A05_Part 8 Over SAT JA REE AFS - RFQ 12314426Q0209_Redacted.pdf

This is a Justification to Restrict Competition under FAR Part 8, issued by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for a firm-fixed-price, sole source/brand name task order over the Simplified Acquisition Threshold. The Requisition Number is 1171198, UEI is C47BNA8GM833, and Cage Code is 1ZD18. The contract will be issued as a sole source Request for Quote (RFQ) on a GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) basis.

The USDA's Research, Education, and Economics (REE) Mission Area seeks comprehensive data management and analytics services with an estimated contract value of $3,000,000 for a one-year base period in Fiscal Year 2026. The services encompass three primary areas: data-driven support for strategic initiatives and increased automation using technical skills in Tableau, Microsoft Power Platform, Python, R, and ArcGIS ESRI; maintenance and enhancement of existing products and data pipelines comprising 243 data tables, 197 views, and nearly 90 data products; and development of new products and data pipelines including dashboards, reports, and decision support tools. The justification demonstrates that Accenture Federal Services LLC (800 N. Glebe Road, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22203) possesses unique qualifications developed through their continuous engagement with USDA since 2017 under contract 12314418F0020, providing unparalleled institutional knowledge of REE's complex data infrastructure. The restriction to sole source competition is justified as a logical follow-on to a previously issued FSS order on a competitive basis under GSAM 538.7104-3(b)(iii), with critical operational and financial risks identified including catastrophic operational failure from inability to complete mandatory data lake migration by April deadline, approximately $400,000 in duplicative training costs during a 10-month transition period, and severe mission disruption to high-priority research projects. The Contracting Officer conducted rigorous price analysis against GSA Schedule rates, Blanket Purchase Agreement rates, labor category alignment with the Statement of Work, and comparison to an Independent Government Cost Estimate to determine fair and reasonable pricing. Market research confirmed no other contractors possess comparable in-depth knowledge of REE's diverse mission areas and complex data environment.