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Contract Opportunity

Notice of Intent to Sole Source

THIS IS NOT A NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR QUOTATION BUT INFORMATION, PLANNING AND POSTING PURPOSES ONLY

This is a special notice is 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 sole source commercial contract using commercial procedures in accordance with FAR part 12 to Athena Enterprises LLC. Athena Enterprises is located at 3541 Harrison Blvd, Kansas City MO, 64109.

The authority for this non-competitive award is 10 USC 2304(c)(1), only one responsible source. The NAICS code for this requirement is 513130. The size standard as defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration is 1,000 employees.

This notice incorporates provisions and clauses that are in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 2022- 07 effective 2022-08-10. The Government has deemed Athena Enterprises LLC to be a responsible contractor with respect to performance, delivery, and customization.

a. Only one responsible source and no other item will satisfy the USAFA requirement.

b.Athena Enterprises LLC provides the materials required as well as familiarity with neurosociology, biosocial criminology, the mechanistic philosophy of science, and neuroimaging technologies. This is needed for USAFA’s DFBL curriculum development.

c .Athena Enterprises LLC is the only vendor that responded to the RFI and RFQ to provide the curriculum needed for the specifications required by the Dean of Faculty Department of Behavioral Sciences & Leadership (DFBL) and USAFA.

1. This request is issued for the USAFA Dean of Faculty Department of Behavioral Sciences & Leadership (DFBL). Anticipated award on 30 September 2023 as a Firm-Fixed-Price Purchase Order.

As such, there is only one solution that meets USAFA’s requirement. Therefore, the contracting officer has determined that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available.

REQUIREMENT:

SEE ATTACHED DOCUMENT FOR REQUIREMENT LIST.

SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS/REQUIREMENT SPECIFICATIONS:

Specifically, the curriculum must be:

(1) readily deployed on demand by DFBL faculty --i.e., USAFA must have full control and access to the material.

(2) precise and highly detailed to allow for self-guided instruction without learner confusion or frustration.

(3) self-contained, such that it must include supplementary instruction explaining programming languages, background science, etc. required to engage with the neuroimaging data analysis curriculum fully

(4) framed within and applied to a very specific scientific framework and research program --i.e., the mechanistic neurosociology of cognitive warfare/operations in the information environment/malign foreign influence.

In accordance with (IAW) 41 U.S.C. Chapter 83 and as implemented by FAR Subpart 25.1, the Buy American Act applies to this acquisition. Offerors will be required to provide a completed Buy American Certificate IAW FAR 52.225-2 in order to be eligible for award.

A SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE POSTED. Based on previous market research conducted, the Government intends to proceed with this sole 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, clearly showing how they will be able to satisfy the Government requirements. 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 dominic.carusone@us.af.mil or david.gonzalez.44@us.af.mil no later than 2 P.M., MDT on 19 September, 2023. Responses received after this will be considered late IAW FAR 52.212-1(f) and will not be evaluated. 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 (JUN 2016)

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.

(End of clause)

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