Limited Source Justification.pdf

Limited Source Justification (LSJ) Template General Service Administration Federal Supply Schedule Order exceeding $3,500

Limited Source Justification

1. Identification of the Agency and Contracting Activity.

a. Federal Agency and Contracting Activity.

AmeriCorps (Formerly Corporation for National and Community Service)

b. Sponsoring Organization. Office of Research and Evaluation, AmeriCorps

c. Project Officer Information.

Project Officer Name and Title: Huda Hamdan

Mailing Address: AmeriCorps HQ, 250 E St SW, Washington DC

E-mail Address: hhamdan@americorps.gov

Telephone Number: 202-977-5005

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

a. Acquisition Purpose and Objectives. The purpose of this acquisition is to continue the Enterprise- Wide Evidence work, originally conducted from 2023 to 2025, to develop enterprise-wide evidence of our volunteers, alumni, partners, and communities for all our programs. This evidence is essential for the agency, and it is reflected in the 2026-2030 AmeriCorps Strategic Plan under goals 2 (2.1) and 3 (3.1). In particular, the Enterprise-wide volunteer survey to be finalized as part of this contract is the key indicator for strategy objective 3.1. The original contract was conducted by JBS international and required an enormous amount of planning, preparation, building and investing in agency-wide relationships, and deep knowledge completed all the deliverables for the project. Given the original contract was conducted by JBS International, this logical follow-on is anticipated to be a sole source award to JBS since they have unique and not easily attained expertise from the previous contract and are the only source capable of providing the services required at the level of quality required because of the work they have already accomplished.

b. Project Background. This contract will include developing, pretesting, piloting, data collection, developing OMB clearance packages, developing databases, analyzing primary and secondary data, and reporting enterprise-wide work related to volunteers, alumni, partners, and communities.

The original contract was completed through a BPA under GSA Contract #: 47QRAA18D00AE. This will be the first sole source for JBS International Inc as it pertains to continuing the Development of the AmeriCorps Enterprise -Wide Evidence work.

3.

Estimated Value).

a. Name of Item or Project Title. The Development of AmeriCorps Enterprise-Wide Evidence

Project Description. Support services for research to develop enterprise-wide evidence through surveys, administrative data, and longitudinal research designs that encompass AmeriCorps volunteers, partners, and alumni across all programs. These services will also include data analysis, reporting, and dissemination to advance the development of enterprise-wide evidence. The goal is to create a consistent, comprehensive understanding of volunteer, alumni, and partner experiences and outcomes across AmeriCorps programs, supporting strategic learning, continuous program improvement, and organizational accountability.

b.

Requirement Type.

Support services (non-research & development)

Supplies/equipment

Information technology (IT)

Other (specify): _Research/Evaluation___________

Type of Action.

New requirement

Follow-on

Other (specify): ______________________

Proposed Contract/Order Type.

Firm Fixed price

Time and materials or Labor Hour

Labor Hours ___________

Other (specify): ________

Acquisition Identification Number. CNS-CNCS-26-0160

c. Total Estimated Dollar Value and Performance/Delivery Period. $9,165,316.57 (includes labor, other direct costs, travel)

Base: 9/10/2026-9/09/2027

OY1: 9/10/2027-9/09/2028

OY2: 9/10/2028-9/09/2029

OY3: 9/10/2029-9/09/2030

OY4: 9/10/2030-9/09/2031

4. The authority and supporting rationale (see 8.405-6(a)(1)(i) and (b)(1)) and, if applicable, a service. Identification of the Justification Rationale [see 8.405-6(a) and (b)] and, if applicable, a service.

Acquisition Authority.

An urgent and compelling need exists, and following the procedures would result in unacceptable delays;

Only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized;

In the interest of economy and efficiency, the new work is a logical follow-on to an original Federal Supply Schedule order provided that the original order was placed in accordance with the applicable Federal Supply Schedule ordering procedures. The original order or BPA must not have been previously issued under sole-source or limited-sources procedures

Items peculiar to one manufacturer. An item peculiar to one manufacturer can be a particular brand name, product, or a feature of a product, peculiar to one manufacturer. A brand name item, whether available on one or more schedule contracts, is an item peculiar to one manufacturer.

