JA FAR Part 13_Redacted.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Office of Procurement, Acquisition and Logistics (OPAL)

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) 5202 Presidents Ct, Suite 103

Frederick, MD 21703

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION UNDER SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR

CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS IN ACCORDANCE WITH FEDERAL ACQUISITION

REGULATION (FAR) 13.5

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition.

This Sole-Source Justification is executed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Strategic Acquisition Center - Frederick (SAC-F) on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Acquisition and Logistics (OAL).

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

This action proposes a non-competitive firm fixed-price contract, using FAR 13.5 procedures, to Unison Virtual Acquisition Office, LLC, a large business, for services related to the development and maintenance of the Automated Knowledge Portal (AKP) and associated tools for the VA acquisition workforce.

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

The VA requires continued support of its Acquisition Knowledge Portal (AKP) and the associated Unison developed tools and resources utilized by the entire VA acquisition workforce. These tools and resources provide a specialized solution to enhance the functionality of the AKP.

The AKP tools, systems, and materials, and resources provide a single, central resource for the VA acquisition community and is intended to promote collaboration across the enterprise within the Acquisition Community (Senior Official, Senior Leadership and Acquisition Workforce) to bridge the gap between policy and execution focused on the end-to-end acquisition lifecycle.

The proposed action is for a contract with a period of performance of 1 year beginning September 29, 2025, and includes FAR 52.217-8 to extend services for up to six (6) months.

The estimated value of the proposed action is $923,704.00.

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC)

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

This action is under the procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.5 under the authority of:

X 41 U.S.C. 1901, Simplified Acquisition Procedures

41 U.S.C. 1903, Special Emergency Procurement Authority

This acquisition is conducted under the procedures of FAR subpart 13.5, used in accordance with the authority of 41 U.S.C § 1901.

FAR 13.5 authorizes the use of Part 13 simplified procedures for certain commercial items. Specifically, 13.500(a) states “This subpart authorizes the use of simplified procedures for the acquisition of supplies and services in amounts greater than the simplified acquisition threshold but not exceeding $7.5 million.”

Further, FAR 13.501(a)(1), states “acquisitions conducted under simplified acquisition procedures are exempt from the competition requirements listed in FAR Part 6.”

FAR Part 13 further requires the agency to justify in writing sole source acquisitions.

FAR 13.501(a)(1)(i).

Therefore, Simplified acquisition procedures are utilized for this requirement and the agency may solicit from only one source if the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i)).

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor's unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires using the authority cited.

Unison Virtual Acquisition Office, LLC is the incumbent and developer of the AKP tools utilized by the VA.

Unison possesses proprietary software technology specifically designed for integrating with VA’s current knowledge management systems. The complexity and unique nature of Unison’s technology means no other vendor can seamlessly integrate with the portal and maintain the existing tools.

Transitioning to a different vendor would necessitate redesigning the entire portal integration process, leading to significant operational delays. This could result in service disruptions, impacting the dissemination of critical information within the VA and the VA acquisition workforce.

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC)

While open competition could potentially identify alternative providers, the inherent need to redevelop AKP’s integration framework would lead to significantly higher costs, due to duplicative efforts.

Therefore, no other vendor can satisfy the Government’s needs without significant delays and increased costs.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as possible, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by part 5 and, if not, which exception under part 5 applies.

Market research was conducted, details of which are in the market research section of this document. This effort did not yield any additional sources that can meet the Government’s requirements. There is no competition anticipated for this acquisition.

A notice of intent will be posted to sam.gov, in accordance with FAR 5.201, of the Government’s intent to sole source the requirement. Should the Government receive any capability statements in response to this notice, the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist will review the capabilities of the interested parties and make a determination based on current and future need.

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

No award shall be made until the Contracting Officer determines the cost to the Government to be fair and reasonable. This determination will be based on a comparison of the proposed cost, current contract pricing, and an Independent Government Cost Estimate.

