Background
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Community Living (ACL) and the Administration on Disabilities (AoD), is responsible for administering the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (DD Act). This act establishes the National Network of University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service (UCEDDs). The purpose of this initiative is to provide network-wide training, technical assistance, and capacity-building support to UCEDDs to strengthen outcomes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families.
Work Details
The contractor will perform tasks that include:
1. Project Management: Provide overall project management ensuring timely execution of tasks, maintaining accountable leadership, and establishing a National Community Advisory Group for community input.
2. Tiered Technical Assistance (TA) Delivery: Deliver TA through three tiers - Intensive Community-Driven TA, Targeted TA, and Universal TA to strengthen UCEDD organizational capacity.
3. Strengthen Service-Learning Approaches: Develop a framework for integrating service-learning into education while benefiting communities.
4. Community Capacity Building: Create standardized Community Impact Blueprints for documenting effective practices across core functions.
5. Dashboard Development: Maintain a public-facing UCEDD Core Functions Dashboard to improve visibility into UCEDD activities.
6. Knowledge Base and AI-Assisted Chatbot: Develop a searchable knowledge base during the base year and implement an AI-assisted chatbot in option years to assist users in locating information efficiently.
7. Information Management: Operate a web-based information management system for UCEDDs to submit required reports securely.
Period of Performance
The contract will be performed over multiple years, with specific tasks outlined for both base years and option years.
Place of Performance
Rockville MD 20857 UNITED STATES
Bidder Requirements
Bidders must demonstrate relevant experience in providing technical assistance, capacity-building, evaluation, knowledge management, or technology support contracts related to disability networks or federal TA contracts. They should also provide evidence of staffing credentials and any necessary security clearances.
Incumbent Analysis (see Incumbents section for more detail)
The prior contract 75P00121C00057 was awarded to the Association of University Centers on Disabilities for $6,599,745 (09/30/21–09/29/26) to support “University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service Training and T/TA Project.” The current effort’s focus on network-wide technical assistance, capacity building, and related knowledge management and reporting functions appears to be a continuation of that UCEDD training/T/TA mission, likely building on established processes for supporting the university centers and their community impact activities.
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)
Title: University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service Community Impact and Capacity Building Initiative: Technical Assistance to Strengthen Outcomes for People with I/DD and Their Families
Issuing Office: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Community Living (ACL), Office of Mission Acquisition Solutions (OMAS), on behalf of the Administration on Disabilities (AoD)
NAICS Code: For purposes of this market research, the Government anticipates that NAICS Code 541611 Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services may best represent the principal purpose of the contemplated requirement. This designation is preliminary and may be revised as a result of market research.
Respondents who believe another NAICS code more appropriately reflects the principal purpose of the contemplated requirement should identify the recommended NAICS code and briefly explain the basis for that recommendation.
PURPOSE OF THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
This Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for market research and acquisition planning purposes in accordance with RFO FAR 15.101(c).
The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or otherwise pay for the information requested. The Government will not reimburse respondents for costs incurred in preparing or submitting a response.
Responses to this RFI will be treated as information only and not as proposals. Responses are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.
The issuance of this RFI does not constitute a solicitation, a promise to issue a solicitation, or an obligation on the part of the Government to procure any products or services.
The purpose of this RFI is to:
- Gather information from industry regarding the general approach, feasibility, staffing models, and anticipated cost of performing the type of work described in the draft Performance Work Statement (PWS);
- Obtain industry recommendations regarding potential prioritization, phasing, scaling, or restructuring of the contemplated work;
- Assess the relationship between the contemplated scope, anticipated resource requirements, and likely market pricing; and
- Inform ACL/AoD's decisions regarding scope, task structure, phasing, and acquisition strategy as the PWS is finalized.
The draft PWS provided with this RFI is for market research purposes only and remains subject to revision. Respondents should not assume that the final scope, task structure, deliverables, or performance standards in the PWS will appear in any resulting solicitation. The Government is specifically interested in industry feedback that identifies where the described scope may be too broad, too narrow, under-resourced, or structured in a way that drives unnecessary cost, so that the requirement can be refined prior to release of a solicitation.
