70-50500-26-CP341_Sole Source Determination Form SIGNED.pdf.PDF

2026 Sole Source Form

STATE OF NEW MEXICO

SOLE SOURCE REQUEST AND DETERMINATION FORM

A sole source determination is not effective until the sole source request for determination has been posted for thirty (30) calendar days without Protest and subsequently approved in writing by the State Purchasing Agent. The foregoing requirement is regardless of whether the sole source request for determination has been signed by the Agency.

I. Name of Agency: New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs

Agency Chief Procurement Officer: Melissa Catanach

Telephone Number: 505-827-7836

Agency Contact for this request: Greg Geisler

Email Address: Greg.Geisler@dca.nm.gov

II. Name of prospective Contractor: New Mexico Women’s Forum Inc.

SHARE Vendor Number (must be active): 0000063990

Address of prospective Contractor: 13170-B Central Ave SE, Suite 213 Albuquerque, NM

87123-5588

Contact Name, Telephone Number and Email Address: Paula Tackett, 505-803-7084, ptackett13@gmail.com

Amount of prospective contract before tax: $220,664.00

Estimated tax amount (tax is subject to change): N/A

III. Term of prospective contract: 2 Years (8/2026 -8/2028)

Note: Please refer to §13-1-150 for contract term limits.

If this is an amendment request to an existing contract, include current sole source posting number issued by SPD: N/A

IV. If this is a Sole Source for new or existing IT software licensing subscription(s), Agency is required to upload the Contractor’s draft Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the Sole

Source online submission. N/A

V. Agency is required to provide the detailed scope of work (or amendment) for this sole source. Scope of work must match the scope included in the services determination and

Horizons declination.

Contractor shall expand accessibility to and outreach about the New Mexico historic women marker program through continued marketing and promotion of women’s

Docusign Envelope ID: BBFED99E-367C-8833-80D1-9DD40786DAE6 histories, communications, wider implementation of developed educational curriculum and broaden more engagement strategies statewide.

See attached - Appendix A: Scope of Work Deliverables

VI. Provide a detailed explanation of the criteria developed and specified by the agency as necessary to perform and/or fulfill the contract and upon which the state agency reviewed available sources. (Do not use “technical jargon;” use plain English. Do not tailor the criteria simply to exclude other contractors if it is not rationally related to the purpose of the contract.)

The criteria used for this contract is dictated by the appropriation to the department

(2026, Regular Session House Bill 2, Section 5 (120), which states that four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) will be appropriated for “the historic women marker program for expenditure in fiscal year 2027.”

Experience collaborating with state agencies including the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, New Mexico Tourism Department, and the New Mexico

Department of Transportation on the development of the Historic Women’s Marker program is also essential.

VII. Provide a detailed, sufficient explanation of the reasons, qualifications, proprietary rights or unique capabilities of the prospective contractor that makes their company the only source capable of providing the required professional service, general service, construction or item(s) of tangible personal property. (Please do not state the source is the “best” source or the “least costly” source. Those factors do not justify a “sole source.”)

After extensive review of the project, it has been determined that the International

Women’s Forum-New Mexico (IWF-NM) also known as the New Mexico Women’s

Forum is the only organization in New Mexico who has the experience and expertise to successfully complete the work outlined in this proposal. It is the only organization in the United States that has developed a highway marker program recognizing women who have contributed to the history of their state. IWF-NM has spent the last

20 years developing the history and content and have the expertise capable of providing the services as presented in the Scope of Work to preserve, promote, and expand accessibility to the stories of the women who have shaped New Mexico and its history through continuation and advancement of the New Mexico Historic Women’s

Marker program. The organization recently finished work on a contract with the

Department covering FY26.

Recent accomplishments of note include:

o IWF-NM developed a website specifically to recognize and acknowledge more than 120 Women who influenced New Mexico history, continuing to enhance the functionality and expand the accessibility of the website for broader use and engagement by the public. https://www.nmhistoricwomen.org/ o IWF-NM has experience collaborating with educators to develop pilot curriculum programs specifically designed to provide curriculum around the role of women in New Mexico’s history and have developed an integrated K-

12 curriculum developed to PED standards and published on the marker website at www.nmhistoricwomen.org/curriculm/.

o IWF-NM established archives at the Southwest Center for Research at UNM to preserve the history of the program and promote and support research on the role of women in New Mexico history.

o IWF-NM worked with the State Library to create traveling exhibits for public libraries throughout the state.

