70--Site Licenses

The Bureau of the Census plans to enter into a sole source contract with Statistics Canada for site licenses that grant unlimited use of the Industry Classification Coding System (ICCS), a proprietary product integrated with the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). These licenses will support coding operations at both the Census Bureau and the Social Security Administration. Statistics Canada, as the developer and sole licensor of ICCS, holds exclusive rights to the product, and the contract is justified under specific provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation governing sole source procurement. The government will consider any submissions that provide compelling evidence that competitive offers would be more beneficial, requiring potential suppliers to demonstrate their technical capabilities and pricing. However, no solicitation or quotation request will be issued, and responses received will only be evaluated to ascertain if an alternative supplier is available. The contract, identified under solicitation number 65-29367 and posted on September 4, 2002, falls under the Department of Commerce Census office. Responses must be submitted within 15 days of the synopsis publication via fax, and phone inquiries will not be entertained. Absent any affirmative responses within this period, the contract will be awarded directly to Statistics Canada without further notification. The agreement ensures ongoing access for federal agencies to a specialized, government-use coding system critical for industry data classification, supporting administrative and statistical functions.