Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS) Renewal

INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE
Wharton Research Data Services products (WRDS)
#SS-OFR-27-006

The Treasury Common Services Center (TCSC), on behalf of the Office of Financial Research (OFR) and the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), intends to contract with Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, 3451 Walnut St Ste 440A, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6205, on a sole source basis. There is no competitive vendor or regulatory agency that provides these datasets. The proposed Contractor developed and owns the propriety and patented hardware, software and algorithms that are used in these products and support the services specifically required for this acquisition; thereby, the proposed source has the sole unique technical and other resources required for this acquisition.

Pursuant to its mandate, the OFR/FSOC has a need for access to business, financial, economic, and marketing data through a self-managed service with centralized access; a high volume of cross-disciplinary data; and flexibility of delivery including computing cloud access. With this data, the OFR/FSOC also requires technical and research technical, and research specialists available for online assistance and orientation toward academic research information furnished on a platform which consolidates access to major datasets and databases used by academia, regulatory agencies, and commercial entities with financial market and economic information requirements to meet these needs, the OFR/FSOC is pursuing Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS) access. 

WRDS consolidates access through one platform to commonly accessed financial data sets such as FactSet Revere, S&P CUSIP, Hedge Fund Research, and others. WRDS is the only known platform which creates single point access to commercial datasets such as CUSIP, MF Links, CRSP and other baseline financial data.  This expedites research and crisis response as multiple portals need not be consulted to perform the necessary due diligence.  OFR needs to purchase WRDS to obtain regulatory and original source financial data and integrate it with information from baseline financial commercial datasets in order to effectively fulfill its mission of anticipating systemic threats to the financial system and publishing the studies found in its Financial Monitor.  Much of the source data is not readily obtainable from other sources in its original form nor from a single point of access. The source data and ease of access enable the OFR to respond to critical emergent analytical requests more readily within the financial services sector. 

Integrating data from different sources and possessing a single point of access for it allows for new insights that may be critical in understanding fast-moving market developments during times of crisis. Whilst regulatory data collections implicitly define data standards these implicit standards do not always envision the benefits of integration with other (commercial) sources. These challenges have a significant impact on the ability to quickly perform research and analysis across multiple datasets.

The OFR and FSOC will use the proposed contractor’s brand name product for the continuing mission to deliver an annual assessment of the state of the U.S. financial system, as required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.  

The period of performance for the purchase order is anticipated to be a twelve (12) month base period with four (4) option periods of twelve (12) months each. The total estimated value of this purchase order will exceed the simplified acquisition threshold.

NO SOLICITATION IS AVAILABLE.  A request for more information or a copy of the solicitation will not be considered an affirmative response to this Special Notice. Telephone responses or inquiries to this Special Notice will not be accepted. 

TCSC will consider written responses received no later than 11/30/2026. Responses must be submitted electronically to TCSCAcquisitionOps@.treasury.gov, WRDS /Attn: AM - DV. Responses must include sufficient evidence that clearly shows your company is capable of providing the content described in this notice. Responses received will be evaluated; however, a determination by the Government not to compete the proposed procurement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. If no written response is received by the aforementioned deadline that clearly demonstrates an ability to meet all requirements, and that is more advantageous to the Government, TCSC will make award on a sole source basis to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. 

Qualified Contractors must provide the following: 

1. The name and location of your company, contact information, and identify your business size (Large Business, Small Business, Disadvantaged Business, 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, HUBZone, etc.).  Please ensure contact information includes the name of the point of contact, email address, and telephone number, should the Government have questions regarding individual responses.

2. UEI Number.

3. Specific details of the product(s) that your company offers in regards to this notice.

4. Whether your content is available through a Government contract vehicle or Open Market.

5. A brief capabilities statement (not to exceed 5 pages) that includes a description of your company's standard line of business, as well as a list of customers to whom your company currently provides the specific required content. 

The following file extensions are not allowable and application materials/data submitted with these extensions cannot be considered:

    .bat, .cmd, .com, .exe, .pif, .rar, .scr, .vbs, .hta, .cpl, and .zip files.

Microsoft Office and Adobe compatible documents are acceptable. 

No other information regarding this Special Notice will be provided at this time.

The period of performance for the purchase order is anticipated to be a twelve (12) month base period with four (4) option periods of twelve (12) months each. TCSC may consider information received no later than 10:00 a.m. EST on Monday, November 30, 2026, submitted electronically to TCSCAcquisitionOps@.treasury.gov, WRDS / Attn: AM - DV.