Notice of intent to award a sole source modification to the Early Childhood Development Mass Media contract

Notice of Intent to Award a Modification for Expanding the Scope and increasing the Contract Ceiling for the Early Childhood Development Mass Media Activity "Sisimpur" 1. Notice Date 01/08/2019 2. Notice Type Special Notice 3. NAICS 512-Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries/512110'Motion Picture and Video Production 4. Contracting Office Office of Acquisition and Assistance, USAID/Bangladesh 5. Solicitation number SOL-388-17-00008 6. Archive date December 27, 2017 7. Point of contact Abdullah Akbar, Contracting Officer Email address:abakbar@usaid.gov 8. Small business Set-aside N/A This synopsis serves to provide NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT MODIFICATION per Title 48 Chapter 7 (i.e., USAID Acquisition Regulation (AIDAR)) Subpart 706.3 & sect; 706.302-70, "Full and open competition need not be obtained when it would impair or otherwise have an adverse effect on programs conducted for the purposes of foreign aid, relief, and rehabilitation." The specific exception applies under AIDAR 706.302-70 (b) (5), An award for the continued provision of highly specialized services when award to another resource would result in substantial additional costs to Government or would result in unacceptable delay. Pursuant to FAR Part 6.302-1 (a) (2) - Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency Requirement, USAID/Bangladesh awarded a four-year firm fixed price contract to Sesame Workshop New York (Contractor). The period of performance is from December 1, 2017 through November 30, 2021. The project goal is to deliver an integrated, multi-media initiative to produce and facilitate the broadcast of educational television programs and develop learning material designed to align with USAID development objectives in Bangladesh. The United States Government (USG), represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Bangladesh Mission (USAID/Bangladesh) intends to award a sole source modification to an existing contract for additional services for which the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 5.201 requires that, "the contracting officer must publicize the intended award when using the exceptions above, including when using the authority at 706.302-70(b)(5) where the contracting officer has determined that the incumbent contractor is the only practicable, potential offeror." Under the existing contract, Sesame Workshop NY is developing 104 new Sisimpur (Sesame Street) television episodes as well as creating 40 new storybook titles for distribution to 100 schools in one district in Bangladesh. The recently released 2018 U.S. Government Strategy on International Basic Education prioritizes coordination between U.S. government agencies in the education sector to reinforce a - One U.S. Government approach while "optimizing each agency's strengths to achieve maximum impact of taxpayer dollars." In support of this mandate, USAID is currently coordinating with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to have Sisimpur distribute the 40 new storybook titles to 146 schools in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, benefitting from the USDA funded McGovern-Dole Food for Education program. This collaboration and distribution of Sisimpur books will increase the availability of supplementary reading materials for children at all USDA beneficiary schools, and the library training of the USDA program will ensure that the Sisimpur books are well-used by beneficiary pupils. The targeting of schools in Cox's Bazar addresses the critical education needs of the host communities impacted by the Rohingya refugees influx. In order to establish this collaboration and distribute storybooks to 146 government schools, (including the 46 additional schools in Cox's Bazar), USAID/Bangladesh intends to expand the scope of the contract which will result in an increase in the Total Estimated Cost (TEC) by approximately $100,000. The increased TEC will support the expansion in the number of targeted schools from 100 to 146. Only Sesame Workshop NY is eligible to negotiate with USAID/Bangladesh for this action, as they have the exclusive rights to the characters and content of any Sesame Street Production, including those used in the current and planned Sisimpur programming. A Justification and Approval (J&A) pursuant to FAR 6.305 will be publicized upon execution of the modification.