Redacted JA_VCSE.pdf

Artificial Intelligence Veteran Centered VA-26-00079294 Submission Ecosystem Solution Support

LIMITED-SOURCES JUSTIFICATION

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics Technology Acquisition Center 23 Christopher Way Eatontown, NJ 07724

2. Description of Action: The proposed action is for a Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) Task Order (TO) that will be issued under the General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Category 54151S Contract Number 47QTCA25D00AX with Wilcore Technologies Inc. (Wilcore) to provide Artificial Intelligence (AI) Veteran Centered Submission Ecosystem Solution Support.

3. Description of the Supplies or Services: The proposed action is to provide support for VA, Office of Information & Technology (OIT), Innovation Unit for VA’s AI Veteran Centered Submission Ecosystem solution. VA requires a digital forms solution that integrates guided workflows, structured data fields, mobile-friendly design, and automated routing to Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and Veterans Health Administration (VHA) systems. The solution shall leverage AI to securely pre-populate forms using existing VA-held data fields—such as service history, deployments, prior claims, known exposures, demographics, and clinical information—in order to reduce Veteran burden, improve accuracy, and accelerate submission.

Interactive AI guidance will help Veterans successfully complete forms by explaining field requirements in plain language, flagging missing or inconsistent information, suggesting relevant evidence or documentation, and tailoring prompts based on service and exposure history. This workflow will reduce errors, streamline claims processing, and enhance the Veteran experience. Under this TO, the Contractor shall provide support to the VA Innovation Unit (VAIU) and VA Innovation Validation Environment (VIVE) in modernizing Veteran-facing forms and related workflows to improve toxic exposure claims processing, clinical follow-up, and benefits delivery. Work shall include digitizing forms, implementing AI enabled pre-population and guided completion, automating data extraction and routing, and integrating with VA enterprise systems to support Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022 requirements. The Contractor shall also automate workflow to support VAIU/VIVE.

This effort is mission-critical and directly supports statutory mandates, including the PACT Act, and aligns with Section 701(b), Part B (ii), Section 5A (Improved Veteran Experience, VE.11 VA.gov Comprehensive Improvement). Modernization ensures that Veterans are not asked to resubmit information already held by VA, and accelerates delivery of timely, accurate toxic exposure benefits.

The Period of Performance (PoP) shall be one 12-month base period and one 12-month Option Period.

4. Statutory Authority: This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Supply Schedule Program. The specific authority providing for a limited source award is Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) VA Deviation 8.401(b) and General Services Administration Manual/Regulation (GSAM/R) 538.7104-3(b)(1)(v), “A law expressly authorizes or requires that the purchase be made from a specified source.” The statutory authority permitting an exception to fair opportunity for this action is 38 U.S.C. 8127(c), known as the Veterans First Contracting Program which provides the authority to directly contract with a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) or a Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB).

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: The proposed source is Wilcore, 1 Fireberry Boulevard, Stafford, VA 22554. Wilcore, as the SDVOSB partner in the Oddcore JV, LLC joint-venture, has direct, hands-on experience in key digital transformation efforts across VA. Specifically, through their work on VA.gov Product Teams – Design System and Forms, Wilcore has demonstrated their capability in delivering AI driven solutions in support of the PACT Act’s mandated goal of providing comprehensive improvements to VA.gov. This background provides Wilcore's personnel with firsthand familiarity with the specific technical, procedural, and organizational realities of the VA forms ecosystem, including existing VA.gov infrastructure, the VA Design System, and the disjointed backend processing environments across VHA and VBA that any digitization effort must contend with. This is institutional knowledge that is not easily replicated by a vendor entering the environment without prior exposure, and it meaningfully reduces the ramp up period, discovery burden, and risk of technical missteps that a new entrant would otherwise face.

Wilcore additionally brings approximately seven years of specialized experience operating within the VA forms ecosystem more broadly, along with an established staffing structure, delivery methodology, and existing automated test suite that further reduce onboarding time and technical risk. Therefore, VA has determined to utilize the statutory authority granted under the Veterans First Contracting Program to award an SDVOSB sole source TO to Wilcore based on its direct prior VA.gov and Forms team experience. This experience will enable acceleration of VA’s work to comply with PACT Act requirements to transform its forms ecosystem by adopting secure, AI-enabled, digital solutions that automate, pre-populate, and intelligently guide completion of forms, streamline processing across VA systems and is in the best interest of the Government.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in the market research section of this document.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: The Government will continue to conduct market research to ascertain if there are changes in the marketplace that would enable future actions to be competed.

8. Market Research: In June/July 2026, market research efforts were conducted to determine if competition was viable for this action. Specifically, the Government’s technical experts conducted research to evaluate whether competition would be possible amongst other SDVOSB vendors, . None of the other SDVOSB firms identified during market research were found to have experience working on VA.gov or within VA's Forms digitization team specifically. As a result, any of these alternative firms would require a substantial ramp up period to gain the institutional knowledge Wilcore's personnel already possess regarding VA.gov infrastructure, the VA Design System, and the disjointed backend processing environments across VHA and VBA.

Wilcore, by contrast, requires no such ramp up, as its personnel already possess the requisite institutional knowledge and its team has already produced a working technical approach, staffing model, and automated test suite tailored to this exact requirement.

Accordingly, while multiple SDVOSB firms may be generally capable of digital forms development as a category of work, market research did not identify any alternative vendor capable of achieving the required outcome at a comparable level of effectiveness, efficiency, or risk to the Government.

The Small Business Administration certification database was accessed in July 2026.

This search concluded that Wilcore is registered, certified and qualifies as a SDVOSB in accordance with the federal small business size standard for the applicable North American Industry Classification System Code 541519. It was also verified that Wilcore is registered in SAM.gov database and is eligible to receive government contracts.

9. Other Facts: The Procuring Contracting Officer has determined that this proposed action meets all the requirements of 38 U.S.C. 8127(c) and VAAR

819.7008. This acquisition is below the $5,000,000.00 threshold, Wilcore is a responsible SDVOSB for performance of the services described herein, the proposed TO can be awarded at a fair and reasonable price and is in the best interest of the Government.

Technical/Requirements Certification I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in this justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Best Value Determination I hereby determine that the proposed contract action will represent the best value to the Government. GSA has already determined that the prices on the FSS contract are fair and reasonable. Further price analysis, to include an analysis of proposed level of effort and mix of labor, will be conducted and subsequent negotiations held as necessary.

Additionally, price discounts will be sought.

Contracting Officer Certification I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Advocate for Competition Approval In my role as procuring activity Advocate for Competition, based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the acquisition of AI Centered Veteran Submission Ecosystem Solution Support on an other than fair opportunity basis pursuant to the authority cited in Section 4 above, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the property and services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.