BACKGROUND
The Administration on Disabilities (AoD), within ACL/HHS, is responsible for administering the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (DD Act), which establishes the National Network of University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service (UCEDDs). AoD is considering a contract vehicle to provide network-wide training, technical assistance (TA), and capacity-building support to UCEDD.
Through this RFI, the Government seeks industry feedback concerning the feasibility, resource requirements, potential cost drivers, and appropriate structure of the contemplated requirement. The Government is also interested in identifying opportunities to prioritize, phase, scale, or otherwise structure the work to achieve program objectives efficiently.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR RESPONDENTS
Interested parties are requested to submit a written response of no more than seven (7) pages, excluding the cover page.
Please include in your response:
- Company name, address, point of contact, phone, email, and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), if the respondent elects to provide it;
- Business size, applicable socioeconomic status (small business, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, etc.) and applicable NAICS code(s) under which your firm is classified;
- Provide a brief description of the organization's capabilities and relevant experience performing comparable technical assistance, capacity-building, evaluation, knowledge management, or technology support contracts, particularly any involving disability networks, university-based centers, HHS/ACL, or similarly structured federal TA contracts; and
- Responses to the questions below.
RFI QUESTIONS
Respondents are encouraged to provide concise, specific information directly responsive to the questions below. Marketing materials or general corporate information that does not address the contemplated requirement are not necessary.
Interested and capable organizations are requested to address the following questions:
- Based on the draft PWS, describe whether the contemplated scope appears feasible and identify any tasks, deliverables, performance requirements, or assumptions that may create significant performance, staffing, schedule or cost risk. Identify any areas of the draft requirement that industry recommends clarifying, restructuring, consolidating, or otherwise revising;
- Describe the general staffing model and categories of labor or expertise that would reasonably be required to perform the contemplated work. Identify any specialized expertise, staffing assumptions, or other resources that would materially affect performance or cost;
- Provide a rough order of magnitude (ROM) estimate of annual cost to perform the general scope described in the PWS, and the basis for that estimate. The ROM is requested solely for acquisition planning and market research purposes. Please identify the significant assumptions and primary cost drivers underlying the estimate;
- Provide recommendations on which elements of the contemplated scope should be prioritized, phased, scaled, or consolidated to achieve the greatest programmatic value without materially affecting the overall objectives of the requirement. Respondents may recommend alternative approaches or scope adjustments that could improve efficiency, reduce cost, or enhance the likelihood of successful performance;
- Based on the technology related functions contemplated in the draft PWS, describe, the technology approach your organization would propose for supporting the Core Functions Dashboard and AI-assisted chatbot (e.g., existing commercial/Government-authorized platforms vs. custom development), including anticipated cost drivers, timeline, and relevant privacy/security/accessibility (Section 508) considerations; and
- Based on the nature of the contemplated services, identify and recommendations regarding acquisition structure or contract type that the Government should consider.
Respondents may address, as applicable:
- Fixed-price, cost-reimbursement, time-and-materials, labor-hour, or hybrid approaches;
- Use of a single contract or other acquisition structure;
- Task organization or phasing approaches; and
- Any acquisition structure that could reduce performance risk, administrative burden, or unnecessary cost.
Recommendations should include a brief explanation of the underlying rationale.
Submission Instructions:
Responses must be submitted electronically to Khaled.Gohar@hhs.gov no later than November 03, 2026, 2:00 PM ET. Responses should reference RFI - UCEDD Technical Assistance in the subject line. Proprietary information must be clearly marked.
Respondents should avoid including proprietary or confidential information unless it is necessary to meaningfully respond to the RFI.
The Government may use information submitted in response to the RFI for market research and acquisition planning purposes, including refinement of the requirement and acquisition strategy.
Disclaimer: This RFI is for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. Respondents will not be notified of the results of this market research. A solicitation, if issued, will be synopsized separately through the applicable Government point of entry, including SAM.gov as appropriate. Interested parties will be responsible for responding to any future solicitation in accordance with its terms. The Government reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue this market research effort at any time.
