SPECIAL NOTICE
R -- NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT
- Notice Date
- 8/1/2025 1:24:53 AM
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541330
— Engineering Services
- Contracting Office
- OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- OS2025S3K0051
- Response Due
- 8/1/2025 9:00:00 AM
- Archive Date
- 08/02/2025
- Point of Contact
- Melinda Riddick, Contracting Officer, Phone: 2023667058
- E-Mail Address
-
Melinda.Riddick@dot.gov
(Melinda.Riddick@dot.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- NONE No Set aside used
- Description
- NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT ****THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTE OR REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS*** Requisition No: OS2025S3K0051 Intended Source: MITRE Corporation Period of performance: 2-years NAICS Codes: � 541330: Engineering Services Please note: This Notice of Intent to Award a Sole Source contract was originally posted on SAM.GOV on or about March 20, 2025, as a 5-year effort. The Notice of Intent was narrowed down to a 2-year effort instead. Description of Requirement: The Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary intends to award a sole-source Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) contract award, solicit, and negotiate with only one source under the authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 13.106-1(b)(1). The intended CPFF contract will be a follow-on for 2-years and is for Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) support services operated by The MITRE Corporation (MITRE). This is a new contract based on the current contract, which has a period of performance of August 1, 2025, to July 31, 2027. The contract is between MITRE and the Department of Transportation, Office of Aviation Analysis (OAA). In 1990, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identified and formalized a need for a long-term relationship with an independent research and development entity that would provide essential research and engineering capabilities to support the FAA's mission. Based on this need, the FAA established an FFRDC. In partnership with the FFRDC, the FAA seeks to provide a safe, secure, and efficient global aviation system that contributes to the national economy, productivity, security, and the promotion of United States aviation interests. The FAA selected MITRE to operate the FFRDC designated as the Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD). In accordance with the definition of a FFRDC described in Part 35.017 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, an FFRDC is uniquely positioned to be able to provide support and guidance in an environment aligned with the needs of the OAA organization and free of competitive pressures because an FFRDC neither competes with private industry nor manufactures hardware products or software. The goal of this contract structure is to provide a contract vehicle that permits objective and independent support, eliminates the administrative costs of annual negotiations, and fosters the required program continuity. Description of Supplies/Services: In the course of MITRE�s long-term relationship with the FAA, MITRE has developed expertise in areas corresponding to the needs of OAA. The FAA Sponsoring Agreement for the operation of CAASD states that CAASD�s role includes performance analysis and assessment of national airspace operations and conducting economic, environmental, and policy analysis of impacts on the national airspace system, operators, users, other stakeholders, and the Nation. Through the proposed contract, the Government will obtain access to CAASD capabilities of specific interest to OAA, including analysis of: (1) Domestic and international aviation industry/markets; (2) Air carrier performance and practices; (3) Regulatory analysis; (4) Cost-benefit analysis; (5) Aviation policy analysis; (6) International trade; (7) Development and application of economic models; (8) Advanced econometrics and discrete choice modeling; (9) Consumer impacts; (10) Computable general equilibrium modeling; (11) Statistical analysis; and (12) Aviation forecasting. Authority Cited: This action is authorized under 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(3) as implemented by FAR 6.302-3(a)(2)(ii), which states that �full and open competition need not be provided for when it is necessary to award a contract to a particular source in order to�.establish or maintain an essential engineering, research, or development capability to be provided by an educational or other non-profit institution or a federally funded research and development center.� Demonstration that the Contractor�s Unique Qualifications or Nature of the Acquisition Requires the use of the Authority Cited Above (Applicability of Authority): An FFRDC executes activities that are sponsored under a broad charter by a Government agency for the purpose of performing, analyzing, integrating, supporting, and/or managing basic or applied research and/or development. This contract will be issued pursuant to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Sponsoring Agreement for the Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD), the FAA�s FFRDC. The role and use of FFRDCs are defined in the Code of Federal Regulations (48 CFR 35.017). Specifically, the regulations state that FFRDCs: � Exist to meet some special long-term research or development need which cannot be met as effectively by existing in-house or contractor resources. � Enable agencies to use private sector resources to accomplish tasks that are integral to the mission and operation of the sponsoring agency. � Have access, beyond that common to normal contractors, to Government and supplier data, including sensitive and proprietary data, employees, equipment, and facilities. � Must conduct their business in a manner befitting their special relationship with the Government, to operate in the public interest with objectivity and independence, to be free from organizational conflicts, and to have full disclosure of their affairs to the sponsoring agency. � Are not intended to use their privileged information or access to compete with the private sector. Furthermore, an FFRDC is uniquely enabled by the Government to perform work �closely associated with inherently governmental functions� as defined in the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) Letter 11-01, Performance of Inherently Governmental and Critical Functions (76 Fed Reg 56227). In addition, while no requirement exists to obtain competition for the reasons cited in paragraph 4, FAR 35.017-4(a) provides that in reviewing FFRDCs �the sponsor, prior to extending the contract or agreement with an FFRDC, shall conduct a Comprehensive Review of the use and need for the FFRDC.� The FAA, the sponsoring agent for the CAASD FFRDC, conducted a comprehensive review in FY2020. This review determined that there remains a requirement for an FFRDC and included consideration of alternative sources to meet the sponsor�s needs. No additional review is required by the Department of Transportation at this time; the FAA Comprehensive Review has already satisfied this FAR requirement. Awarding to a company other than MITRE who has already established relationship and proprietary information will cause a delay in services. DOT will solicit and continue to negotiate directly with MITRE Corporation 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, Friday, August 1, 2025 and cc Robin Golden at Robin.Golden@dot.gov. No faxed documents will be accepted. If no responsive statements are received by the due date, an award will be made to The MITRE Corporation. (End of Notice of Intent to Award Sole Source)
- Web Link
-
SAM.gov Permalink
(https://sam.gov/opp/3a6675cb0ef1482aaea64dbdb6eaf2f8/view)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Washington, DC 20590, USA
- Zip Code: 20590
- Country: USA
- Zip Code: 20590
- Record
- SN07533200-F 20250803/250801230041 (samdaily.us)
- Source
-
SAM.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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