REL Competition 2027 RFI Instructions.docx

U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences

Request for Information (RFI) Regional Educational Laboratory Program, 2027-2031 Cycle December 18, 2025

The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) is conducting market research to determine if sufficient interest and capability exist in the marketplace for the Regional Educational Laboratory Program, 2027-2031 Cycle. This notice is NOT a request for proposals but is an invitation for potential offerors to express interest and provide information regarding their relevant knowledge, skills, and capabilities. Information submitted in response to this Sources Sought Notice may be used to assist the Department in finalizing its acquisition strategy.

Disclaimer: The Department will not pay for the provision of any information, nor will it compensate any respondents for providing this information. This notice in no way obligates the Government to award any contract to any interested party. Feedback will not be provided to any interested party who submits information to the Department in response to this notice.

PLEASE NOTE: All information contained in this notice is preliminary in nature and subject to change. This notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Proposals (RFP), Request for Quotations (RFQ), Invitation for Bids (IFB), or a commitment on the part of the Government to conduct a solicitation in the future. All information provided is strictly voluntary and no reimbursement will be made by the Government for any costs associated with providing a response to this notice or otherwise participating in market research activities. Further, the U.S. Department of Education offers no assurance that a solicitation will result from this notice.

Overview The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) intends to award 60-month contracts to qualified entities to serve as the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) for up to 10 REL regions. These contracts are planned to be firm fixed price with cost-reimbursable travel restricted to a percentage of the overall contract value. See Appendix A for the names of the regions and their constituent states or jurisdictions. Each individual REL will be part of a program of 10 RELs authorized under the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA) of 2002, Part D, Section 174 (20 U.S.C. 9564). The REL Program is administered by the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE) at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES)[footnoteRef:2] in the US Department of Education (the Department). [2: https://www.congress.gov/107/plaws/publ279/PLAW-107publ279.pdf]

REL personnel shall include researchers with significant and demonstrated scholarly expertise in content areas and methodologies relevant to the work the REL undertakes as well as practitioners who have significant experience teaching and leading professional development in those content areas. RELs shall develop a team that includes experts of several types, listed below:

· Content experts who possess a broad and deep perspective on what is known and what still is not settled in a research field. They enable the REL to frame important research questions and Training, Coaching, and Technical Support (TCTS) activities so that they both address immediate needs for evidence, as well as advance knowledge more broadly through applied research.

· Potential lead authors of REL reports who shall have demonstrated expertise in the content area being addressed by the report, shown through a substantial portfolio of peer-reviewed, published work in that area.

· Methodological experts who ensure research questions are answered using appropriate methods and support the intended outcomes of the project.

· Current or recent practitioners who provide project staff additional context on problems of practice educators are facing.

· Experts in adult learning or professional development who can lead and inform the design and conduct of TCTS activities.

The REL Program’s authorizing statute identifies eligible offerors in Section 174(c). Specifically:

“The Director may enter into contracts under this section with research organizations, institutions, agencies, institutions of higher education, or partnerships among such entities, or individuals, with the demonstrated ability or capacity to carry out the activities described in this section …” All potential offerors meeting these criteria are encouraged to respond to this RFI.

Description of the Requirement RELs have worked with state departments of education, school districts, and other education stakeholders for more than 50 years. The purpose of each REL is to assist practitioners and policymakers in their work to improve outcomes for learners in its region—from early childhood to adulthood—by supporting stakeholders in the generation and use of research, evidence, and evidence-based practices.

To achieve that purpose, RELs: (1) conduct applied research and development; (2) design and implement training, coaching, and technical support activities that emphasize building capacity to use data and information to drive change; and (3) disseminate scientifically valid research, evidence-based practices, and supporting materials that allow stakeholders to apply this knowledge to their own practice. RELs must also coordinate their activities with other technical assistance entities funded through the U.S. Department of Education, such as the Comprehensive Centers.

REL products and services must be completed to the specifications required by IES. Section 111 of ESRA stipulates that all IES activities must “(A) conform to high standards of quality, integrity, and accuracy; and (B) are objective, secular, neutral, and nonideological and are free of partisan political influence and racial, cultural, gender, or regional bias.”

