U.S. Information Agency, Office of Contracts, 301 4TH STREET SW, Room M27, Washington, DC 20547

R -- PROFESSIONAL SERVICES SOL IA2201-S9234930-MB DUE 031299 POC Marlene Brooks, Contract Specialist, Tele.: (202) 205-9664; Fax.: (202) 205-5466 The U.S. Information Agency intends to negotiate and award a sole-source contract to Bonnie S. Magness-Gardiner, Ph.D, to provide professional services to include the ongoing construction of a cultural property website as well as to continue development of an image database of artifacts restricted from entering the U.S. from abroad. The website is largely complete but requires ongoing maintenance. The image database, partially complete, is a labor intensive project requiring the digitization of hundreds of images of artifacts and linking them to textual descriptions. The project is further complicated by ongoing legal issues regarding copyright permissions. In addition, Dr. Gardiner conducts research, analysis and drafting functions in support of the statutory requirements related to the Cultural Property Advisory Committee's review of cultural property requests. In further compliance with its statutory requirements, the Committee must begin its review of the effectiveness of several bilateral culturalproperty agreements. These activities plus the prospect of new cultural property requests coming before the Committee require the ongoing services of Dr. Gardiner, an archaeologist. Her expertise as an archaeologist and her understanding of the workings of the Committee are combined with a depth of technical expertise unique only to the work of the Committee and the Agency which serves as the secretariat for an international cultural property treaty. This work is a follow-on to Dr. Gardiner's current contract which expires March 31, 1999. New contract term: April 1, 1999 through March 31, 2000 with two (2) one-year options to extend the contract term. Dr. Gardiner's detailed knowledge of the projects and the Committee cannot be obtained from any other source without substantial duplication of costs and extensive time for research and review. The basis for using "Other Than Full and Open Competition" for this procurement is only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy the Agency requirement (FAR Subpart 6.302-1). This is not a RFP. See Numbered Note 22. Posted 02/11/99 (W-SN297560). (0042)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0081 19990216\R-0018.SOL)