P03 - PM_Part808.405-6_Atch2_Limiting_Sources_Justification_OVER_SAT_RD.pdf

VHAPM Part 808.405-6 Limiting Sources Request for Limited Sources Justification Format >SAT

VHAPM Part 808.405-6 Limiting Sources Page 1 of 5 Original Date: 08/30/2017 Revision 02 Eff Date: 02/21/2020

LIMITED SOURCES JUSTIFICATION

ORDER >SAT

FAR PART 8.405-6

Acquisition Plan Action ID: 36C776-21-AP-0339

(1) Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC), 6150 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 300, Independence, OH 44131. Purchase request: 131-21-2- 2416-0016

(2) Description of Action: This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Multiple- Award Schedule Program (41 U.S.C. 152(3) and 40 U.S.C. 501). The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Workforce Management Consulting (WMC), Human Resources Management (HRM) Program Office requires access to an electronic federal law employment database that provides access to searchable electronic versions of the following valuable employment law guides, Peter Broida’s “A Guide to Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) Law and Practice,” Peter Broida’s “A Guide to Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) Law and Practice,” Peter Broida’s “A Guide to Federal Sector Equal Employment Law and Practice,” Peter Broida’s, “MSPB Charging and Penalties – A Charging Manual.” The electronic federal law database shall also provide best practices and practical guidance for federal employment law attorneys, human resources officials, management officials, EEO counselors, and other professionals working in the area of federal employment, up-to-date news alerts, updates, and commentary from employment law experts regarding new developments in federal employment law, access to federal agency regulations, decisions, directives, etc. including the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), MSPB, Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), Department of Labor’s Office of Worker’s Compensation Program (OWCP), federal employment law outlines and summaries drafted by federal employment law experts describing the black letter law principles applicable to many key topics in federal employment law (including employment law issues relevant to practicing employment law before the MSPB, OSC, EEOC, FLRA, and OWCP). The practice guides and reference manuals listed are essential resources for federal employment law practitioners. WMC requires access to the above information to provide VHA-wide leadership workforce operations and administration management through strategic human capital planning, senior executive recruitment, performance and advisory services, labor management and labor relations, and training and career development.

Order against: FSS Contract Number: 47QTCA20D002P

Name of Proposed Contractor: LRP Publications, Inc., dba L R P

Street Address: 360 Hiatt Drive http://uscode.house.gov/browse.xhtml;jsessionid=114A3287C7B3359E597506A31FC855B3 https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title40/pdf/USCODE-2011-title40-subtitleI-chap5-subchapI-sec501.pdf

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City, State, Zip: Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418

Phone: 217-784-9639

(3) Description of Supplies or Services: The estimated value of the proposed action is $664,580.00 (Base of twelve-months, plus four (4) twelve-month option years). The Contractor shall provide 195 user licenses to CyberFeds on the Web Subscription service.

(4) Identify the Authority and Supporting Rationale (see below and if applicable, a demonstration of the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications to provide the required supply or service.

FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(A): An urgent and compelling need exists and following the ordering procedures would result in unacceptable delays:

FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(B): 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: CyberFeds on the Web Subscription service, a web-accessible resource, provides access to a searchable database containing federal employment case law, forms, tools, and references. CyberFeds is the only legal research website that offers Dewey Publications. Peter Broida is the owner of Dewey Publications Inc. Peter Broida writes principal legal treatises on MSPB, FLRA, and federal sector labor arbitration. The Peter Brioda guides are the standard treatise on MSPB law and practice, including the “Guide to Merit Systems Protection Board Law and Practice.” The guides are available via individual download as a single user PDF ebook from Dewey Publications website, via softcover book from Dewey Publications website, or via electronic database, CyberFEDS subscription. CyberFeds also includes quick start guides (QSG) for a multitude of topics in federal employment law, including topics that are only applicable to the VA (e.g., Title 38 matters and 38 U.S.C. § 714), Individual Retirement Account appeals, Veterans Employment Opportunity Act appeals, and reasonable accommodations. QSGs are regularly updated to stay current with the law. Each QSG contains an overview and summary of the law for the particular topic it addresses. It provides key points, the current status of the law, case citations, jurisdictional requirements, proof requirements, and a variety of other types of information. LRP publications is the developer and distributor of the CyberFEDS on the Web database. CyberFEDS is a proprietary searchable federal employment resource database made only available via license subscription. The database demonstrates a unique capability of being the only source to provide the research services required for HRM.

FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(C): 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 must not have been previously issued under sole source or limited source procedures.

FAR 8.405-6(b): Items peculiar to one manufacturer:

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A patent, copyright or proprietary data limits competition.

These are “direct replacements” parts/components for existing equipment.

The material/service must be compatible in all aspects (form, fit and function) with existing systems presently installed/performing.

