SAP-SoleSource - Stata Redacted.pdf

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITIONS OVER THE MICRO-PURCHASE THRESHOLD

AND UP TO THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

Date: 05/01/2024 Requisition Number:

This is a sole source justification in accordance with 41 U.S.C. 1901(e)(2), FAR 13.106-1(b)(1).

1. NATURE AND/OR DESCRIPTION OF THE ITEM/SERVICE BEING

PROCURED AND ITS INTENDED USE (INCLUDE THE ANTICIPATED COST):

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Office of Budget and Financial Management (OBFM), on behalf of the Office of Technology and Information Management (OTIM), proposes to award a purchase order to renew FHFA’s current unlimited-use Stata MP site-license. The total estimated amount for this one (1) year base renewal plus one (1) year option is $62,790.

The intended contract action is a firm-fixed-price purchase order.

The name of the current contractor is:

StataCorp 4905 Lakeway Drive College Station, TX 77845-4512

2. SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION AND RATIONALE (CHECK ONE AND

EXPLAIN BELOW):

_X____ Only one responsible source.

______ Unusual and compelling circumstances exist.

______ Other

Rationale:

Stata software is used by the Agency’s Economists and Financial Analysts to analyze, manage, and produce graphical data visualizations for mission critical economics analysis and reporting. This purchase is to renew the Agency’s existing single, unlimited use site license that provides unlimited use of the Stata software for FHFA Economists, Financial Analysts, and Examiners.

FHFA’s Division of Research and Statistics, Division of Enterprise Regulation and Division of Bank Regulation have used Stata MP for several years under multiple individual licenses and in 2020 converted those into an unlimited user license. StataCorp is the sole producer of Stata software and does not utilize authorized resellers. As such, only StataCorp can renew FHFA’s current Stata MP license.

Purchasing a different software product would require the Agency to convert existing Stata datasets and recode programs in a different computer language.

To do so would take significant time and resources and could impact the availability of information the Agency’s leadership relies on to make critical decisions in a timely manner. Further, while other statistical analysis products are available, the monetary and time costs associated with purchasing licenses and migrating to another software platform are more expensive than a license renewal, and those costs are not expected be recovered through competition.

Stata is used widely by researchers on a variety of ongoing projects and is a fundamental requirement of FHFA’s Analytics Platform and all the data research projects therein, including but not limited to analytics derived from the National Mortgage Database, Mortgage Loan Information System, Uniform Appraisal Data, Climate Research and other Agency data assets. . The software is also used in the FHFA Housing Price Index® to validate results in Windows and SAS environments, and serves as a “backup” in case other software becomes obsolete or unavailable. Transitioning exclusively to another software program would increase risk dependencies, require testing to ensure some routines are identical, and would require substantial evaluation and technical research on performance. The Stata software is regularly used in research environments across the industry and offers FHFA staff the ability to replicate results being run by researchers outside of the Agency which could not be replicated with other software.

3. MARKET SURVEY.

No market research was conducted. Stata is the OEM of the software and the only company that can provide renewal of the unlimited-use site-license.

4. IF THIS IS A DETERMINATION FOR SOLE SOURCE, THE CONTRACTING

OFFICER CERTIFIES:

a. Only one source is available.

b. The anticipated price will be determined fair and reasonable using standard price analysis techniques described in FAR Part 13.

Sheraz Syed Date Technical Representative

Matt Marshman Date Contracting Officer

Statement of Availability

As a representative of the requirements office, I understand the above justification is subject to publication on the Contract Opportunities website in accordance with FAR 6.305.

I believe the above information is accurate and documented clearly for the general public to understand the Agency’s decision not to compete this requirement.

However, contractor proprietary data or commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential, shall be redacted. As the requirements office representative, I have determined that the following items should be redacted. I have also included my basis for redaction below.

Insert areas for redaction and basis for reduction below.

Date Name

Title Requirements Office