ONLY ONE RESPONSIBLE SOURCE (OR LIMITED NUMBER)
Guidance regarding use of this authority is at FAR 6.302-1. It applies when either the required supplies or services are available from only one responsible source, or, for DoD, when one or a limited number of responsible sources can satisfy agency requirements. Solicitations for other than full and open competition will not be released until the J&A has been approved when proceeding under this authority.
When Appropriate:
This authority is appropriate when impediments to full and open competition are known to exist, even though there may be more than one potential source. It is normally used for follow-on acquisitions when only specified sources are capable of performing the effort due to their involvement in earlier phases or contracts. The key to distinguishing a limited competition from a full and open competition is the type of information provided in or with the solicitation. If the offerors must possess additional information from previous efforts under the program in order to perform the proposed contract and the government is unable to provide this information, the competition is not full and open. This does not mean that the information must be so detailed that even Joe's Garage could build a radar system. Potential competitors must have appropriate financial and technical resources (or the ability to obtain them) and the technical experience and organizational controls needed to accomplish the work within the required or proposed delivery schedule. The use of this exception may be appropriate under the following conditions:
1. A unique and innovative unsolicited research proposal is received that does not resemble the substance of a pending competitive acquisition (see FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(i), FAR 15.6 and DFARS 206.302-1(a)(2)(i.)).
2. A follow-on contract is planned for the continued development or production of a major system or highly specialized equipment, when award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of costs (which could not be recovered through competition) or unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency requirements (see FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)).
3. A follow-on contract is planned for the continued provision of highly specialized services, when award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of costs or unacceptable delays (see FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)).
4. The existence of limited rights in data, patent rights, copyrights, secret processes, the control of basic raw materials, or similar circumstances, make the supplies or services available from only one source (see FAR 6.302-1(b)(2)).
5. When acquiring utility services, circumstances dictate that only one supplier can furnish the service (see FAR 6.302-1(b)(3)).
6. The equipment has been designated as standard under the DoD Standardization Program and only one source is available (see FAR 6.302-1(b)(4)).
7. There is other reasonable basis to conclude that the government's minimum needs can only be satisfied by unique supplies or services available from only one or a limited number of suppliers with unique capabilities (see FAR 6.302-1(b)(1)).
8. An acquisition that uses a brand name description or other purchase description to specify a particular brand name, product, or feature of a product, peculiar to one manufacturer. However use of brand name or equal descriptions or other purchase descriptions that permit offerors to propose products other than the specific brand name product do not require J&As (FAR 6.302-1(c)).
Key Points for the Justification:
The single most important part of any justification citing this authority is the market research, (see FAR Part 10). Only by a thorough review of the marketplace including commercial items and non-developmental items can our assumptions regarding the specified source's unique capabilities be validated. The justification, or an attachment to the justification, must identify all sources that expressed an interest in the requirement, and provide details regarding the evaluation of capabilities of potential sources.
If the justification is based on "substantial duplication of costs" or "unacceptable delays", the justification must quantify the costs in terms of either time or money and provide the basis for these estimates. The official approving the justification must determine that either: 1) a substantial duplication of costs will occur and the amounts of these duplicated costs are not likely to be recovered through competition, or 2) delays in fulfilling the agency's needs are unacceptable. To make an informed decision about whether the amount of duplicated cost is substantial, the approving official must be provided (and the J&A must include) an estimate of the amount of those costs. The basis for the estimates must be documented in the contract file. Similarly, to make an informed decision about whether or not the amount of duplicated cost is likely to be recovered through competition, the J&A should cite the estimated cost of completing the competitive process and offset that by the amount of cost savings that are likely to be generated by competition. Finally, in making an informed decision about whether anticipated delays are "unacceptable", the approving official must understand and the J&A must include the length of the anticipated delay, and a description of exactly what is being delayed.
If the justification is based upon the absence of required data or the existence of limited rights in data, the justification must thoroughly document the actions taken to obtain missing data or to validate, challenge or otherwise remove this impediment. The mere existence of such rights or circumstances does not in and of itself justify use of this authority. If rights are limited by patents or copyright, authorization and consent procedures may be used under 28 USC 1498 to permit offerors to circumvent such restrictions (see FAR Part 27). If limited rights in technical data apply, the government may negotiate purchase of unlimited rights, royalty provisions, government purpose license rights, or other arrangement to overcome this impediment. NOTE: In accordance with DFARS 227.400, DoD activities shall use the guidance in DFARS 227.71 and 227.72 instead of the guidance in FAR Part 27.4.
Lastly, the justification must thoroughly describe the unique capabilities or qualifications of the designated source or sources that form the basis for the justification.