REL work is done in partnership with a wide range of education stakeholders, including State educational agencies, local educational agencies, school boards, State boards of education, schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education (as appropriate), institutions of higher education, educators (including school officials and librarians), policymakers, business leaders, and parents. IES believes working in partnership with key stakeholder groups is central to the success of the REL Program. RELs are expected to engage partners – that is, leaders and decisionmakers representing key stakeholder groups who work directly in partnership with the REL – in the design, execution, and evaluation of their activities.

General Questions for RFI Response

1. Is the draft PWS clear in communicating the goals of the requirement?

2. What changes would you suggest to the existing requirement to ensure REL work is responsive to the most pressing needs of State education agencies?

3. What processes have you seen elsewhere that accelerate the speed of applied research, from inception to publication, particularly rigorous research done in partnership with States or Districts that requires peer review (or equivalent)?

4. What changes would you suggest to the existing requirement to ensure that RELs are as effective as possible in disseminating findings from rigorous research, so that educators can apply them to improve student outcomes?

5. What changes would you suggest to the existing requirement that could achieve similar (or better) results at a reduced cost, making IES’s REL investment more efficient?

6. What changes would you suggest to the proposed performance framework or targets?

7. What other changes would you make to the existing requirement to better achieve the program’s purpose?

Focus Questions for RFI Response Background: The Base Year of each REL Contract will be funded at the time of award. Out year funding will be added in increments prior to the start of each year, after an annual work plan and budget are approved by IES for the work for the next year.

Prior REL Cycles have been Cost Plus Fixed Fee contracts. IES plans to award Firm Fixed Price Contracts with Cost Reimbursable Travel for the 2027-2031 Cycle. Vendors will provide a pricing menu for routine tasks (such as a monthly progress report) as well as-needed tasks (such as applied research studies).

The as-needed tasks can vary in size due to the amount of labor and the expertise needed. Therefore, IES is requesting a menu of firm fixed price as needed tasks of different sizes that can be used to plan budgets for the base year and out years (Years 2-5).

Should IES proceed with this solicitation, vendors will be asked to budget specifically the work for the Base year. No budget will be requested for the outyears. Prior to each option year, RELs will be asked to submit their plan for the next year with the budget for that work using the pricing menu approved at time of award plus a 3% escalation rate.

8. Does the performance work statement include sufficient details for pricing for the Base Year? If not, what information is missing or unclear?

9. Does the required budget template include sufficient details for pricing, and is the template clear? If not, what information is missing or unclear?

10. Is the proposed escalation rate appropriate?

Submission Instructions In response to the attached DRAFT Performance Work Statement (PWS) and DRAFT Budget Template, the Department hereby solicits capability statements from eligible, interested parties. Capability Statements shall be no longer than 5 pages (single-spaced, with a minimum of one-inch margins and 12-point font). Interested Parties shall provide responses for all content areas noted below.

1. Please state your entity name and address. Include contact information such as an Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), entity email address, and website URL.

1. Please state your entity size status (i.e., large or small) in the stated NAICS code of 541720. Provide all socioeconomic categories for your company and the corresponding NAICS code, and a statement as to whether NAICS code of 541720 is the most appropriate code.

1. State if your entity believes that the DRAFT PWS contains any unduly restrictive language or content and, if so, why. Please cite specific examples and provide feedback.

1. State if your entity has questions about the contents of the DRAFT PWS and what they are.

1. State if the DRAFT PWS content provides opportunities for small business subcontracting (or not). Why (or why not)?

1. State if your entity has any questions about the Firm Fixed Price nature of this contract and what they are.

1. State if your entity has any questions about the Budget template and what they are.

1. Respond to the focus questions stated above.

All interested parties are invited to submit formal responses in a PDF and submit as an attachment via e-mail to Jana.Knapp@ed.gov, and cc: Katie.Opper@ed.gov and Joseph.gibbs@ed.gov . Responses are due no later than January 8, 2026, 10:00AM Eastern Time.

Contact Information Points of Contact