NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE

Contracting Opportunities Announcement Type: Special Notice
Announcement Number: NIST-NOI-21-02036
Subject: Ultraviolet-Visible Spectrophotometer

Introduction
This is a notice of intent, not a request for a quotation. A solicitation document will not be issued and quotations will not be requested.

Purpose
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) intends to negotiate a firm-fixed priced purchase order on a sole source basis with Agilent Technologies, Inc., located at 2850 Centerville Rd, Wilmington, Delaware. The purchase order will specifically procure one (1) Ultraviolet-Visible Spectrophotometer, manufactured by Agilent Technologies, Inc. The acquisition shall include an option to purchase a fiber optic probe to integrate with the spectrophotometer, as an optional item to exercise at time of award or within 12 months following award. The Ultraviolet-Visible Spectrophotometer system will be used in the Infrastructure Materials Group (IMG) in the Engineering Laboratory (EL) at NIST. The Ultraviolet-Visible Spectrophotometer system shall be delivered no later than 120 days ARO. 

Authority
This acquisition is being conducted under the authority of FAR Subpart 13.106(b)(1) allowing the Contracting Officer (CO) to solicit from one source. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 334516 – Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing, with a small business size standard of 1000 employees.

Description
Please see the attached Statement of Need/Required Specifications document for details. 

Sole Source Determination
The sole source determination is based on the following: 

For purposes of continuity of science and research results, the subject supply is required to fulfill the need to monitor the degradation of polymeric materials and analysis of aging exposure to monitor changes in filters and other optic components used in the NIST weathering devices. Numerous projects and existing equipment at NIST, including photovoltaic systems, SPHERE Operations, infrastructure materials in the “Engineered Materials for Resilient Infrastructure” and the “Net Zero Energy Research” programs rely on the use of the subject Ultraviolet-Visible Spectrophotometer system and is critical to the successful completion of existing research projects. The research requires ability to read optical densities great than 8 Abs units and a spectral range from 175 to 3300 nanometers. Based on the market research completed, no other source is capable of providing a spectrophotometer system capable of achieving this requirement. 

Information for Interested Parties
Interested parties that believe they could satisfy the requirements listed above for NIST may clearly and unambiguously identify their capability to do so in writing by or before the response date for this notice. This notice of intent is not a solicitation. 

Any questions regarding this notice must be submitted in writing via email to Hunter Tjugum, Contract Specialist, at [email protected]. All responses to this notice of intent must be submitted via email to [email protected] so that they are received no later than August 19, 2021 at 11:00 AM, Eastern Time.

Each response should include the following Business Information:

a.    Contractor Name, Address, 
b.    Point of Contact Name, Phone Number, and Email address
c.    Contractor DUNS 
d.    Contractor Business Classification (i.e., small business, 8(a), woman owned, hubZone, veteran owned, etc.) as validated in System for Award Management (SAM). All offerors must have an active registration in www.SAM.gov. 
e.    Capability Statement