RFI for IES DR-RUD.pdf

U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences

Request for Information (RFI) IES Data Repository and Restricted Use Data Program

(DR-RUD)

September 12, 2025

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. All interested parties are highly encouraged to submit a response including small businesses to determine whether or not this requirement can be set-aside for the small businesses.

1. Overview The U.S. Department of Education (Department) intends to issue a solicitation in early FY26 to support a computing environment where researchers approved by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) can obtain secure, remote access to approved IES Restricted Use Data (RUD), most notably data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE), for approved research projects. That environment should permit the robust analysis of those data, and should implement controls such that potentially identifying information can be exported.

The government requests that contractors include the following components in their responses to this RFI:

(1) Capability statements.

(2) Responses to targeted vendor outreach questions.

(3) Comment and feedback on the attached draft Performance Work Statement (PWS).

NAICS Information: 518210 (Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services) Anticipated Contract Type: Firm-Fixed Price Anticipated Period of Performance: One 12-month base period and four 12-month option periods

2. Description of the Requirement This requirement provides computing infrastructure and data processing support in service of educational research. It includes:

• Hosting multiple restricted use datasets in a FIPS-Moderate environment that has received Authority to Operate by the U.S. Department of Education;

• Provisioning individuals secure, private workspaces in which to analyze those datasets;

• Reviewing data and analyses to be exported from those workspaces prior to their release to ensure individually-identifying information is not inadvertently disclosed; and

• Developing user training on issues related to the protection of confidential information.

3. Focus Questions Technical Questions:

1. Does your company possess, or is your company capable of obtaining and maintaining, an Authority to Operate a FIPS-Moderate computing environment from the U.S.

Department of Education? If so, please explain.

2. Is your company capable of securing subject matter expertise with relevant IES datasets such that those experts could provide an initial review of researchers’ proposed work and provide guidance on its feasibility given available data? If so, please explain.

3. Is your company capable of developing accurate and thorough training materials on applicable law (e.g., the Education Science Reform Act of 2002, the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2018)? If so, please explain.

4. Is your company capable of interpreting and enforcing statistical standards, such as those designed to prevent the inadvertent disclosure of personally-identifying information? If so, please explain.

5. Is your company capable of meeting all other requirements detailed in the PWS? If so, please provide a summary of how you would propose to meet the requirements.

Procurement Questions:

1. Is your product/service available on the Federal Supply Schedules (more commonly known as the GSA Schedule)? If so, under what NAICS/Special Item Number is your product/service available?

2. Is your product/service available through any other Government contract vehicle?

Examples include OASIS, Alliant 2, CHESS, CIO-SP3, etc.?

3. Is your business classified as a small business under the NAICS code that aligns with your product/service?

a. If yes, is your business classified under any socioeconomic sub-factors such as Woman-Owned Small Business, HUBZone, Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, etc.?

4. Have you contracted with the Federal Government to provide similar products/services to other agencies? If so, please provide brief details of this experience.

4. Submission Instructions Interested parties may submit PDF documents responding to this RFI. Responses are due by October 14, 2025 at 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. The subject line of the e-mail shall be “Response to RFI for IES DR-RUD Program.”

Responses shall be submitted to the contacts listed below and shall comply with the following formatting requirements:

• Responses shall include a capabilities statement, answers to targeted vendor outreach questions, and comments or feedback on the draft PWS.

• For capability statements, vendors shall demonstrate the firms’ technical capabilities in performing the requirements outlined in the PWS, its relevant corporate experience and the relevant expertise of key staff.

• Responses shall not exceed 15 pages excluding a one-page, cover page.

• The cover page shall include the following:

o Business Name o Business Size o The vendor’s Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number o Web address of the company (if applicable) o Point of Contact (Name, Phone Number, E-mail Address) for a company representative that can address any questions from ED

• Font size must be 12-point or larger, may be single-spaced, and may include any number of charts, tables, graphics, or other means of conveying information to the IES technical team. (Font size for tables, charts and graphics may be 10-point)

• Submissions must adhere to standard, 1” margins on all sides.

• Submissions shall not exceed 15MB.

5. Contact Information Points of Contact

Name Role Title E-mail

Primary Point of Contact

Charles Fields Contracting Officer

Charles.Fields@ed.gov

Secondary Point of Contact

Chase Cooper Contracting Officer

Stephen.cooper@ed.gov