JOFOC__CSIT2__FINAL_Redacted.pdf

Version No.: 3 Version Date: March 2025

Approved by: Chief, Office of the Chief Procurement Officer

Name/Title

Contracting Officer’s Representative

Signature and Date

2. BUREAU SMALL BUSINESS SPECIALIST REVIEW (Required for ALL dollar thresholds).

I have reviewed this justification, including any attached documentation, if applicable, and concur/ do not concur with the findings.

Small Business Specialist

3. BUREAU CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER APPROVAL (Required for purchases of Information Technology (IT) when over $15 million and not exceeding $75 million) (Contracting Activity). 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 herein, as the Bureau Chief Information Officer, I hereby approve this justification for other than full and open competition.

4. CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION AND APPROVAL (Certification required for ALL dollar thresholds) (Approval applies only when not exceeding $750K). I have reviewed this justification and have determined the circumstances of this acquisition support the justification for other than full and open competition. I also certify this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Therefore, unless additional approvals are required as prescribed herein, I hereby approve this justification for other than full and open competition.

Contracting Officer

5. ADVOCATE FOR COMPETITION APPROVAL (Required when over $750K and not exceeding $15 million) (NON-DELEGABLE) (Contracting Activity). 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 herein, as the Advocate for Competition, I hereby approve this justification for other than full and open competition.

Competition Advocate

6. BUREAU CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER APPROVAL (Required when over $15 million and not exceeding $75 million) (Contracting Activity). 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 herein, as the Bureau Chief Procurement Officer or authorized designee, I hereby approve this justification for other than full and open competition.

(Acting) Bureau Chief Procurement Officer

7. HEAD OF THE CONTRACTING ACTIVITY OR AUTHORIZED DESIGNEE APPROVAL

(Required when over $15 million and not exceeding $75 million) (Contracting Activity). 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 herein, as the Head of the Contracting Activity or authorized designee, I hereby approve this justification for other than full and open competition.

Head of the Contracting Activity

8. TREASURY CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER APPROVAL (Required for purchases of Information Technology (IT) when exceeding $75 million). (NON-DELEGABLE). 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 herein, as the Treasury Chief Information Officer, I hereby approve this justification for other than full and open competition.

9. SENIOR PROCUREMENT EXECUTIVE APPROVAL (Required when exceeding $75 million) (NON-DELEGABLE). I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Therefore, I hereby approve this justification for other than full and open competition.

(Acting) Senior Procurement Executive

Instructions for the Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition

(i.e., Justification for FAR subpart 6.3)

INSTRUCTIONS SHALL BE REMOVED FROM FINAL DOCUMENT

I. General.

Each justification for other than full and open competition (JOFOC) shall contain sufficient information and data to justify the proposed action thereby be able to stand on its own. Simply copying and pasting information from previous JOFOCs or requirements documents, or even a vendor’s website or marketing information fails to support the use of such justification. This type of detail is critical in order to enable a reviewer to clearly understand the requirement and the rationale for supporting this justification.

Per FAR 6.301(c) contracting without providing for full and open competition shall not be justified on the basis of—

(1) A lack of advance planning by the requiring activity; or

(2) Concerns related to the amount of funds available (e.g., funds will expire) to the agency or activity for the acquisition of supplies or services.

Therefore, Contracting Officers (CO) must be diligent in ensuring requests for other than full and open competition are not a result of one of these restrictions.

For purposes of completing this justification one shall review FAR subpart 6.3 and the Department of Treasury Acquisition procedure (DTAP) subpart 1006.3. The requiring activity (e.g., program office or contracting officer representative (COR)) shall complete to the extent practical as much of the justification as possible. The CO will provide assistance as necessary and complete the sections they are primarily responsible for. For purposes of completing this form no fields are to be left blank.

If the requirement involves classified or sensitive information, ensure the proper steps are taken to protect the information (e.g., labeling and marking). In the event of conflict between this template and applicable regulatory coverage, the more stringent requirement shall be followed.

These justifications must be made publicly available in accordance with FAR 6.305.

