GS-35F-222DA-001.pdf

LIMITED-SOURCES JUSTIFICATION NON-COMPETTIVE AWARD UNDER THE

MULTIPLE-AWARD SCHEDULE PROGRAM

for

FEDERAL PROCUREMENT DATA SYSTEMS – NEXT GENERATION (FPDS-NG) DATA VALIDATION

[In Accordance with FAR 8.405-6]

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a Limited-Sources Justification

This is a Limited-Sources Justification pursuant to FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B) under the Multiple-

Award Schedule Program to obtain access to FedDataCheck services from Potomac Wave

Consulting, Inc. under General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Services (FSS) contract GS-00F-0007X. The Justification is executed for the Requiring Agency by the

Contracting Activity as identified below.

Requiring Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Acquisition and Logistics (OAL), Washington, DC

Contracting Activity: Strategic Acquisition Center - Frederick (SAC-F)

Period of Performance: The period of performance will be one (1) 12-month base period with four (4) 12-month option periods.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved

This is a non-competitive acquisition for proprietary commercial subscription services utilizing

Potomac Wave Consulting, Inc. (GSA FSS contract GS-00F-0007X).

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Acquisition and Logistics (OAL) has a requirement to improve the quality of the data that is entered into the Federal Procurement Data

System – Next Generation (FPDS-NG). This contract will provide a scan of all VA FPDS-NG entries and report on inconsistencies in the data reported. Any inconsistencies will be reported to

VA contracting personnel for corrections and justifications.

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value)

The purpose of this contract is to obtain access to FedDataCheck. FedDataCheck is a service that scans publicly available FPDS-NG data for FAR violations and data inconsistencies. This service contains over 130 data validations that help procurement staff detect data consistency issues and sends email confirmation of potential problems directly to the Contracting Officer to correct potential problems. FedDataCheck also provides a dashboard for VA leadership to monitor overall data quality and improve over time.

FedDataCheck is a data blending tool which verifies data entries into FPDS-NG and compares

VA’s reporting to government-wide data and various benchmark standards. FedDataCheck assists with analysis for category management, oversight of Federal Information Technology

Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) acquisition implementation, and to improve data quality prior to the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA) application.

This is a new firm-fixed price support services contract. The period of performance shall be a for a twelve (12) month base period, with four (4) 12-month option periods. The estimated dollar value is $2,000,000 ($400,000 per year).

4. The authority and supporting rationale, and if applicable, a demonstration of the contractor’s unique qualifications to provide the required supply or service.

This is a Limited-Sources Justification pursuant to FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B), only one source is capable of providing the services required at the level of quality required because the services are unique or highly specialized.

PotomacWave Consulting’s FedDataCheck is the only source capable of providing these services at the level of quality required because they are unique and highly specialized. FedDataCheck offers a proprietary crosscheck system of the FPDS-NG system which will not only improve the quality of the data, but it will also reduce human costs involved with department-wide data quality reviews. This system notifies Contracting Officers of any discrepancies in the data entered into the system. This will allow ample time to correct any issue that are identified.

PotomacWave Consulting is the only known vendor who can provide this type of data analysis without access to the VA’s contract writing system. Each year the VA must submit to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), a FPDS-addition to identifying reporting errors, FedDataCheck’s services automates the annual validation process required by OFPP which in turn drastically reduces workload department-wide.

5. A determination by the ordering activity Contracting Officer that the order represents the best value consistent with FAR 8.404(d).

Pursuant to FAR 8.404(d) GSA has already determined that the prices of supplies and fixed price services, and rates for services offered at hourly rates, under schedule contracts to be fair and reasonable. The VA Contracting Officer will seek further price discounts in accordance with

FAR 8.405-1(d) and make a separate determination as to the reasonableness of the vendors pricing quote.

The Requiring Activity (ALF) will review the quote to verify it meets the Governments requirement. The Contracting Officer will perform a thorough price analysis to evaluate the quote to ensure a fair and reasonable overall price. Price analysis may include comparison with historical pricing, commercial pricing, GSA pricing, other Government vehicle pricing (e.g.

FEDLLINK), and the Independent Government Cost Estimate.

6. A description of the market research conducted among schedule holders, and the results of the research, or a statement why market research was not conducted.

A google search of “Improving FPDS-NG data quality” resulted in Potomacwave’s

FedDataCheck being identified as tool to provide the government with quality checks of the

FPDS-NG system in order to help Government Agencies meet compliance requirements. The remaining results of were results from Government Agencies on how they intended to meet compliance requirements. Internet searches yielded no other sources able to provide this service as PotomacWave is the sole provider of the FedDataCheck system.

A check of FBO resulted in numerous agencies issuing sole source contracts to PotomacWave to obtain these services. PotoamacWave is a Women Owned Small Business (WOSB). Based on the information obtained via the FBO search, no other agency has successfully identified another vendor to obtain the services required.

Queries of VIP and GSA yielded no viable results other than Potomacwave, the intended sole source awardee.

7. Any other facts supporting the Justification

There are no additional facts to be reported in this section.

8. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency will take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for supplies and services is made.

OAL will continue to conduct market research to determine if new technologies become available from another source to meet this requirement.

9. For justifications under 8.405-6(a)(1), a written determination by the approving official identifying the circumstance that applies.

This document is a Limited-Sources Justification pursuant to FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B), only one source is capable of providing the services required at the level of quality required because the services are unique or highly specialized. PotomacWave Consulting’s FedDataCheck is the only source capable of providing these services at the level of quality required because they offer a proprietary crosscheck system compatible with the FPDS-NG system. No other system is available to meet the Government’s need.

http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/far2afmcfars/fardfars/far/08.htm#P290_49446

Certifications/Signatures:

The ordering activity contracting officer’s certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the contracting officer’s knowledge and belief.

I, Corey Mann, as Contracting Officer for this requirement certify that the justification for this sole source action is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Data under my cognizance forming the basis for this justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Corey Mann

Contracting Officer

SAC-Frederick

Evidence that any supporting data that is the responsibility of technical or requirements personnel (e.g., verifying the Government's minimum needs or requirements or other rationale for limited sources) and which form a basis for the justification have been certified as complete and accurate by the technical or requirements personnel.

I, Kathleen Wheat, as technical personnel for this requirement certify that the basis for justification is complete and accurate.

Kathleen Wheat

Title

Location

Competition Advocate

Upon the basis of the above justification, I hereby approve, as advocate for competition for the procuring activity, the solicitation of the proposed procurement described herein using other than full and open competition, pursuant to the authority of FAR Subpart 8.405-6.

Jason Jones Date

Competition Advocate Tracking Number DJ003

Strategic Acquisition Center