VIII. Provide a detailed, sufficient explanation of how the professional service, general service, construction or item(s) of tangible personal property is/are unique and how this uniqueness is substantially related to the intended purpose of the contract.

The New Mexico Historic Women Marker program is a unique project bringing together multiple state agencies and other stakeholders who are vital to preserving the sites, stories, and impact of historic women in New Mexico. Understanding the history of, and process by which the Women’s Marker Initiative was created and the next steps to forward the project are essential. This contract will build upon the work initiated in 2006 and funded by the New Mexico legislature in 2022, 2024 and 2026.

IX. Provide a narrative description of the agency’s due diligence in determining the basis for the procurement, including procedures used by the agency to conduct a review of available sources such as researching trade publications, industry newsletters and the internet;

contacting similar service providers; and reviewing the State Purchasing Divisions’

Statewide Price Agreements. Include a list of businesses contacted (do not state that no other businesses were contacted), date of contact, method of contact (telephone, mail, e-mail, other), and documentation demonstrating an explanation of why those businesses could not or would not, under any circumstances, perform the contract; or an explanation of why the agency has determined that no businesses other than the prospective contractor can perform the contract.

The IWF-NM is the only organization in New Mexico with knowledge and experience in the creation and development of the Historic Women’s Marker program in 2006, the ability and experience partnering with the relevant state agencies, and history of successfully establishing the Women’s Marker program (for which they have received national recognition). Most recently the department contracted with IWF-NM for continuation of the Women’s Marker program in FY26. Given their expertise and past experience, the department has determined that no other business than the prospective contractor can perform the contract.

Agency certifies this sole source submission complies with NMSA 1978, Sections 13-1-28 through 13-1-199, the New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) and Governmental Conduct

Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 10-16-1 through 10-16-18.

Certified by: Date:____________________

Agency Chief Procurement Officer

Certifying Legal Sufficiency by: Date: ____________________

Agency Legal/General Counsel

Agency Approval by: Date: ____________________

Cabinet Secretary/Agency or Entity Head or Designee

APPROVED: Date:____________________

State Purchasing Agent

If this sole source is being submitted by a governmental agency or governmental entity not under the authority of the State Purchasing Agent, the State Purchasing Agent’s signature is not required. The signature line may be removed from this form or marked as N/A. Hard Copy

Documentation for Courtesy Postings do not need to be submitted to SPD for approval.

Docusign Envelope ID: BBFED99E-367C-8833-80D1-9DD40786DAE6

8/5/2026

8/6/2026

8/6/2026

APPENDIX A: Scope of Work-Deliverables

To carry out the Scope of Work set out in this Professional Services contract the Contractor shall:

1. Continue to collaborate and sustain outreach with the Agency on:

a. Further development of marketing and promotion of the Historic Women Marker

Program;

b. Support state library’s efforts on creation and design of additional banners and other materials, including integrating New Mexico Historic Women in programs and exhibits;

c. Work with state library and libraries around the state as they create local interactive programs with the traveling banners to engage families and communities;

2. Continue to collaborate and deepen relationship with NM Dept of Tourism and New Mexico Magazine and related travel and adventure magazines:

a. to broaden awareness and develop wider promotion of the NM Historic Women Marker program on social media sponsored posts and content creation;

3. Continue auditing and enhancing the Women’s Historic Marker Program website and social media efforts to provide wider distribution of information on New Mexico women’s histories;

4. To share knowledge of the impact of Marker Women and inspire multi-generational engagement:

a. Monitor and respond to educational needs of teachers using the developed curriculum, and develop, or modify, as necessary, additional lesson plans;

b. Continue to collaborate with the appropriate offices of the Public Education Department to ensure curriculum adoption and distribution; and develop a model teacher training program to provide additional classroom support on how to utilize the website and curriculum;

c. Work with State Library to develop Education Modules for use in public schools, especially in rural areas and small school districts;

d. Identify additional organizations and programs for collaborative development of educational programming;

e. Continue to seek opportunities to work with Women’s Studies/gender studies Departments of Education programs within our Higher education institutions.

5. Develop capacity to participate in speaking opportunities statewide and develop support materials; build list of possible speakers and review need for a training manual for speakers; and work on creating of oral histories and interactive videos for broader public education on the important role of women in New Mexico history;

6. Continue to strengthen alliance with UNM/Southwest Research Center for preservation and archiving of Historic Women Marker materials.

7. In consultation with appropriate authorities, determine viability of adding new markers within the next three years