Prior to distribution to the approving officials, the document should be converted to a .pdf. Fields are fluid and will change based upon user input. Users should be mindful of formatting prior to submission for signature.

II. Instruction for each field of the form.

A. Nature and/or description of the action being approved (see FAR 6.303-2(b)(2)).

1. Identification of the agency and contracting activity (see FAR 6.303-2(b)(1)).

2. Name of proposed source. Provide the name of vendor along with their unique entity identifier and socio-economic status. Check the System for Award Management (SAM) database for purposes of ensuring accuracy of this information. If this is a brand name justification and there are multiple vendors who are available to sell the brand name item, then insert “TBD”.

3. Requisition number. If known, include the requisition number(s) that are associated with the acquisition. If not known, insert “TBD”.

4. Cost estimate. Provide the independent government cost estimate (IGCE), inclusive of all options, award terms and any other monetary incentives of the acquisition (see FAR 6.304(d)). The IGCE shall be provided as part of the review process. If the justification is for brand name, then only provide the total dollar value of the portion of the acquisition that is brand name with the total value of the acquisition in parenthesis. If the justification is to modify a current contract, then provide the cost estimate related to the modification and in parenthesis provide the total contract value, inclusive of the modification. If a class justification, this amount is the total known/estimated dollar value of all the requirements being covered by the justification.

5. Type of contract action. Check the applicable box as to whether the proposed contract action is for a new contract or a modification to a current contract.

6. Bridge contract. Check the applicable box as to whether or not the proposed contract would be considered a bridge contract (i.e., Yes or No). A bridge contract is a new contract with the current contractor who is currently performing the work that is required under the new contract. A new contract that is a de-scoped version of a current contract is not a bridge contract.

7. Brand name. Check the applicable box as to whether or not the proposed contract is a brand name or not.

8. Type of justification. Check the applicable box as to whether the justification is an individual or class justification.

9. Contract type. State the contract type (e.g., firm fixed price, cost plus fixed fee, time and materials, etc.). If it is a hybrid contract (i.e. a contract that is comprised of multiple contract types) insert the term “Hybrid” and then list each contract type.

10. Attachments. Check the applicable box as to whether attachments are included or not. Examples, of key attachments might be the IGCE, market research summary report, copies of synopsis, and vendor responses.

11. Policy Tracking Number. This is provided by the Policy and Small Business Division.

12. Additional details. If brand name, state whether: (1) the justification is covering only the portion of the acquisition which is brand-name or peculiar to one manufacturer (see FAR 6.302-1(c)(1)(ii)(A)) and (2) the use of such descriptions in the acquisition or portion of the acquisition is essential to the Government’s requirements, thereby precluding consideration of a product manufactured or service provided by another company (the latter will be further described in section B and D of the justification).

If a class justification, include the following, but not limited to proposed effective period of the justification.

If an existing contract is being modified, include the following, but not limited to current contract number;

anticipated contract modification number, and if applicable, dollar amount and approval date of the original JOFOC supporting the contract.

If the proposed source is the same vendor currently performing the work that is required under this justification, regardless if the work is the same (i.e. bridge contract) or a de-scoped version, include the following, but not limited to: current contract number, last date of performance; total contract value; and if applicable, whether the current contract was issued under a similar justification and what portion of the work has been de-scoped from the current contract.

B. Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (see FAR 6.303- 2(b)(3)). Provide a clear and concise description of the supplies and/or services to be procured. This means including details such as: item description; quantities; delivery date/schedule; and period of performance (inclusive of option periods and award terms, if applicable).

Example of starting sentence: “The requirement is to provide [insert general service description – sometime can be taken from the scope of work] at [insert place of performance]. These services require that [insert activity to be performed]. This will allow the Office of [insert name] to [insert accomplish mission objective].”

For brand name, provide the following, but not limited to: name of the brand, product or feature of the product; model number; name of manufacturer; other specific details associated with the brand name being procured; and name(s) of known sources that can provide the brand name.

C. Identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition (see FAR 6.303-2(b)(4)). Check the applicable statutory authority. See FAR 6.302 for details on each authority.

D. Demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited (see FAR 6.303-2(b)(5)). This is the most important part of the justification because it demonstrates that the prospective contractor has unique qualifications (e.g., highly specialized capabilities, knowledge, certification, possession of a proprietary product/service, or expertise) or that the nature of the acquisition requires the use of the authority cited in section C of the justification. Be very specific and use technical terms if necessary. Also, use separate paragraphs for each unique qualification or circumstance that support the requirement for the use of the authority cited. Lastly, ensure this section ties to other sections within the justification (e.g., type of market survey and analysis efforts conducted) as they support the determination and conclusions being made in this section.

If only one responsible source is the authority cited (see FAR 6.303-1), include a discussion that explains why any other sources that expressed an interest in the acquisition in writing (see section I of the justification) cannot provide or perform the Government’s requirement.

In those instances where unusual and compelling urgency is cited, provide a discussion of the facts surrounding the nature of the urgency (e.g., what is the schedule). Include supporting rationale that describes the extent, nature, and impact of the potential harm (e.g., quantitative data such as dollars that would be lost, time lost, etc.) to the Government if an award is not made by the required due date.

If brand name is being use describe why the brand name, product, or feature is essential to the Government’s requirement, and how (if performed) market research (see section G of the justification) demonstrates other companies’ similar products, or products lacking the particular feature, do not meet, or cannot be modified to meet, the Government’s needs. Provide an estimate of the cost and/or delay the Government would incur if other than the brand name item is used.

E. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by FAR subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under FAR 5.202 applies (see FAR 6.303-2(b)(6)).

Normally, unless an exception under FAR 5.202 applies, justifications are prepared after posting the notification of proposed contract action on the Government Point of Entry (i.e.

https://www.sam.gov/) along with any other efforts performed prior to that notification. The rationale is to enable the requiring activity/program office time to review the results of any industry/vendor response and reach a conclusion concerning their proposed intent for contracting without providing for full and open competition (e.g., potential degree of competition).

Unless an exception applies, this section shall include a high-level description of the efforts performed by the both the requiring activity/program office and the CO to ensure that offerors are solicited from as many potential sources as possible. Details regarding market research efforts are to be captured in Section G of the justification. Ensure there is consistency in events and the language used.

If the justification is completed prior to satisfying the synopsis requirement, state the reasons why this was done, including whether or not an exception under FAR 5.202 applies.

If brand name, the contracting officer shall include with the solicitation the justification (see FAR 5.102(a)(6) and FAR 6.302-1(c)(1)(ii)(C)).

F. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable (see FAR 6.303-2(b)(7)). This section should always begin with a sentence similar to: “The Contracting Officer determines that the anticipated cost/pricing to the Government will be fair and reasonable based on….”

Then proceed to provide a narrative of the measures performed by the CO to ensure that the costs (or pricing) will be fair and reasonable before negotiations commence. This might include describing the methodology used in the market research analysis that supports a determination of fair and reasonable costs/prices and/or include information and data, such as commercial pricelists or prior acquisition history that supports the CO’s determination.

G. Description of the market research conducted (see FAR part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted (see FAR 6.303-2(b)(8)). If market research was conducted, then provide a detailed description of the efforts performed by requiring activity/program office and the CO (see FAR part 10 and DTAP part 1010). Include details such as the following but not limited: key actions and corresponding dates (e.g., Source Sought notice posted on April 17, 20xx). Provide the results of the market research. For example, who responded to the survey, were they qualified, if not, why not? Also, if applicable, include a citation to the market research summary report as it will likely contain more detail, thereby enabling the reviewer to refer to that document for additional information.

Example: “A synopsis was issued in the GPE on 12/3/20xx, requesting that parties express their interest in writing to the Contracting Officer. Only XYZ Corporation responded. XYZ’s capabilities statement was reviewed by the program office and [insert conclusion] ….”

If market research was not conducted, provide a complete description of the reason(s) why it wasn’t.

H. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition (see FAR 6.303- 2(b)(9)). Such as (i) Explanation of why technical data packages, specifications, engineering descriptions, statements of work, or purchase descriptions suitable for full and open competition have not been developed or are not available. (ii) When 6.302-1 is cited for follow-on acquisitions as described in 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii), an estimate of the cost to the Government that would be duplicated and how the estimate was derived. (iii) When 6.302-2 is cited, data, estimated cost, or other rationale as to the extent and nature of the harm to the Government.

I. Listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition (see FAR 6.303-2(b)(10)). If any sources expressed an interest in the requirement provide name of source;

date of contact and any other pertinent information associated with their interest. If no interest was shown include the following statement: “No sources expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition” or other type of statement that describes why no sources expressed interest in the acquisition (e.g., use of FAR 6.302-2).

J. 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 (see FAR 6.303-2(b)(11)). Describe actions taken, or that will be taken, to remove or overcome any barriers to competition (e.g., data rights) before initiating any subsequent acquisitions for the supplies, or services required. In general, described how the Government intends to ensure future competition. If in the midst of planning a competitive acquisition, include the estimated date the Government intends to issue the solicitation.

If no such actions are planned or possible at this time, state so and provide the appropriate rationale supporting the determination (e.g., why it will remain a sole source).

K. Certifications and Approvals. The justification must be approved at levels in accordance with the estimated dollar amount, as specified in FAR 6.304. Signatures must be either handwritten or digital according to Treasury/ Bureau electronic signature policy (e.g., Adobe PDF). No other signature format shall be accepted.

Each signature must be preceded by the required proceeding signature, e.g., over $75 million all signatures are required. IN NO CASE SHALL AN INDIVIDUAL SIGN MORE THAN ONE

APPROVAL LEVEL.

1. Technical/Requiring personnel certification (see FAR 6.303-2(c)). Each justification shall include evidence that any supporting data that is the responsibility of technical or requirements personnel (e.g., verifying the Government’s minimum needs or schedule requirements or other rationale for other than full and open competition) and which form a basis for the justification have been certified as complete and accurate by the technical or requirements personnel.

2. Bureau Small Business Specialist (see DTAP subpart 1004.70). Unless otherwise directed by the Bureau SBS or OSDBU, the review applies regardless of dollar value.

3. Bureau Chief Information Officer (CIO) approval. (see DTAP 1006.304(a)(2)). Prior to obtaining subsequent approvals, Bureau CIO approval is required for proposed IT contracts exceeding $15 million and up to $75 million. In accordance with DTAP 1006.304(d), the IT signature requirement reflects only the portion of the acquisition that is IT. The justification shall clearly state the portion of the proposed contract that is IT as well the overall dollar value of the proposed action.

4. Contracting Officer certification and approval (see FAR 6.303-2(b)(12) and 6.304(a)(1)).

Approval applies only to proposed contracts not exceeding $750K, otherwise it is a certification.

5. Advocate for Competition approval (see FAR 6.304(a)(2)). Approval required for proposed contracts exceeding $750K and up to $15 million. This authority is not delegable (see FAR 6.304(a)(2)).

6. Bureau Chief Procurement Officer approval. At the request of the Head of the Contracting Activity, BCPO approval is required for proposed contracts exceeding $15 million and up to $75 million.

7. Head of the contracting activity or designee approval (see FAR 6.304(a)(3)). Approval required for proposed contracts exceeding $15 million and up to $75 million.

8. Treasury Chief Information Officer (CIO) approval. (see DTAP 1006.304(a)(4)). Treasury CIO approval is required for proposed IT contracts exceeding $75 million. In accordance with DTAP 1006.304(d), the IT signature requirement reflects only the portion of the acquisition that is IT. The justification shall clearly state the portion of the proposed contract that is IT as well the overall dollar value of the proposed action.

9. Senior Procurement executive approval (see FAR 6.304(a)(4)). Approval required for proposed contracts exceeding $75 million. This authority is not delegable (see FAR 6.304(a)(4)).

Note: A supplemental justification is required if any of the following circumstances occur between the approval of the original justification and the covered award or modification of the contract: an increase in dollar value beyond the authority approved in the original justification; a change in the competitive strategy that further reduces competition; or any type of change in requirement that affects the basis of the justification.