P03 Justification for OFOC.pdf

Attachment 1: Request for Sole Source Justification Format >SAT

VHAPG Part 806.3 OFOC Page 1 of 4 Revision: 03 Effective Date: 04/15/24 Acquisition ID#: 36C241-25-AP-0834

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Justification and Approval (J&A) For

Other Than Full and Open Competition (>SAT)

Acquisition Plan Action ID:_ 36C241-25-AP-0834

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 1, Network Contracting Office 1, in support of VISN 1 VA New England Health Care System Knowledge and Information Service, 200 Springs Road Building 10, Bedford MA 01730 USA. 2237 # – 523-25-2-3801-

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Processed: This requirement is being solicited as a new requirement for a base year plus four option periods of one year each.

The contract type is Firm-Fixed Price (FFP). Brand Name Only requirement.

3. Description of Supplies/Services Required to Meet the Agency’s Needs: VISN 1 Knowledge Information Services requires a VISN-wide license for online access to the Social Work Databases including: database package from EBSCO containing: Social Work Reference Center; Soc INDEX with Full Text; and LGBTQ+ Source. This is a brand name requirement for social work and clinical staff to support point-of-care and research. Estimated procurement value for base year is $111,294; Total Contract Value is $614,996.

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other than Full and Open Competition:

(X) (1) Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements per 41 USC §3304(a)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1;

( ) (2) Unusual and Compelling Urgency per 41 USC §3304(a)(2) as implemented by FAR 6.302-2;

( ) (3) Industrial Mobilization, Engineering, Developmental or Research Capability or Expert Services per 41 USC §3304(a)(3) as implemented by FAR 6.302-3;

( ) (4) International Agreement per 41 USC §3304(a)(4) as implemented by FAR 6.302-4

( ) (5) Authorized or Required by Statute per 41 USC §3304(a)(5) as implemented by FAR 6.302-5;

( ) (6) National Security per 41 USC §3304(a)(6) as implemented by FAR 6.302-6;

( ) (7) Public Interest per 41 USC §3304(a)(7) as implemented by FAR 6.302-7;

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Acquisition ID#: 36C241-25-AP-0834

5. Demonstration that the Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or Nature of the Acquisition Requires the Use of the Authority Cited Above (applicability of authority): The Citation of Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements per 41 USC §3304(a)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 has been selected due for the reasons outlined below.

The VISN 1 library staff have researched multiple sources of supply for this requirement.

There is a wide range of information tools and clinical social work resources that purport to provide the most recently updated, peer reviewed evidence based clinical information. This requirement is specifically for social work-oriented information that include LGBTQ topics and with an overall focus on healthcare. VISN1 Library staff reviewed examples and recommendations of journal titles and text resources. Those responses led the team to consider the database option, where resources from EBSCO, Wolters Kluwer, and Elsevier were considered.

Elsevier’s platform offering covers social sciences, health sciences, physical sciences and life sciences – which is beyond the scope of VISN1’s requirement. The Wolters Kluwer LGBTQ resources contained mostly academic journals on LGBTQ (described as “LGBTQ Studies”) and were lacking in the healthcare and mental health topics pertaining to the LGBTQ patient. EBSCO’s“LGBTQ+ Source” contained journal and text articles that suited the requirement. However, the administrative workload ensuring technical accessibility associated with switching to another vendor has multiple hypothetical costs associated with a transition of this sort, such as: system downtime, additional training, and configuration management costs.

In light of these hypothetical costs which will exceed $10,000, the evaluation team chose to remain with EBSCO Social Work Reference Center, SocINDEX with Full Text and LGBTQ+ Source as the VISN1 Social Work and LGTBQ+ platforms. The team found that the EBSCO Social Work Reference Center and SocINDEX met greater than 85% of the requested resources for our social workers. No other offering was able to meet the Library requirements regarding detailing, information assistance, and presentation while also offering an affordable transition for VISN 1 library staff. Using another branded journal would incur transitional costs that outweigh any possible benefits of transitioning from

EBSCO.

6. Description of Efforts Made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as deemed practicable: A special notice 36C24125Q0115_1 was posted on sam.gov for five days in support of the brand name ONLY, no substitutes allowed requirement, under the authority of FAR 6.302-1 -- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1). No responses were received. A public RFQ will be posted as Market Research did not uncover additional vendors beyond two SDVOSB authorized resellers. Both are willing and able to bid, and no other SDVOSB resellers exist, per the OEM EBSCO.

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Acquisition ID#: 36C241-25-AP-0834

7. Determination by the CO that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and

Reasonable: The anticipated price to the Government, compared to previous procurements found in Adds Up and FPDS with this exact package, show that the subscription price has increased consistently, year over year, approximately 5%. Based on the OEMs public prices and an increase of 5%, the price for FY25 is expected to be $112,951. Because this is a competitive requirement it is likely that the price will not increase significantly beyond that point. For this commodities requirement, the decision factors are price, past performance, delivery timeframe, and item availability.

8. Description of the Market Research Conducted and the Results, or a Statement of the Reasons Market Research Was Not Conducted: As described in Section 6 above, market research, in accordance with FAR Part 10, was conducted by synopsis of the proposed acquisition, advising industry of the pending acquisition and soliciting inquiries from interested parties. Two known SDVOSB certified vendors, J.E. Federal Enterprises, LLC and Graham Advisory Network, Inc. expressed interest in fulfilling this requirement. Contracting Officers are required apply the Rule of Two to all contracting determinations. COs may use the non-competitive (sole source) procedures authorized in VAAR 819.7008 or 819.7009 up to $5,000,000, as appropriate, subject to review and approval of the designated procurement official outlined in FAR 6.304 (See VHAPG Part 819.7008-7009 for additional details).

9. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other than Full and Open Competition: None

10. Listing of Sources that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition: J.E. Federal Enterprises, LLC and Graham Advisory Network, Inc.

11. A Statement of the Actions, if any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome any

Barriers to Competition before Making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required: Due to the proprietary nature of this journal collection, similar publishers could only partially replicate EBSCO’s efforts. As previously mentioned regarding Market Research, certain vendors have comparable sections only; on the whole, EBSCO has created a unique entity. The curation of the collection would be very difficult to imitate. As a result, it is requested as a sole source for five years.

12. Requirements Certification: I certify that the requirement outlined in this justification is a Bona Fide Need of the Department of Veterans Affairs and that the supporting data under

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Acquisition ID#: 36C241-25-AP-0834 my cognizance, which are included in the justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Eric Stauffer VISN Librarian

NCO1

13. Approvals in accordance with the VHAPM Part 806.3 OFOC SOP:

a. Contracting Officer Certification (required): I certify that the foregoing justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Tyler Kenyon Contracting Officer

NCO1

b. One Level Above the Contracting Officer (Required over SAT but not exceeding $750K): I certify the justification meets requirements for other than full and open competition.

Cory Dionne Date NCO1 Branch Chief

Commercial 4