Federal Advocacy Services

California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) is soliciting proposals from experienced federal advocacy firms for strategic legislative and executive-branch advocacy in Washington, D.C. under RFP PRC-00131, with written questions due November 12, 2026 and proposals due November 20, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

The selected firm will advance the University's federal priorities in education, workforce development, research, student support, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and allied healthcare. Engagement covers the Legislative Branch, the White House, the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Education, Homeland Security, Labor, and Office of Management and Budget, and other federal departments or agencies as CSUSB directs. The firm works with the President, Cabinet, Government and Community Relations staff, faculty program leads, and designated University representatives. References to the Department of Defense include any successor or reorganized agency with responsibility for the applicable function.

Proposers submit pricing in a separate sealed cost proposal in U.S. dollars, identifying fixed monthly or annual retainers, hourly rates by labor category, one-time fees, travel and reimbursable expense assumptions, and any proposed annual escalation. Pricing remains firm for at least 180 calendar days. The initial term is three years with two optional one-year renewals, subject to mutual written agreement, continued funding availability, and satisfactory performance. Funding is philanthropic; if federal funds are used, 2 C.F.R. Part 200 and federal lobbying restrictions apply. CSUSB guarantees no minimum amount of work, funding, travel, or volume.

Evaluation is best-value. Technical proposals are scored on a 100-point scale across eight criteria: understanding of priorities, firm qualifications, documented results, relevant federal experience, key personnel and capacity, work plan and deliverables, references and past performance, and interviews or presentations. Cost proposals open sequentially, beginning with the highest-ranked technical proposer. CSUSB may negotiate pricing and terms or proceed to the next-ranked proposer if agreement cannot be reached.

Interviews or presentations are scheduled for December 7, 2026, with a Notice of Intent to Award on December 14, 2026 and anticipated award on December 23, 2026. The CSU Terms and Conditions of Purchase (10-01-2025) govern the resulting agreement and require general liability insurance of $4 million general aggregate and $2 million per occurrence, business automobile liability of $1 million per accident, work made for hire intellectual property ownership by CSU, security incident reporting within 24 hours, and no artificial intelligence use with university data without prior written consent.