Notice of Intent to Sole Source

The United States Department of Defense, Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), Acquisition and Contracting Office intends to negotiate a firm-fixed-price purchase order, on a sole source basis in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.501(a)(2)(ii), Simplified Acquisition Procedures, with the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC. for the purchase of research services.

The Office of Research and Innovation provides support to the DCSA by providing critical research in background investigation techniques. This contract action seeks to procure research services into contactless blood pressure methods, natural language processing, employing thermal imaging in aggregate to evidence deception. The period of performance includes a 2- year base period and no option periods. The Sole Source Justification will be posted to the Government point- of- entry (GPE) sam.gov post-award.

This notice does not constitute a request for proposal, request for quote, or invitation for bid. The intent of this notice is to provide the pre-solicitation information required by FAR 5.2 Synopsis of Proposed Contract Actions. DCSA intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source using the authority and procedures of FAR 13.501(a) The purpose of this action is to inform the industry of DCSA's intent to sole source a contract with University of South Carolina.

The applicable NAICS code for this requirement is 541715 -Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) - Artificial intelligence research and development laboratories or services This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals, however other qualified and interested parties may contact the Contracting Officer or Contract Specialist listed below.

Any questions or responses regarding this notice must be submitted in writing only to tzeleong.s.chang.civ@mail.mil and ashley.e.twichell.civ@mail.mil no later than 12:00PM EST on April 10, 2024