Justification and Approval (J&A) to award to Design-Build Institute of America

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Tulsa District has published a Class Justification and Approval (J&A) for a non-competitive procurement to award multiple contracts to the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) for instructor-led training services on collaborative design-build project delivery methodologies. This Special Notice, posted on February 2, 2026, authorizes the use of sole-source procurement procedures rather than full and open competition. The procurement is justified under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 6.302-1(a)(2) and 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1) based on findings that DBIA is the only responsible source capable of meeting agency requirements. DBIA holds exclusive intellectual property rights, including copyrights and trademark protection, to the proprietary "Design-Build Done Right" curriculum and maintains exclusive authority to certify instructors for this program.

The total estimated value of this procurement is $25,000,000 over a five-year period, with annual costs of approximately $4,508,500 covering three distinct training types: Project Delivery Team (PDT) Training for 40 USACE districts, District/Division Executive Sessions, and Headquarters Executive Training. Contracts will be awarded as firm-fixed-price orders using Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) procedures under FAR Subpart 8.4 or open-market commercial procedures under FAR Part 12, with funding sourced from Operation and Maintenance Army appropriations. The Class J&A, effective from January 30, 2026, remains valid for five years and requires each contracting officer to conduct separate fair and reasonable price determinations prior to award. Market research confirmed that competing training offerings from universities, professional organizations, and commercial vendors provide only generic, introductory-level instruction rather than DBIA's specialized collaborative pre-award design-build methodology. A Sources Sought notice published in December 2025 resulted in only DBIA submitting a capability statement in response.