Notice of Intent to Award Sole Source

Synopsis: The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) intends to award a sole source, firm-fixed price (FFP) contract to the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) to conduct the endline phase of the Ghana - GridWatch evaluation, an impact evaluation of the low-voltage line bifurcation infrastructure investments planned under the Ghana Power Compact. The purpose of this contract is to complete the work initiated under an Inter-Agency Agreement (IAA) between MCC and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) whereby MCC engaged with UC Berkeley via USAID's Higher Education Solutions Network (HESN), a portfolio of cooperative agreements with universities throughout the United States and the world. Under the first IAA task order, MCC partnered with UC Berkeley to pilot a real-time, high-frequency data collection system for detecting and monitoring power outages in Ghana, a novel technology platform referred to as - GridWatch. The pilot involved testing and deployment of monitoring devices (referred to as - PowerWatch devices) designed to plug in to wall outlets within participating households and firms in targeted areas, enabling continuous collection of real-time data on outages, as well as voltage and frequency readings. This new technology held the potential of enabling further analysis of the outcomes associated with access to more reliable power for businesses and households, which are central to the results framework of the Ghana Power Compact. In July 2019, MCC issued a second IAA task order based on the success of the pilot activity, which built on and extended the deployment of the outage detection and monitoring system, thereby enabling a rigorous estimation of the effectiveness of key infrastructure investments under the compact in improving the reliability of the power distribution network in Accra. Under this task order, UC Berkeley is therefore leading an impact evaluation of the investments in low-voltage line bifurcation and other network upgrades, part of the Technical Loss Reduction Activity under the ECG Financial and Operational Turnaround Project, an evaluation which is currently ongoing. However, due to the expected expiration of USAID's HESN program in 2022, it was not possible to include the full expected duration of the evaluation within the period of performance of this second task order. It is critical for the UC Berkeley team to continue overseeing the ongoing deployment of PowerWatch devices and engage in field monitoring activities to maintain system performance, an effort that has been supported separately under a contract administered by the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) unit in Ghana that is set to expire in September 2021. Under the current impact evaluation design, the analytical methods being applied rely specifically on the stream of time-series data to be produced through the outage monitoring system being deployed by the UC Berkeley evaluation team (GridWatch), as this platform provides a high-quality, high-frequency, and high-resolution dataset on outages at the district and household level. Given the need for a seamless transition from the conclusion of baseline evaluation activities (currently taking place under the USAID-MCC IAA task order) to endline planning and the continuous collection of outage data, it is therefore necessary to establish a new contract mechanism with UC Berkeley. The baseline evaluation activities cannot be logically severed from the endline activities without incurring a significant amount of additional time, cost, and project risk. Throughout the life of the evaluation, UC Berkeley has gained extensive working knowledge of the EFOT project, its stakeholders, and the evaluation itself; award to any other source for the endline effort would result in substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition, along with unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's requirements. The period of performance for the endline effort is approximately 2.5 years and the total estimated value is $2,865,000. This contract action is for services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 13.501(a). Interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement or submit proposals. This notice of intent is not a request for proposals or quotes; however, any and all responsible sources may submit a quotation or a capability statement, which, if received within fifteen (15) calendar days of the publication of this notice, shall be considered by MCC. Responses to this notice must demonstrate clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government and would not be cost or time prohibitive. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. The determination not to compete this proposed contract action is solely within the discretion of the Government. Any quotation/response must be e-mailed to Walter Pemberton (contact@example.gov) and Jacqueline Naranjo (contact@example.gov) by 12:00 pm ET on August 18, 2021. Any responses must have - Ghana - GridWatch Evaluation in Subject Line of email. Phone calls/voice mail messages will not be accepted and will not be returned. In accordance with FAR 6.305(a), the justification for other than full and open competition (JOFOC) supporting this action will be made publicly available within 14 days after contract award and will remain posted for a minimum of 30 days.