty and students at USMA, and are necessary for the accomplishment of the mission of the Academy, and to maintain academic accreditation.

b. The Period of Performance will run from 01-August-2015THRU 31-July- 2016.

c. Estimated amount $300,000.00

4 AUTHORITY CITED: FAR 13.501(a) - This is an action for commercial items greater than the SAT but not exceeding $6.5M made under the authority of the Test Program for Commercial Items. (Section 4202 of the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996) or the authority of the Services Acquisition Reform Act of 2003 (41 U.S.C. 428a).

5. REASON FOR AUTHORITY CITED:

a. Background: This procurement has been awarded to Westchester Academic Library Directors Organization (WALDO) for the past six (6) years. WALDO is classified as a consortium and as such, it deals with over 580 libraries throughout the Northeast area.

b. Alternatives: Although there are other vendors capable of providing the necessary titles it would take five different vendors to do so. This is not a viable solution for the Government in that this would impose additional cost to the Government and time spent creating and administering the different awards. The cost of the additional awards (four) is estimated to be approximately twelve hundred dollars

MICC Control No. 2015-68 West Point 2015-3

($300.00 per award time four equal $1,200.00). Market research has shown that WALDO is the only vendor capable of providing all of the Titles required by the Government. A posted Sources Sought received no responses from capable Small Businesses or other alternative sources (see Para 6 for details).

c. Justification: As stated in AR 25-97 3-6 g “library collections must include materials to support organization mission requirements” and AR 25-97 3-6 d “Acquisition of library materials shall take advantage of publisher/vendor discounts, schedules, licensing economies, central purchasing, and consortium buying where advantageous to the Army.”

WALDO meets all of the Academy’s accreditation needs and meets the various departments’ needs for academic studies of the Cadets. No alternate titles or databases may be substituted for these essential resources; they are not interchangeable. As stated below in Para 6, a Sources Sought was posted with no responses received from the industry providing alternative sources capable of supplying all of the required titles.

d. Prior Acquisitions: The following awards were all awarded to WALDO.

AWARD # DATE AMOUNT

W911SD-09-P-0447 14-SEP-09 $260,313.38

W911SD-10-P-0380 23-AUG-10 $278,553.64

W911SD-11-P-0549 23-SEP-11 $247,517.37

W911SD-12-C-0015 27-AUG-12 $264,767.80

W911SD-13-P-0181 28-JUN-13 $271,208.04

W911SD-14-P-0297 19-AUG-14 $273,143.94

e. Impact: If these specific titles are not purchased, the Cadets will not have access to the research materials they require to complete their study and research and write term papers. The faculty and instructors will not have adequate materials to prepare for their academic advancement and Cadet classes. If this procurement is not awarded, the academic mission of the US Military Academy will be impacted, and accreditation may be jeopardized.

6. EFFORTS TO OBTAIN COMPETITION: A Sources Sought was posted on FedBizOps (FBO) on 25-FEB-2015 and closed on 12-MAR-2015 with no responses received from the industry other than from WALDO. Only WALDO is capable of providing all of the titles listed in the Sources Sought notice. Based on the results of the sources sought and the information provided in Para 5, there are no alternative commercial items available or other sources capable of providing access to the requested databases. Sources Sought number: 0010647579.

MICC Control No. 2015-68 West Point 2015-3

7. ACTIONS TO INCREASE COMPETITION: The library personnel continue to review the Journals they are presently required to subscribe to and update the requirement as needed. In accordance with (IAW) FAR 5.201(b)(1)(i), a synopsis of the Government’s intent to issue a sole source award will be posted at least seven

(7) days prior to award and any responses received will be considered. Further, a redacted copy of the approved J&A will be made publicly available on FBO within 14 days after award.

8. MARKET RESEARCH: Market research, completed by Contract Specialist and Administrative Services Librarian, on 24- FEB-2015, consisted of internet searches, reviews of the General Services Administration (GSA) Advantage, the Army Computer Hardware Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS), the Small Business Administration (SBA) Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) search engine, and determined that no other qualified sources exist. As previously discussed in Para 6, a sources sought notice was posted on FBO to determine if similar commercial items exist or if other sources are capable of providing access to the requested databases.

9. INTERESTED SOURCES: None, other than the proposed contractor.

10. OTHER FACTS:

a. Procurement History:

(1). There is six years of history in Procurement Desktop-Defense (PD2) which is the local procurement database (see Para 5 d).

(2). The source (PD2) showed that there was only one vendor awarded the contract over the last several years.

b. Acquisition data availability: N/A

c. Unusual and compelling urgency: None.

d. Subcontracting Competition: N/A

MICC Control No. 2015-68 West Point 2015-3

11. TECHNICAL/REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance included in this Justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Title: Administrative Services Librarian Signature:

12. MANAGEMENT REVIEW/APPROVAL: The requirement herein described is a valid requirement for the activity named in this Justification. The technical and requirements information contained in this Justification represent the minimum needs of the Government. The only way to satisfy this requirement is by limiting the competition as described herein.

Title: USMA Librarian Signature:

13. FAIR AND REASONABLE COST DETERMINATION: I hereby determine that the anticipated price for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. The techniques identified at FAR 13.106-3(a)(2) will be used to ensure award will be at fair and reasonable prices. Historically, WALDO has demonstrated deep pricing discounts by being a consortium with greater buying power for its members.

14. PROCURING CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION: I certify that this Justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

MICC Control No. 2015-68 West Point 2015-3

Approval

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of WALDO Library Databases on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of FAR 13.501(a) Test Program for Commercial Items, subject to the availability of funds, and provided that the services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

Robin Meyer Contracting Officer MICC-West Point