Qualtrics FAR 13 Single Source or Brand Name Justification Less Than SAT.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture Limited Source/Brand Name Justification

FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) – Simplified Acquisitions Control No. (if applicable) ______________________

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

Agency: USDA, FSIS, Office of Employee Experience and Development

Contracting Activity: USDA, FSIS, Office of Administrative Services, Procurement Management Branch

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

FSIS requests a firm fixed price new service contract for software licenses that allow the Agency to streamline survey collection, survey data management, and survey data reporting into one central location.

3. The rationale or circumstances for limiting competition.

FAR 6.302-1 (a)(2)(i) When the supplies or services required by the agency are available from only one responsible source, or, for DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard, from only one or a limited number of responsible sources, and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, full and open competition need not be provided for.

Qualtrics from Carahsoft Technology Corp is the only platform with the ability to transfer existing surveys to their platform is critical in seamlessly transferring all Agency surveys onto the same platform without data collection gaps. Additionally, Qualtrics will host all survey data on the FedRAMP-certified environment required by OCIO IT Security. These services are not available through other Agency-approved survey vendors because the other survey platforms:

1. Do not allow the transfer of existing data to their platform.

2. Are not FedRAMP certified.

3. Do not have the dashboarding capability to stand as a centralized hub for day-to-day data reporting and filtering necessary to support mission-critical tasks.

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

The Agency is working to streamline survey collection, survey data management, and survey data reporting in one central location. Multiple survey platforms were found through online searches (Google Forms, Microsoft Forms, TypeForm, etc.) but only one could meet the Agency’s need (Qualtrics from Carahsoft Technology Corp). The market research then focused on three survey tools: Verint, Survey Monkey, and Qualtrics. Verint and Survey Monkey are currently implemented in OPARM and OEED, and Qualtrics was the only platform found through the online searches that will fit the Agency’s need.

In FY22, OEED was requested by FSIS’ OCIO Technical Review Board (TRB) to provide a briefing on Qualtrics. Before any software is acquired, it must be approved by OCIO’s AA and TRB to determine

(1) it’s financially advantageous to the Agency, (2) meets IT Security specifications, and (3) support mission-critical initiatives. OPARM, who currently uses Verint, was also present during the Qualtrics briefing. In April 2022, the software as approved by OCIO and OPARM was in support of a switch from Verint to Qualtrics because it would be more advantageous to the Agency than Verint.

Below are three sections outlining market research findings for all three tools. The conclusion is that Qualtrics is the only software that can support and meet the Agency’s current and future needs.

Survey Monkey

Market research indicated that Survey Monkey would not satisfy our needs for several reasons. 1) The tool lacks robust survey design capabilities to serve our need to generate and maintain complex survey methodologies. For example, Survey Monkey does not have enough survey logic capabilities to rebuild a current critical survey already implemented in OEED. 2) Survey Monkey is not FEDRAMP Certified.

3) Survey Monkey does not have the elements needed to serve as a centralized database management system. Specifically, they do not have the dashboarding capabilities needed for day-to-day data reporting and filtering necessary to support mission-critical tasks.

Verint

Market Research also indicated Verint is not qualified for the following reasons 1) Verint is not currently FedRAMP certified and would charge the Agency $17K annually to comply with FEDRAMP Certification specifications. This amount is in addition to the $35K yearly renewal fee. This would not be fiscally beneficial to the Agency. 2) Verint has limited dashboarding capabilities. Specifically, Verint’s dashboards do not allow data filtering by demographic groups. This critical element is needed to establish a centralized location for data delivery, management, analysis, and interpretation. 3) Verint does not have some of the specialized features needed to continue to improve data collection and data-based decision-making in the Agency. For example, Verint does not have the capability for anonymous longitudinal data collection or the ability to collect continuous Likert Scale data whereas Qualtrics has both of these capabilities.

Qualtrics

The Qualtrics platform will allow FSIS access to an easy-to-use and diverse cloud-based survey tool to enhance our work in surveys, data analysis, and reporting. USDA currently uses Qualtrics in the Office of the Chief Economist, Agricultural Research Service, Food and Nutrition Service, Farm Production and Conservation, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Rural Development, and Economic Research Service. Qualtrics is the only software to display key features such as 1) robust survey design capabilities, 2) a dashboarding system that affords users to view data reports and filter the data as necessary to support mission-critical tasks. Unlike Survey Monkey and Verint, this dashboarding capability and other features will streamline and almost fully automate daily reports and analytics. This capability will increase the Agency’s ability to make fast data-driven decisions 3) Qualtrics is FedRAMP Certified.

For more information on Qualtrics’ capabilities, below is a summary of primary features contributing to why FSIS chose Qualtrics:

• FedRAMP - OCIO has implemented a security protocol stating survey software must be FedRAMP certified. The platform is authorized at the Moderate Level. FedRAMP authorization accelerates digital transformation. As a government-wide program, FedRAMP promotes the adoption of cloud services in a secure way by providing a set of security and risk assessment standards that cloud technologies must adhere to.

• Analysis & Reporting – Competitors (Verint, SurveyMonkey, and other companies found online) have limited analysis capabilities, and most clients find that they need to export their data to external applications to analyze and create reports. These activities can be accomplished within the Qualtrics platform in most cases.

• Survey Design- Qualtrics is the only platform that can handle existing survey design needs AND will allow for more robust and higher quality data collection. For example, Qualtrics provides a survey quality metric that allows users to ensure they have properly designed their survey.

Additionally, Qualtrics allows for anonymous longitudinal data collection.

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

FedRAMP Qualtrics Design XM Enterprise Edition 17 licenses

• Base Year: $45,739.50

• Option Year 1: $44,647.44

• Option Year 2: $46,884.13

• Option Year 3: $47,955.13

• Option Year 4: $47,955.13

Total: $233,181.33

6. Recommended source(s).

Qualtrics at Carahsoft Technology Corp Government IT Solutions | Carahsoft https://www.carahsoft.com/

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.

Office of Employee Experience and Development Salina Najera, Training Modernization Specialist

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.

Karen Petty Contracting Office

November 1, 2022