Notice of Intent to Sole Source - Victoria University

This is a notice of intent to award a sole source contract in accordance with Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulations Overhaul (RFO) 12.102(a).  Contracting Officers may solicit from one source if it's determined only one source is reasonably available to satisfy agency requirements, as supplemented with additional information in this notice. 

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), Office of Acquisition Management (OAM), Shared Services Procurement Office (SSPO), located in Washington, D.C., intends to negotiate on a sole-source basis and award a contract to Centre of Policy Studies (CoPS), Victoria University on behalf of the International Trade Administration (ITA.

This acquisition is being conducted under the authority of permitting restricting competition in accordance with the Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Overhaul (RFO) 12.102(a) and in accordance with 41 U.S.C. 1901. This acquisition will result in a purchase order for a 12-month period 

The Government requires the Centre of Policy Studies (CoPS), Victoria University, to develop and deliver five integrated economic-modeling projects and associated technical materials during a 12-month period of performance. The work will provide model enhancements, updated baseline data, disaggregation capabilities, documentation, simulation files, illustrative applications, and training materials that Department staff can incorporate into internal analytical workflows.

ITA requires highly specialized CGE model-development services that build directly upon modeling systems and extensions developed and maintained by CoPS. For more than 10 years, Department of Commerce offices have worked with CoPS to develop dynamic CGE models of the U.S. and global economies. The Department has used these models for trade policy, industrial policy, supply-chain, and macroeconomic analyses, including high-priority Section 232 economic analyses.

CoPS possesses specialized expertise in the GTAP, GTAP-Fin, USAGE, and USAGE-TERM modeling frameworks that form the technical foundation of this requirement. The proposed work is not a stand-alone generic modeling effort; it requires modification and extension of existing CoPS-developed model structures, databases, calibration methods, disaggregation techniques, and analytical tools already used by Department economists. CoPS also has demonstrated experience developing SGMC extensions, handling detailed trade-data concordances, building dynamic CGE models, and producing the documentation and training needed for Department analysts to use those model enhancements.

The requirement depends on continuity with the Department’s existing CoPS-developed models and on specialized knowledge of their underlying architecture. The five projects are designed to modify or extend those existing systems: incorporating pure profits and SGMC into trade-policy analysis; modeling sluggish tariff pass-through; updating GTAP-Fin U.S. trade data; creating a reusable GTAP-Fin disaggregation facility; and extending USAGE/USAGE-TERM to identify trade by source and destination with flexible aggregation. Based on the technical requirement described in the PWS and CoPS proposal, another source would need to recreate or independently master these existing model structures before performing the required enhancements, creating substantial duplication of effort and technical risk. Accordingly, CoPS is uniquely positioned to perform the required work while maintaining compatibility with the Department’s existing analytical capabilities.

As previously stated, this is NOT a solicitation for quotations, quotation abstracts, a request for competitive quotations; or request for competitive proposals; There is no solicitation package available for review due to the Government’s intention to conduct this requirement as a sole source award. If a company determines that their company can meet all requirements mentioned above, the company shall submit a written response within 15 days from the date of publication of this synopsis for it to be taken into consideration by the Government.  Responses must clearly and thoroughly defend any claims or assertions that attempt to refute the Government’s claim. A determination by the Government not to proceed with this proposed action based upon responses to this notice is solely with the discretion of the Government.

Information received will normally be considered for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Information received on this notice must eliminate the Government's concerns and address how the required services can be provided.

If no qualified/affirmative responses are received within 15 days of this notice to determine whether a qualified source is more advantageous to the Government, a contract will be awarded to Centre of Policy Studies (CoPS), Victoria University.