Notice of Intent to Award a Sole Source Contract for public outreach and engagement services

The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, through the Program Support Center, Division of Acquisition Management, intends to make a sole source award to Burness Communications, for contractor support for public outreach and engagement services, for a period of one 12-month Base year. This sole source award is in accordance with FAR 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The NAICS code for this action is 541690. Burness is very familiar delivering high-quality and highly-public national meetings which represent not only the Bioethics Commission, but also the US government and the Presidential administration. The main goals of the Bioethics Commission for the final year are to rollout a capstone report and disseminate all the work the Bioethics Commission has accomplished over the previous last six years. This rollout and dissemination for the Commission are processes with which Burness is well-acquainted as they have played a crucial role in these processes throughout the course of the Bioethics Commission. However, since the initial IDIQ contract's inception in 2010, Burness has progressively fulfilled this vital role and had to overcome a learning curve over the course of several months in order to gain the knowledge they now have, and the ability to work in the capacity that they do today. The Bioethics Commission is a time-limited organization by the tenure of the US President which ends early in the year of 2017. Therefore, due to the time it would take for a new contractor to begin work, and considering this contract would be for one year only, there would not be enough time to get another awardee up-to-speed, especially in a year which it is highly important for the legacy of the Bioethics Commission. A lapse in service due to the transfer of knowledge and information from Burness to a new contractor would be detrimental to the Bioethics Commission and would prevent the ability of the Bioethics Commission to fulfill the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) Requirements. The Bioethics Commission is subject to the statutes of the FACA as an advisory committee to the President of the United States. Furthermore, the Bioethics Commission does not have the staff hours or the resources to provide a new contractor with the knowledge and information that it would take, with regard to the learning curve, to succeed in this role. This is a notice of intent to issue this solicitation (see attached document) on a sole source basis. This notice of intent is not a solicitation for competitive proposals. Any other firms desiring consideration must fully identify their interest and capability to provide this item, or submit a proposal within 10 days to the individual listed. A determination by the government not to compete the proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The projected award date is on or about March 20, 2016. Please also see the attached, signed Justification for Other than Fair and Open Competition (JOFOC).