Frances Lara

Frances Lara serves as a procurement specialist for software upgrades and LAN card acquisitions within the Agricultural Research Service’s Procurement and Workforce Administration office, supporting the modernization of critical research infrastructure for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Her role centers on acquiring technical systems that enhance laboratory connectivity, data integrity, and computational performance across USDA’s national research network. She manages complex procurements for hardware-integrated software solutions, network interface upgrades, and associated IT infrastructure, ensuring alignment with federal cybersecurity standards and scientific operational requirements. Her work directly enables precision agriculture research by maintaining reliable, high-performance computing environments essential for data-intensive analysis. Frances collaborates with a diverse range of technology vendors specializing in enterprise-grade networking equipment, embedded firmware upgrades, and laboratory-grade computing platforms. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages with firms capable of delivering certified commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions compliant with NIST and FISMA guidelines. Her contracting patterns reflect a preference for vendors with proven experience in scientific instrumentation integration and secure network deployment, fostering long-term partnerships with suppliers who provide technical support, lifecycle management, and compliance documentation. Frances Lara’s procurement activity is entirely non-set-aside, with 100% of her acquisitions conducted under full and open competition. This reflects a strategic emphasis on technical capability and performance over socioeconomic preferences, prioritizing mission-critical functionality and system interoperability. While small business participation is not formally incentivized in her portfolio, she remains compliant with all federal procurement regulations and evaluates all offerors based on technical merit, past performance, and compliance with federal IT standards. Her primary NAICS focus lies in analytical laboratory instrument manufacturing (334516), reflecting her core responsibility for procuring instrumentation-linked computing systems. She also routinely acquires specialized IT hardware under 811219 for facility maintenance and 332311 for prefabricated data enclosure components. Her technical domain expertise spans laboratory network architecture, embedded system integration, and secure data acquisition platforms essential for agricultural research operations.