OLR Justification Form 8.26 (1) (002).pdf

Justification for Sole Source or Brand Name Under Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items (FAR Subpart 13.5)

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Office of the Chief Procurement Officer

PART 1 – JUSTIFICATION (to be completed by requesting office)

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items (section 4202 of the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996) or the authority of the Services Acquisition Reform Act of 2003 (41 U.S.C. 428a) – Sole Source (including brand name) Acquisitions.

Description of services required to meet agency’s needs [describe]:

Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) is requesting the procurement of access to Online Legal Research Services, Investigative Records Search Services and associated Support Services and Training. The subscription provides on-line access for 100 users to their online database, WestLaw Edge.

Total estimated cost of this order [include all costs of the proposed acquisition, e.g., options, systems life costs, etc. ; total will determine the approval level needed]: $434,479.68 Sole Source (see FAR Section 13.501(a)) Consideration for this simplified acquisition under the Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items must be limited to the following source(s) [provide names, addresses and points of contact or attach separate sheet as needed]:

West Publishing Corporation, 610 Opperman Dr, Eagan, MN 55123 POC: Jocelyn Marlowe, jocelyn.marlowe@thomsonreuters.com, 763-326-6498 Circumstance justifying acquiring the services using a sole source acquisition (check those that apply):

Only one source is capable of responding due to the unique or specialized nature of the work (see FAR 13.501(a)(2).

This is a follow-contract for the continued development or production of a major system or highly specialized equipment, including major components thereof, and supplies are available only from the original source. It is likely that award to any other source would result in --

(A) Substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition, or

(B) Unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements.

Attachments [provide the following information]:

Requiring agency;

Nature/Description of action being approved;

Comprehensive description of services required to meet agency’s needs (including the estimated value);

Identification of statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition;

Demonstration that proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or nature of the acquisition requires use of authority cited;

Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by FAR Section 13.501(a)(1);

Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable;

Description of market research efforts conducted and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted;

Other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition (and if a follow-on, an estimate of the cost to the government that would be duplicated and how the cost was derived;

Listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition;

Statement of actions to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisitions.

Other Than Full and Open Competition Based on Brand Name

DocuSign Envelope ID: 6AAACEEB-51FA-46C5-9F39-2B80480958D3

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Sources to be considered for this order should be limited to those offering the following item(s) peculiar to one manufacturer (e.g., a particular brand name, product, or a feature of a product, peculiar to one manufacturer) [list and describe fully, or attach detailed description of the product or critical characteristics of the product]: Westlaw Publishing Corporation provides the product

WestLaw Edge which has access to the Schwemm Treatise. Only this suggested source can furnish the requirements, to the exclusion of other sources, because competing Online Legal Research and Subscription

Services have not made the Schwemm Treatise available as part of their Online Legal Research and

Subscription Services. Fair housing investigators not having access to Schwemm’s Treatise is an impediment to ensuring quality, timely, and comprehensive investigation of fair housing allegations.

Attachments [provide the following information]:

In addition to the documentation identified for sole source above, attachments for brand name justification must also include:

If brand name, product, or product feature is the basis for the restricted consideration, the program office must describe why it is essential to the Government’s requirements, and demonstrate how the attached market research supports the determination that other companies’ similar products, or products lacking the particular feature, do not meet, or cannot be modified to meet, the Department’s need.

A statement of the actions, if any, the Department 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.

If the order contains brand name specifications, the requirement has been posted in accordance with FAR Section 13.105(a)(1) unless one of the following exceptions applies (see FAR Section 5.102(a)(6)) [check applicable exception]:

Disclosure would compromise the national security (e.g., would result in disclosure of classified information) or create other security risks. The fact that access to classified matter may be necessary to submit a proposal or perform the contract does not, in itself, justify use of this exception;

The nature of the file (e.g., size, format) does not make it cost-effective or practicable for contracting officers to provide access through the GPE; or

The senior procurement executive has made a written determination that access through the GPE is not in the Government’s interest.

Program Office’s Supporting Data

The following information has been provided to support the sole source action or specific brand name, product , or product feature (e.g., verification of the Government's minimum needs or requirements or other rationale for sole sources) [list and describe; attach additional pages if needed]

The Online Legal Research contract provides online access for 100 users to West Publishing Corporation’s online database, WestLaw Edge. The program office (FHEO) needs access to online legal research database services and investigative records search services to conduct their fair housing investigations. The online database service will be used to research similar federal and state cases and applicable case law while conducting fair housing investigation. FHEO requires access to the Schwemm treatise (the best and most definitive work on Fair Housing law) that is used specifically in FHEO fair housing. Westlaw is the only provider of online legal research services that includes the Robert Schwemm treatise. Fair housing investigators not having access to Schwemm’s Treatise is an impediment to ensuring quality, timely, and comprehensive investigation of fair housing allegations.

Program Office Official’s Certification

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

Head of Program Office – Title/Name of Office:

Lynn M. Grosso

Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of

Enforcement / Office of Fair Housing and Equal

Opportunity Signature:

Date: For additional information contact:

Valentina.a.zabrovskaya@hud.gov

8/12/2022

PART 2 – CONTRACTING OFFICER’S DETERMINATION AND CERTIFICATION

I hereby determine that:

The sole source action represents the best value to HUD consistent with the requirements of FAR Section 13.501 (price evaluation is attached); and, If a particular brand name, product, or product feature is requested, I hereby determine that it is essential to the Government’s requirements, and as demonstrated by the attached market research, other companies’ similar products, or products lacking the particular feature, do not meet, or cannot be modified to meet, the Department’s need.

I certify that the information contained in this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. In accordance with FAR 13.501, this certification serves as approval of this sole source justification for orders up to $750,000.

Name: Signature: Date:

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PART 3 – APPROVALS

For orders greater than $750,000 up to the Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items threshold – Competition Advocate Name Signature Date

Instructions:

PART 1 – to be completed by the requesting office

The office requesting the sole source consideration shall enter all information and provide all supplementary information and attachments.

The head of the office submitting the justification shall complete the certification and sign and date it.

PART 2 – to be completed by the Contracting Officer

The contracting officer shall attach the price evaluation and sign and date the form. If the order is less than $750,000, stop here and place the completed justification in the contract file.

PART 3 – to be completed by the approving official

If the order exceeds $750,000, the contracting officer shall obtain the appropriate higher-level authority’s name, signature, and date and place the completed justification in the order file.