FAR 13 Limited Source Justification Less Than SAT - Thought Farmer - Redacted.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture Limited Source/Brand Name Justification

FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) – Simplified Acquisitions Control No.: 1135986

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

Requesting Agency: Danell Jordi, Business Operations Specialist Information Services Division (ISD)

Economic Research Service (ERS) 355 E Street, SW 5-182

Washington, DC 20024-3221

Contracting Activity: Katelyn Nelson, Contracting Officer 5601 Sunnyside Ave Beltsville, MD 20705

2. Description of supply or service required to meet the agency’s needs.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Economic Research Services (ERS), Information Services Division (ISD) seeks to purchase ThoughtFarmer Software Maintenance Renewal for 425 users.

3. The rationale or circumstances for limiting competition.

ERS uses the ThoughtFarmer software as the engine for its intranet site. The intranet is a key part of the internal communications and collaboration methods of the agency and is used by all the agency staff. To continue to effectively operate and upgrade the agency intranet, ERS and ISD need the software, technical support and maintenance for the ThoughtFarmer software, as well as to have access to software updates and major new releases that include feature additions and improvements.

Previously, the vendor, ThoughtFarmer, would not enter into a contract with option years because the company was transitioning to cloud-based application. At this time, the transition has been postponed and ERS requires an additional year of maintenance software as a logical follow on to the expiring contract 1232SA23P0056.

ThoughtFarmer, Inc. is the sole provider for the ThoughtFarmer software and licensing, however, there are other vendors that can provide the license for the software. The software, support, and maintenance are all propriety and only available from ThoughtFarmer, Inc. ThoughtFarmer, Inc. is the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for the software and owns the copyrighted license source software, all the legal rights, privileges, and ownership contained therein. No other source or competitor may legally modify or change the software.

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

Market research was conducted which did not yield any other product that can meet the Government’s unique requirements of ThoughtFarmer. It was determined that limited competition is viable among the Original Equipment Manufacturer and authorized resellers for the software licensing.

GSA: A thorough search was done of the General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) and no vendors were found that are authorized re-sellers of the ThoughtFarmer License or software and ThoughtFarmer is not currently on the GSA Multiple Award Schedule.

Historical Purchases: Two prior purchase orders, 1232SA22P0092 & 1232SA23P0056, were both awarded to ThoughtFarmer Inc., and both purchase orders were successful with no issues or concerns.

A sources Sought notice was posted to SAM.gov on 08/12/2024 with a closing date of 08/16/2024. Two companies responded to the Sources Sought, BCS CD and BHPE, LLC., as described below in recommended sources. BCS CD stated they have the capability to fulfill, while BHPE, LLC stated they were interested in assisting with market research for ThoughtFarmer.

5. Estimated price, including all options, if applicable.

Independent Government Cost Estimate: $18,347.12

6. Recommended source(s).

ThoughtFarmer Acquisition Consulting Experts, LLC 12 Water ST 5611 Daniel CIR Suite 210 Waldorf, Maryland, 20601 Vancouver, Bc UEI: QDWTQG5XKY35 V6B 1A5, Canada POC: Julian Boykin UEI: CU2XVD1HVC63 jboykin@acesecops.com POC: Kirsty Stevens kirsty@thoughtfarmer.com

BCS CG

6920 Braddock Rd, Suite # 663 Annandale, VA 22003

UEI: PVCZMPTQ1QS8

POC: Abukar Hussein info@bcs-cg.io

Certifications

Supporting data that is the responsibility of technical or requirements personnel and which form the basis for this justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge.

Lynell Doane Director of Administrative and Financial Services

The information contained in this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief and in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 13.106-1(b)(1), I hereby determine the circumstances described above deem only one source, or limited sources, reasonably available and competition is precluded for the reasons indicated in this document.

Katelyn Nelson Contracting Officer

The information contained in this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief and in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 13.106-1(b)(1), I hereby determine the circumstances described above deem only one source, or limited sources, reasonably available and competition is precluded for the reasons indicated in this document.

Christopher Tomlin Contracting Officer Team Lead