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

Comprehensive market research was conducted by both Program Office and Contracting Personnel. It was concluded that no other available solutions could deliver the required functionality without incurring substantial delays and higher costs. The NAICS code for this acquisition is 519290. A review of the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) revealed that other agencies have issued sole source contracts to Unison Virtual Acquisition Office, LLC to obtain the Acquisition Knowledge Portal services and tools.

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC)

Additionally, a Google search for “Acquisition Knowledge Portal”, “Market Research Assistant”, and “Pathfinder Subscription” consistently identified Unison Global as a sole and primary comprehensive resource for real-time news acquisition training, policy updates, and the Market Research Assistant and Pathfinder subscriptions. No other tools or sources were found that could provide the same level of comprehensive service for real-time information, content, and tools for 1102s, CORs, and PMs capable of meeting the VA’s comprehensive needs.

A check of fpds.gov resulted in multiple awards to Unison Virtual Acquisition Office LLC to obtain Pathfinder subscriptions and Acquisition Knowledge Portal services.

An SBA dynamic small business search by NAICS code 519290 resulted in 6 vendor profiles. After reviewing each vendor’s capability narrative, 0 were found to have service capabilities that included providing ongoing maintenance, fixes, and content arrangement to continuously populate the e-portal, as well as providing subscriptions to the Market Research Assistant and Pathfinder software.

A notice of intent to sole source to Unison Virtual Acquisition Office, LLC for the AKP Portal Maintenance and Subscription was posted to SAM.gov on September 4, 2025 for six (6) days, with a response date and time of September 10, 2025, at 9:00 AM ET.

Interested parties were informed that if they believe they could satisfy the requirements listed in the description of the notice, they may clearly and unambiguously identify their capability to do so in writing on or before the response date of the notice. They were further instructed that the notice was not a request for competitive proposals and a solicitation would not be issued.

In response to the notice of intent, three (3) interested parties provided capability statements.

The Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist reviewed the capability statements and determined that while none could provide the necessary services to meet the needs of the identified requirement, there is the potential for competition for future needs.

As a result of this additional market research, this requirement will be awarded for a period of 12 months, and include FAR 52.217-8, allowing the option for a six (6) month extension of services, with the intent to recompete the full requirement in the coming fiscal year.

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC)

9. Any other facts supporting the use of sole source.

This enhancement involves utilizing Unison Virtual Acquisition Office, LLC's proprietary technology, which seamlessly supports existing VA systems and provides unique capabilities that are critical for the efficient management of knowledge resources.

Further, Unison Virtual Acquisition Office, LLC provided a statement stating they are “the sole provider of the Virtual Acquisition Office (VAO) Pathfinder, Market Research Assistant (MRA) and annual maintenance.” They further stated, “Unison does not have any authorized distributors or resellers.”

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

The Government received capability statements in response to the notice of intent from the following parties:

Rapid Labs Skyway Acquisition (w/ So Company) BetaQuick

The Contracting Officer reviewed the capability statements from the identified interested parties. A statement was provided notifying each party their capability statement was reviewed and determined to not meet the current needs of the Government; however, they should continue to look for opportunities for future requirements.

11. A statement of the 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.

For future procurements, the VA will continue monitoring the market for emerging technologies and potential competitors. Efforts will be made to document advancements in similar technologies that might offer competition.

Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC)

12. Contracting officer certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the contracting officer’s knowledge and belief.

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

Signature:

Contracting Officer Strategic Acquisition Center

Contracting Officer

For acquisitions over $750K not exceeding $15M

Approval

In my role as Contracting Activity Competition Advocate, based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve this acquisition on an “other than full and open competition” basis pursuant to the statutory authority cited in paragraph four above, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the property and services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition. As this action does not exceed $15M, the certification below required by FAR 13.501(a)(2)(ii) serves as approval.

Director of Contracts, Acquisition Services 1-3 Procuring Activity Advocate for Competition (SAC-Frederick)