USGS Intent to Award Notice: Frontiers Media SA

The US Geological Survey (USGS) Library, under the Department of the Interior's Office of Acquisitions and Grants, has issued an Intent to Award Notice for a sole source contract with Frontiers Media SA. This Special Notice announces the USGS's plan to award a one-year firm-fixed-price contract for open access article publishing services effective May 1, 2026, through April 30, 2027. The procurement is being conducted as a sole source award under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.106-1, with the justification that Frontiers is the only publisher currently offering the specific combination of services required. The USGS Library seeks to establish a partnership with a publisher capable of delivering the agency's open access publishing needs across multiple disciplines aligned with its mission. This Special Notice provides an opportunity for other interested vendors to demonstrate equivalent capabilities before the award is finalized.

The primary objective of this procurement is to secure an annual flat fee arrangement that provides unlimited open access publishing capabilities across a portfolio of Frontiers journals covering Earth Science, Energy Research, Environmental Chemistry, Freshwater Science, Fuels, Geochemistry, Microbiology, Remote Sensing, Science, and Water. The contract must eliminate individual Article Processing Charge (APC) payments for all accepted articles by eligible USGS authors while maintaining perpetual access to approximately 150 previously published USGS articles and supporting simultaneous multi-user access from both on-network and off-network locations. Interested vendors have until 9:00 AM ET on Monday, April 27, 2026, to contact Contracting Officer Leah Williams at leah_williams@ios.doi.gov if they believe they can provide equivalent or superior services. The USGS has committed to monitoring the marketplace for competitive alternatives and intends to conduct a competitive procurement in the future when additional qualified sources become available. No specific eligibility restrictions are stated in the notice, though vendors must be capable of meeting the technical and operational requirements outlined.