(5) Describe Why You Believe the Order Represents the Best Value consistent with FAR 8.404(d) to aid the contracting officer in making this best value determination: In past years, the VA purchased hard copies of these guides. The separate cost of the four (4) reference guides described above alone, are individually priced starting at $725.00, $725.00, $725.00, and $275.00 respectively; totals an estimated cost of $2,450.00 per user. The estimated cost of $2,450.00 per user does not include the additional cost of other resources that HRM Specialist requires access. By comparison, the CyberFeds Subscription for 195 user licenses is $658.00 per user. Without the ability to quickly consult up-to-date guides, employment case law, forms, tools, and references, work productivity and efficiency would suffer. Additionally, ordering activities may request a price reduction at any time before placing an order when the order exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold. Furthermore, the order represents the best value in accordance with FAR paragraph 8.404(d) because the CyberFEDS subscription provides up-to-date versions of the guides as changes are made. Individual downloads of the guides are not updated and would require additional purchases of the individual guides per individual download as updates to the guides are made.

(6) Describe the Market Research Conducted among schedule holders and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted. A Notice of Intent to Sole Source was posted to Contracting Opportunities January 21, 2021 and closed January 27, 2021. The Notice stated that it was not a request for competitive proposals, however, any responsible source who believes it is capable of meeting the requirement may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation by the closing date and time of the notice. Per the Department of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) Sections 810.001 70 & 810.002, The Vendor Information Pages (VIP) was queried on January 12, 2021 utilizing NAICS 519130 to search for capable, verified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) & Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB) concerns. The VIP search produced 231 SDVOSB & VOSB businesses. Subsequently, all the businesses identified thru the aforementioned search were sent an email with the Notice of Intent to Sole Source and an active link to Contracting Opportunities. A query of the SBA Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) tool was conducted on January 21,2021, utilizing the NAICS 519130 and key words “CyberFeds,” “Employment Law,” and “Labor Relations” (Attachment 3). The DSBS query resulted in one (1) profile matching the criteria, LRP Publications, Inc. dba L R P. No responses were received as a result of the market research efforts.

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Bloomberg and LexisNexis both provide similar products in that they are both legal databases.

However, the legal databases do not all provide access to the same content in relation to CyberFEDS or to one another. Each legal database offers access to different publications and information, some of which is proprietary to each product. The publishers and/or content available on the Bloomberg Law and LexisNexis website was reviewed and an email was sent to both Bloomberg Law and LexisNexis requesting information regarding their database content in respect to the Peter Brioda guides. Neither Bloomberg nor LexisNexis provides access or information related to the Peter Brioda guides and therefore do not meet and cannot be modified to meet the agency’s needs. Furthermore, an email was sent to Dewey Publishers requesting information on where the Peter Brioda guides are available. Dewey Publications responded that all Dewey products are only available through Dewey except for MSPB, FLRA, and EEO guides that they also license to cyberFEDS and cyberFEDS offers access to as part of a subscription. Dewey Publications also stated that Peter Broida is the owner of Dewey Publications Inc. and books are sold as softcover or single user PDF eBooks.

Based on the market research conducted, no two or more VIP verified and capable SDVOSBs or VOSBs were identified and appeared capable of performing the requirement. Further, this acquisition is not appropriate for a small business set-aside as only one (1) business was determined to be reasonably capable. Therefore, the award can be made to LRP Publications, Inc., dba L R P, and no other sources provide access the CyberFeds on Web subscription.

(7) Any Other Facts Supporting the Justification: LRP Publications, Inc. dba L R P does not have any authorized resellers.

(8) A 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: Market research will continue to be conducted in attempts to find other sources prior to any subsequent acquisition for the same or similar supplies or services.

(9) Requirements Certification: I certify that the requirement outlined in this justification is a Bona Fide Need of the Department of Veterans Affairs and that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in the justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge. I understand that processing of this limited sources justification restricts consideration of Federal Supply Schedule contractors to fewer than the number required by FAR Subpart 8.4.

Tiffiany L. Harrington DATE Finance Business Operations Management and Program Analyst Workforce Management and Consulting

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(10) Approvals in accordance with the VHAPM Part 806.3 OFOC SOP:

a. Contracting Officer’s Certification (required): I certify that the foregoing justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Kymberly Morgan DATE Contracting Officer Program Contracting Activity Central

b. One Level Above the Contracting Officer (Required over the SAT but not exceeding $700K):

I certify the justification meets requirements for other than full and open competition.

Nicholas Sparks DATE Supervisory Contracting Officer Program Contracting Activity Central https://vaww.pclo.infoshare.va.gov/PMWeb/VHAPM_Part_806.3.aspx https://vaww.pclo.infoshare.va.gov/PMWeb/VHAPM_Part_806.3.aspx