Notice of Intent to Sole Source: ACT Student Records - USAFA

Notice of Intent to Single Source

This is a special notice prepared in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 5.2 - Synopses of Proposed Contract Actions. The contracting office for this notice is the 10th Contracting Squadron, USAF Academy, CO 80840.

The US Air Force Academy (USAFA) intends to award a single source commercial contract using simplified procedures in accordance with FAR parts 12 and 13 to Encoura, LLC. Encoura, LLC is located at 600 Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701. The authority for this non-competitive award is FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) – For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, 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). The NAICS code for this requirement is 611710. The size standard as defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration is $24.0M. This notice incorporates provisions and clauses that are in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 2024-05 effective 22 May 2024. The Government has deemed Encoura, LLC to be a responsible contractor with respect to performance. Anticipated award date is NLT 31 July 2024.

SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS/REQUIREMENT SPECIFICATIONS SUMMARY: USAFA Admissions Marketing must expand their marketing efforts to a wider audience of high achieving students across the United States to meet standards designated by the Government and to remain competitive among the Military Service Academies. The annual purchase of 40,000 ACT student records, to include their predictive model and search tools, from Encoura, LLC is necessary for recruitment and outreach purposes.

The student records must have the following properties:

• Tools allowing USAFA Admissions Marketing to strategize the kinds of names to purchase based on who would be most successful at USAFA.
• ACT student records including declared inquiries - student names who have expressed direct interest in attending USAFA. This allows for direct marketing to these students.
• Data tools to help identify underrepresented students and segment the searched by demographic identifies and zip codes.

REQUIREMENT: The government intends to award a firm-fixed price purchase of all, some, or none of the following items.

Line Item    Description                                                           Quantity    Unit of Issue
0001           40,000 ACT Student Records                              1                EA
1001           Option Year 1 – 40,000 ACT Student Records    1                EA
2001           Option Year 2 – 40,000 ACT Student Records    1                EA
3001           Option Year 3 – 40,000 ACT Student Records    1                EA

A SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE POSTED. Based on previous market research conducted, the Government intends to proceed with this single source action. This synopsis is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation for bids or proposals. DO NOT submit a bid/quote at this time.

All responsible sources may submit a capability statement. Interested concerns must show clear and convincing evidence that competition of this requirement would be advantageous to the Government. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement is solely within the discretion of the Government.

Responses and questions shall be submitted to andrew.richardson.25@us.af.mil or kristin.heikkila@us.af.mil no later than 10:00am, MDT on 29 Jul 2024.

Contractors must have a current registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) at http://sam.gov/. The Government bears no legal liability for any costs incurred by responding to this notice.

5352.201-9101 OMBUDSMAN (OCT 2019)

1. An ombudsman has been appointed to hear and facilitate the resolution of concerns from offerors, potential offerors, and others for this acquisition. When requested, the ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The existence of the ombudsman does not affect the authority of the program manager, contracting officer, or source selection official. Further, the ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals, the source selection process, or the adjudication of protests or formal contract disputes. The ombudsman may refer the interested party to another official who can resolve the concern.
2. Before consulting with an ombudsman, interested parties must first address their concerns, issues, disagreements, and/or recommendations to the contracting officer for resolution. Consulting an ombudsman does not alter or postpone the timelines for any other processes (e.g., agency level bid protests, GAO bid protests, requests for debriefings, employee-employer actions, contests of OMB Circular A-76 competition performance decisions).
3. If resolution cannot be made by the contracting officer, the interested party may contact the ombudsmen,

James Anderson

8110 Industrial Drive, Ste 103

USAFA, CO 80840

Telephone number 719-333-3829

FAX 719-333-9018

Email: james.anderson.72@us.af.mil

Concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations that cannot be resolved at the Center/MAJCOM/DRU or AFISRA level, may be brought by the interested party for further consideration to the Air Force ombudsman, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary (ADAS) (Contracting), SAF/AQC, 1060 Air Force Pentagon, Washington DC 20330-1060, phone number (571) 256-2397, facsimile number (571) 256-2431.

1. The ombudsman has no authority to render a decision that binds the agency.
2. Do not contact the ombudsman to request copies of the solicitation, verify offer due date, or clarify technical requirements. Such inquiries shall be directed to the Contracting Officer.

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