Name and address of the proposed contractor(s). JBS International Inc; 5515 Security Lane, Suite 800, North Bethesda MD 2085-25007.

Nature of the acquisition and proposed contractor(s) unique qualifications.

1. This proposed contract involves a continuation of previous enterprise-wide work that is now expected to be completed as part of the 2026-2030 AmeriCorps Strategic Plan under goals 2 (2.1) and 3 (3.1). In particular, the Enterprise-wide volunteer survey to be finalized as part of this contract is the key indicator for strategy objective 3.1. Since JBS has already successfully completed the initial contract and has deep knowledge of the enterprise-wide work, this would build upon that foundation.

2. The enterprise-wide evidence building work requires a profound knowledge of AmeriCorps dynamics and activities that involve volunteers, alumni, partners, and AmeriCorps staff and processes. In the previous contract, JBS International developed such knowledge and expertise through conducting at least 40 meetings with AmeriCorps staff and programs, and interviewing and surveying hundreds of AmeriCorps volunteers, alumni, and partners.

3. The enterprise-wide evidence building work requires a high level of coordination with AmeriCorps programs and offices to finalize most of the required tasks. In the previous contract, JBS International successfully developed a positive relationship and rapport with AmeriCorps staff, which guarantees the continuation of the project without delays.

4. JBS International has already performed a considerable amount of work that includes examining and statistically assessing at least 20 instruments that have been administered to volunteers, alumni, and partners by AmeriCorps, developing process maps that illustrate all the touch points of a grantee/sponsor lifecycle, developing agency-wide logic models and theories of change, and designing and testing the surveys.

5. The justification for a logical follow-on contract to the same contractor is sound, as they have the existing expertise, data, programs, processes, volunteers, and partners to efficiently continue the project. Having a new contractor will require a significant amount of time to even build the knowledge needed and foster positive trusting relationships with staff and will add unnecessary workload to AmeriCorps staff.

5. Determination by the ordering activity Contracting Officer that the order represents the best value consistent with FAR 8.404(d).

GSA has already determined the prices of the supplies and services under FSS contracts, including rates for services offered at fixed hourly rates, to be fair and reasonable; and (b) by placing an order against a schedule contract using the procedures in FAR 8.405, the ordering activity CO has concluded that the order represents the best value (see FAR 2.101) and results in the lowest overall cost alternative, the determination shall cite:

(i) whether any additional discounts will be sought before placing an order (see FAR 8.405-4);

(ii) the type of pricing information, if any, that will be obtained from the schedule contractor(s) in relation to seeking additional discounts; and

(iii) the extent of the price evaluation anticipated in order to determine that the total price is reasonable see FAR 8.405-2(d).

6. Description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted. work, there were no other contractors contacted. Also, competing this requirement with other contractors would cause unacceptable delays and result in much greater costs to the government since a new contractor would have to spend up to a year understanding the program, the data, planning a strategy for outreach and become familiar enough with the study to review and update the existing instruments.

7. Any other facts supporting the justification.

Because JBS International Inc. already conducted the original work, they have an intricate understanding of the details of the AmeriCorps processes, programs, volunteers, alumni, and partners. They are ready to pick up and begin the work as soon as they are awarded.

8. Statement of the 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.

a. Removal of barriers to competition. It is unclear due to future agency priorities and funding whether there are future plans to conduct this work after this sole source expires.

b. Listing of sources. There are no other sources being considered besides JBS. Due to the fact that this is a logical follow-on from work that was already completed by JBS, only JBS is being considered for the reasons stated above.

9. Program Office Certification.

10. This is to certify that the portions of this justification that have been developed by the undersigned minimum needs, schedule requirements and other rationale for other than full and open competition, are accurate and complete.

Official Name & Title Signature Date

Project Officer

Immediate Supervisor

11. Contracting Officer Certification.

This is to certify that the justification for the proposed acquisition has been reviewed and that to the best of my knowledge and belief the information and/or data provided to support the rationale and recommendation for approval is accurate and complete.

Official Name & Title Signature Date

Contracting Officer

12. Chief of the Advocate for Competition for the Procuring Activity (FAR 6.304(a)(2)) Signature(s).

Official Name & Title Signature Date

Competition Advocate