NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT

Requisition No: OS2024S3XK0019 Intended Source: Verit, Inc Period of performance: a 12-month period of performance with an optional six-month, no-cost extension. NAICS Codes: - 541618 Other Management Consulting Services - 541613 New Product Development Consulting Services - 541614 Logistics and Integrated Supply Chain Management Consulting Services Description of Requirement: This contract action is for consulting services, product development services, and supply chain consulting services at the intersection of human trafficking, forced labor, and the transportation sector for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 13.106-1(b)(1). The U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Counter-Trafficking Program within the Office of International Transportation and Trade, hereinafter referred to as OST-X20, intends to award a single source purchase order to Verit, Inc located at 44 Belchertown RD, Amherst, MA 01002. On behalf of the USDOT, OST-X20 manages the Transportation Leaders Against Human Trafficking initiative and its corresponding public awareness campaign materials. OSTX20 is responsible for providing strategic oversight and coordinating counter-trafficking programs and policies across USDOT with each of the Operating Administrations that comprise the following modes of transportation: aviation, maritime (e.g., merchant shipping, commercial fishing, oil rigs, cruise ships, ferries, recreational boating), trucking, local commercial drivers (e.g., taxi, rideshare, and delivery), private vehicles, transit, busing, pipelines, and rail. Through this intra-agency coordination, OST-X20 ensures alignment with best practices and fulfillment of strategic actions identified by the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, the President's Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, and the Department's Advisory Committee on Human Trafficking. Federal laws authorizing USDOT counter trafficking programs and efforts include the 2016 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Extension, Safety, and Security Act; 2018 No Human Trafficking On Our Roads Act; 2018 Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act; 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act; 2019 Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act; 2021 Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58); 2022 Human Trafficking Prevention Act; and the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act. Section 23003 - Combating Human Trafficking and Section 27002 - Coordination Regarding Forced Labor of the 2021 Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (P.L. 117- 58) directs USDOT to - support, through the use of funds [] for such purposes [including] the recognition, prevention, and reporting of human trafficking and requires the Transportation Secretary to - coordinate with the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to ensure that no illegal products or materials produced with forced labor are procured with funding made available under this Act. To fulfill these Congressional mandates, USDOT intends to adapt the existing, U.S. Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office)- funded Responsible Sourcing Tool (RST) Base Toolset for the transportation sector in aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct, the Federal Acquisition Regulations, and other related legislation and regulatory frameworks. ** In addition, the RST is an existing U.S. government-funded and -approved resource. As the current vendor (Verit, Inc) is responsible for developing and maintain the RST. Verit, Inc. not only owns these products, but also possesses unique proprietary knowledge needed to support USDOT in the adaptation and development of its due diligence and risk-management tools, templates, model policies, and other resources for the transportation sector to prevent and combat human trafficking (including forced labor) in supply chains based on the RST. Furthermore, market research demonstrated that Verit, Inc. is the only vendor in the market who can fulfill this business need for USDOT. To hire an outside vendor would cause considerable delay in USDOT's implementation and increase costs to the U.S. government to essentially recreate (or duplicate) an existing suite of tools. In pursuing a sole source with Verit, Inc. and building off this existing TIP Office-funded effort, there are considerable cost efficiencies that will benefit USDOT. Through this sole source, a firm-fixed-price contract will be awarded to Verit, Inc to fulfill tasks, including project management; conducting a needs assessment and/or analysis of multimodal supply chains across the transportation sector to identify risks for and opportunities to prevent, identify, and report human trafficking and forced labor; conduct multimodal stakeholder convenings; produce a multimodal transportation sector report; adapt the RST Base Toolset and develop transportation-specific due diligence and risk management tools, templates, model policies, and other resources; promote awareness and usage of these new tools by the transportation sector; and provide technical assistance to the USDOT on its implementation of Section 27002 under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). DOT will solicit and negotiate directly with Verit, Inc and no solicitation will be issued. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals or quotations; however, all responsible sources may submit a capability statement which shall be considered by the agency. Offerors must have an active registration in SAM.GOV (SAM) www.sam.gov. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement based on responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Interested parties must express their interest and must be submitted in writing via email to Melinda Riddick at Melinda.Riddick@dot.gov by 12:00 PM, Monday, July 29, 2024 and cc Gregory Cate at Gregory.Cate@dot.gov. No faxed documents will be accepted. If no responsive statements are received by the due date, an award will be made to Verit, Inc.