Limited Source Justification - Vanguard 2020 REDACTED.pdf

AOP No. 5, J&A-Other Than Full & Open Competition- Attachment 5 (Feb. 26, 2020)

Limited Source/Brand Name Justification

United States Department of Agriculture

FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) – Simplified Acquisitions

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting office.

United States Department of Agriculture, Departmental Administration, Office of Contracting and

Procurement, Procurement Operations Division, 301 S. Howes Street, Suite 321, Fort Collins, CO

80521.

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

This requirement is for USDA-OCIO-ITS software maintenance support renewal and upgrade on existing Vanguard Software, (Vanguard Administrator, Advisor, and ez/Integrator RACF and

Vanguard Compliance and Security Manager RACF/ACF2). A subscription with genuine support from the publisher is required.

3. The rationale or circumstances for limiting competition.

The purchase of the software subscription maintenance, and support is proprietary and is only available from the publisher (Vanguard Integrity Professionals, Inc). No authorized resellers are found to be available.

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

Market research conducted utilizing the NASA SEWP Market Research Tool indicates that there are multiple resellers that can provide Vanguard products. However, Vanguard is the only US vendor that can provide maintenance for the proprietary Software products for this requirement as these products may only be licensed by manufacturer.

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

N/A

6. Recommended source(s).

Company: Vanguard Integrity Professionals, Inc

Street Address: 6625 S. Eastern Ave, Ste 100

City, State, Zip: Las Vegas, NV 89119-3630

Phone: 702-794-0014

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.

Digitally signed by DANIAL MC CORD Date: 2020.09.03 09:03:48 -05'00'

Dan McCord

Chief, Mainframe Systems Branch

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.

Josh Tafoya

Contracting Officer

JOSHUA TAFOYA TAFOYA

Digitally signed by JOSHUA

Date: 2020.09.03 09:53:54 -06'00'

DANIAL MC CORD

Notes and Guidance. Delete these Notes prior to finalizing document for signature

For acquisitions greater than the micro-purchase threshold but less than the Simplified Acquisition

Threshold (SAT) the Contracting Officer may solicit from one source only if the Contracting Officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available

(e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand name, etc.). Contracting Officers must document the rationale for soliciting from a single source, including brand name in accordance with FAR 13.106-

1(b)(1)(i) and FAR 13.106-3(b)(3)(i).

Program personnel are advised to work with contracting personnel early on in order to promote and provide for full and open competition to the maximum extent practicable. In circumstances permitting other than full and open competition, program personnel shall provide necessary information to contracting personnel to support and document the circumstances limiting competition through the use of this form

Advance planning. 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 to the agency or activity for the acquisition of supplies or services.

Brand Name. Items peculiar to one manufacturer can be a particular brand name, product, or 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. Brand name specifications shall not be used unless the particular brand name, product or feature is essential to the Government’s requirements and market research indicates other companies’ similar products, or products lacking the particular feature, do not meet, or cannot be modified to meet the Agency’s needs.

Posting. When an acquisition contains brand name specifications, the Contracting Officer shall include the justification required by FAR 13.103-1(b) with the solicitation when synopsizing in the GPE (actions exceeding $25,000) or displaying in a public place (actions exceeding $15,000 but not expected to exceed $25,000), as required by FAR 5.102(1)(6).

Screening. Before posting the justification, in accordance with FAR 6.305(e) and 24.202, the

Contracting Officer is responsible to redact any information that is exempt from disclosure under

Freedom of Information Act or information proprietary to the contractor.

Signatures. After review and completion by the Program Office and Contracting Officer, the Word document shall be converted to an Adobe PDF file and routed for electronic signatures. Signature blocks shall include dates.