Foundational Research on the Efficacy of Financial Education Course Formats

Western Washington University (WWU) is pursuing a sole source contract with Washington Council for Economic and Financial Education (WACEFE) to conduct foundational research on financial education course formats. The procurement specifically seeks a nonprofit organization providing economic and financial education located in Whatcom County to perform comprehensive research activities. Required deliverables include conducting literature reviews on financial education formats, interviewing teachers, implementing literacy assessments and attitude surveys in middle and high schools, analyzing pre- and post-test data, presenting research findings, and developing engagement plans for legislative and business partnerships. The contract opportunity is posted with a response deadline of February 10, 2025, with interested vendors required to submit capability statements to purchasing.department@wwu.edu. Evaluation will focus on verifying vendor qualifications that align with the funding source's specific requirements, particularly the nonprofit status and Whatcom County location. The research project is funded through Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5950, with a general fund state appropriation of $200,000 for fiscal year 2025.

The procurement has strict organizational restrictions, specifically requiring respondents to be nonprofit entities focused on economic and financial education and physically located in Whatcom County. WWU will review any submitted capability statements to validate or potentially refute the intended sole source designation with WACEFE. In the absence of qualifying capability statements by the February 10, 2025 deadline, the university intends to finalize the contract with WACEFE as the primary vendor. The contract appears to have a fixed budget of $200,000, which will fund the comprehensive research project on financial education course formats. No specific disadvantaged enterprise set-asides or additional vendor diversity requirements are explicitly mentioned in the procurement documentation. The research project aims to provide foundational insights into financial education methodologies, with potential implications for future educational and policy development in economic literacy.