e-Discovery Professional Services LSJ redacted.pdf

FHF-25-Q-0072

Limited-Sources Justification for GSA Actions FAR 8.405-6(a)

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program with its primary statutory authorities at 41 U.S.C. 152(3), Competitive Procedures, and 40 U.S.C. 501, Services for Executive Agencies, as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 8.4, Federal Supply Schedules. This acquisition is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 8.405-6:

Agency and Contracting Activity. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO), on behalf of the Office of General Counsel (OGC), proposes to award a task order that will consist of a period of performance months from the date of award with the right to exercise up to 2 option periods, each for an additional 6 months , for a total possible contract duration of months on a noncompetitive basis.

Nature and/or description of the action being approved. FHFA has a requirement on a limited source basis to obtain expert support for FHFA’s OpenText Information Assurance e-discovery platform to ensure the agency can respond efficiently and accurately to litigation, regulatory, and investigative information requests. The intended contract action is a labor-hour task order.

The name of the contractor is:

EC America 8444 Westpark Drive, Suite 200 McLean, VA 22102

EC America is currently providing the services under this requirement.

Description of Supplies/Services. This procurement is for hourly consulting services to support FHFA’s use of the OpenText Information Assurance e-discovery platform. The contractor will assist with litigation hold management, electronically stored information (ESI) identification and production, platform maintenance, and technical support for information requests. The estimated total value of this requirement is period, with additional -month option periods, if exercised.

Identification of the authority and rationale for restricting competition. In accordance with 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. This reseller is the only alternative to contracting directly with the vendor, which limits the available sources under the GSA Schedule that can meet FHFA’s requirements. As a result, other GSA Schedule sources are not positioned to fulfill the agency’s needs.

5. Determination by the ordering activity Contracting Officer (CO) that the anticipated order represents the best value consistent with 8.404(d). The resultant task order represents the best value to meet the Government’s needs. The resultant task order will be awarded in accordance with FAR 8.404 – Use of Federal Supply Schedules, where GSA has already negotiated fair and reasonable pricing, and the CO will seek further discounts from the hourly rate in accordance with FAR 8.405-4. The CO will consider the level of effort and mix of labor proposed to perform the specific task being ordered when determining if the total price is reasonable.

6. A description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted. Market research was conducted to identify available sources on the GSA Schedule capable of providing OpenText Information Assurance hourly consulting services. Research included reviewing GSA Advantage, contacting the vendor directly, and verifying authorized resellers. The results confirmed that EC America, a subsidiary of immixGroup, is the only authorized reseller offering these services under the GSA Schedule. This was further validated through communication with OpenText, which confirmed that no other GSA Schedule holders are authorized to provide the required hourly consulting support. As such, EC America is the only source under the GSA Schedule capable of meeting FHFA’s needs. Leveraging the GSA Schedule allows for a more streamlined and efficient acquisition process, reduces administrative burden, and ensures compliance with federal procurement standards. At this time, EC America is the only vendor providing the required services on the GSA Schedule. Documentation of this market research has been included in the contract file.

7. Any other facts supporting the justification. There are no additional facts supporting this justification.

8. A statement of actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made. FHFA recognizes the limitations presented by having only one authorized GSA Schedule reseller for OpenText Information Assurance hourly consulting services. Moving forward, OGC will reassess its technical and functional requirements prior to any subsequent acquisition to determine whether alternative e-discovery platforms or support models could meet the Agency’s needs, allowing for a more competitive procurement process. These steps aim to reduce reliance on a single source and promote greater competition in future acquisitions.

Program Office Certification

I certify that this requirement meets the Government’s minimum need and that the supporting data, which forms a basis for the justification, is accurate and complete.

Taryn Jones Date Technical Representative

TARYN JONES

Digitally signed by TARYN

JONES

Date: 2025.08.12 11:26:25 -04'00'

Statement of Availability

As a representative of the requirements office, I understand the above justification is subject to publication on the Contract Opportunities webpage in accordance with FAR 8.405-6(a)(2).

I believe the above information is accurate and documented clearly for the general public to understand the Agency’s decision not to compete this requirement.

However, contractor proprietary data or commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential, shall be redacted. As the requirements office representative, I have determined that the following items should be redacted. I have also included my basis for redaction below.

Insert areas for redaction and basis for reduction below.

Taryn Jones Date Senior Program Analyst Requirements Office

Jones, Taryn Digitally signed by Jones, Taryn Date: 2025.08.12 11:25:36 -04'00'