The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre

The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre, a United Kingdom-based not-for-profit organization, licenses the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) to federal agencies as a prime contractor through small-value, sole-source purchase orders and definitive contracts. The vendor operates exclusively on the prime side (100% of recent awards) with no subcontract footprint, and does not hold SBA set-aside certifications — all awards are full-and-open procurements under FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i) or standard commercial terms.

CCDC's federal capability centers on a single, specialized offering: licensed access to the Cambridge Structural Database, a comprehensive repository of small-molecule crystal structures for materials science, drug discovery, and structural chemistry research. The CSD is delivered as enterprise-licensed software with multi-user or campus-wide access, available in tiered subscription models (site licenses, enterprise licenses, campus licenses) ranging from single-user to laboratory-wide deployments. Recent representative awards include a $48.6 thousand Army Research Development and Engineering Command 12-month enterprise site license (six users) with two option years running through December 2026; a $77.3 thousand Air Force Research Laboratory definitive software license contract running through April 2028; and a $45 thousand Naval Air Warfare Center two-year CSD enterprise subscription through December 2026.

Federal customer concentration is split across Department of Defense research laboratories. The top five customer organizations account for 82% of award count and 99% of combined potential value. The Department of the Army Research Development and Engineering Command (Aberdeen Proving Ground) and the Department of the Air Force Research Laboratory jointly anchor the portfolio by dollar value ($94 thousand and $92 thousand respectively), while the Office of Naval Research leads by award count (six awards, $64 thousand combined potential value). The Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Department of the Navy Naval Air Warfare Center, and the Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health National Library of Medicine round out the customer set. Awards carry NAICS codes primarily in Software Publishers and secondary categories including Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing.

Activity over the past five years shows low but consistent volume — three awards in 2022, one in 2023, three in 2024, two in 2025, and one in 2026 — with total combined potential value across all 17 awards standing at $317 thousand. Combined dollars obligated reach $964 thousand, indicating renewals and option exercises driving obligation above nominal potential value. Four awards (combined potential value $187 thousand) face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and represent recompete exposure. All awards are firm-fixed-price with no competitive set-asides, reflecting CCDC's position as a sole-source or open-market provider of specialized crystallographic data infrastructure to DoD research commands.