A06_RedactedJA_Datascape.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture Sole Source Justification

DataScape Software and Services

Control No.

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Business Center (BC), Acquisition Division (AD).

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved.

Request approval of a sole source justification to procure proprietary software and related services from DataScape LLC (DataScape), under a firm-fixed-price contract, to support the Risk Management Agency (RMA) with managing the Eligible Plant List and Plant Price Schedule (EPLPPS).

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

The RMA Nursery Crop Insurance Program (NCIP) provides crop insurance coverage to wholesale nurseries for field grown and container grown nursery plants. A key component of the program is the EPLPPS database, which lists all field grown and container grown wholesale nursery plants, which are insurable under NCIP. It is RMA's responsibility to ensure the EPLPPS database is updated annually for each succeeding crop year with new insurable plants and prices, and additional plant prices for existing plants across the country. Other changes are made as needed to insurability requirements, information, and instructions contained in EPLPPS. The software and services described below directly support this requirement.

The contractor will provide three different software packages, which are used in conjunction with

EPLPPS:

a) The Regional Office (RO) Plant Selection Software is used by RMA ROs to assist in updating the EPLPPS each crop year. The RMA ROs use this software twice each crop year to review current EPLPPS specifications and to change specifications if needed. The first round of the RO Plant Selection Software must be ready to send to the ROs by mid to late June 2023. To have that completed, a large portion of the plant names and prices must be entered into EPLPPS so the ROs can select/de-select which plants they want to include/exclude from their regional plant lists.

b) The Nursery Inventory Software is used by crop insurance agents and insureds to determine plant insurability and the value of insurable plants in the nursery based on the lower of the price contained in the nursery catalog/price list or EPLPPS.

c) The Nursery Appraisal Software is used by loss adjusters to aid in the settlement of claims on losses incurred on insured plants in the nursery and based on the lower of the price contained in the nursery catalog/price list or EPLPPS.

In addition to providing the above software, the following services are required:

a) Compile and analyze wholesale price data on plants in containers equal to or greater than five eighths inch in diameter but less than three inches in diameter, as defined in the Statement of Work(SOW).

b) Update the 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029 crop year RO Plant Selection Software, in two rounds, as defined in the SOW

c) Update the 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029 crop year EPLPPS database and Base Price Tables, as defined in the SOW.

d) Update the 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029 crop year Nursery Inventory Software, as defined in the SOW.

e) Update of the 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029 crop year Nursery Appraisal Software, as defined in the SOW.

f) In conjunction with the above tasks, provide customer service to RMA and other interested parties in response to inquiries and requests for information and data on contracted tasks.

The period of performance will be a 15-month base and four 15-month option periods. The contract base period will extend through a portion of the Option Period 1 period of performance because the contractor will be responsible for performing customer service for the Base Period. This will also occur during future option periods, as shown below.

Estimated Value, Base Period Estimated Value, Option Period 1 Estimated Value, Option Period 2 Estimated Value, Option Period 3 Estimated Value, Option Period 4 Total Estimated Value:

Start Date 2/01/2023 2/01/2024 2/01/2025 2/01/2026 2/01/2027

4. The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

41 U.S.C. § 1901(e)(2) as implemented by FAR 13.501(a)(l)(i).

End Date 4/30/2024 4/30/2025 4/30/2026 4/30/2027 4/30/2028

5. A statement demonstrating the unique qualifications of the proposed contractor or the nature of the action requiring the use of the authority cited.

The unique and proprietary capabilities of DataScape render their company to be the only responsible source capable of providing the software and services required to successfully support the EPLPPS.

DataScape has customized three commercially available software tools for RMA: Nursery Inventory Software used by growers and insurance agents, Nursery Appraisal Software used by insurance adjusters to process claims, and RO Plant Selection Software used by RMA regional offices to select the plants which are eligible to be insured and their storage protection requirements for their region. All three software products are built upon a proprietary database of over 40,700 plant names with approximately 1,000 new plant names added annually. Software conforming to the exact nature of the RMA requirement through this extensively populated database is not available from any other source.

Additionally, DataScape has a unique combination of the required skillsets to perform the required support services. For NCIP, all plant names must have a genus name as well as additional nomenclature classifications such as species, subspecies, variety, forma, cultivar, and hybrid. Uniquely experienced and qualified horticulturists and computer database administrators/programmers are provided through DataScape, who are proficient in both the ever-changing field of botany, as well as the customized database that support EPLPPS.

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Further, these individuals from DataScape accommodate the demands of various plant name and size terminology associated with the EPLPSS. The software and associated support services analyze and flag possible errors in catalog prices, compare prices within the same catalog to similar plants listed, ensure ascending prices for ascending sizes, compare prices to previous years of the same grower, and identify prices for the same plant, which are outliers in the entire database.

The DataScape database administrators add new plants found in catalogs year-round. Additionally, existing plant names are regularly updated during performance as name changes or requests from RMA RO staff necessitate. Further, DataScape horticulturists research new plant names through national and international plant registries, plant breeder sites, and contact with industry experts and scholars while ensuring proper nomenclature details and naming conventions.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable.

A notice of intent to contract on a sole source basis was synopsized through the System for Award Management (SAM) on 12/21/2022, in accordance with FAR 5.203(a). No responses were received.

7. A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer will ensure the price is fair and reasonable by comparing the proposed price with prices found reasonable on previous purchases (FAR 13.106-3(a)(2)(ii)) and comparison of the proposed price with the independent government cost estimate (FAR 13.106-3(a)(2)(vi)).

8. A description of the market research conducted and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

In August 2022, the RMA program office reviewed a list of vendors that offer potential software and services through General Services Administration Federal Supply Schedule contracts and compared their offerings against the SOW requirements. Based upon this review, there did not appear to be any other potentially viable sources. Additionally, an intent to contract on a sole source basis was synopsized through SAM on 12/21/2022, in accordance with FAR 5.203(a), to provide industry with the SOW and an opportunity to respond. No responses were received.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

NIA

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed a written interest in the acquisition.

None.

11. A statement of actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required.

This is expected to be the last procurement for this software and related services. Beginning with the 2021 crop year, RMA implemented a new nursery crop insurance program, called Nursery Value Select (NVS). This program is intended to eventually replace the longstanding NCIP. Consequently, there will not be a need for annual maintenance and updates to the EPLPPS and associated software packages.

NVS is currently in its third year of availability and is offered as a pilot in certain states and counties.

The two programs are running concurrently, so that RMA can determine whether NVS is working as intended. Once RMA determines that NVS is working as intended, the goal is to make NVS available nationwide and replace NCIP.

Certifications & Approvals

I certify the supporting data and rationale, which form the basis for this justification, are accurate and com lete.

I certify the information contained in this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Additional Reviews & Approvals

Advocate for Competition for the procuring activity (if over $750,000, but not exceeding $15 million).

I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Therefore, unless additional approvals are required as prescribed below, as Advocate for Competition for the procuring activity, I hereby approve this justification.

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