Individual Assistance Housing Cost Data

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded a sole-source contract to The Gordian Group LLC for development and maintenance of a comprehensive residential construction cost database powered by RS Means proprietary software, with a total contract value of $1,005,932.00.

The justification cites 41 U.S.C. 1901 (Simplified Acquisition Procedures) and rests on the determination that Gordian is the sole Original Equipment Manufacturer and provider of RS Means-branded construction cost data. Market research through NASA SEWP and SAM.gov RFIs identified no alternative vendors capable of providing equivalent databases or RS Means data. The contract is structured as a five-year firm fixed-price award: base period of $223,000.00 and four option years valued at $181,650.00, $190,732.48, $200,267.40, and $210,282.12 respectively. Supplies and services include quarterly database updates delivered via MS Access Database format for direct integration into FEMA's Individual Assistance systems, including the National Emergency Management Information System (NEMIS) and a planned Salesforce-based platform. The contracting officer determined the anticipated cost is fair and reasonable based on detailed cost analysis, with primary cost drivers including labor category alignment, realistic execution hours, Remote Alaska and FIPS mapping, and baseline pricing inflation normalization. FEMA commits to future competition removal strategies including design for vendor portability, continuous market surveillance, and segregation of ancillary services that do not depend directly on proprietary RS Means architecture. Vendor location is Greenville, SC.