IES Data Repository and Restricted Use Data (DR-RUD) Program

Amendment 1 This amendment to the original RFP posting provides responses to the clarification questions received, an updated Performance Work Statement dated May 21, 2026, and a pricing template. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) intends to award a firm-fixed price contract for the Institute of Education Sciences' (IES) Data Repository and Restricted Use Data Program.

IES seeks contractor support for a computing environment where researchers approved by 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.This requirement provides assistance with expanding and managing secure, remote access to RUD in alignment with IES’s mission to promote evidence-building, with a focus on improving student outcomes, while meeting IES’s responsibilities to protect confidential information collected for statistical purpose.

Additionally, this requirement supports NCES’s move to a fully digital RUD license program by operating the virtual enclave, overseeing the removal of physical media, and managing key components of the RUD license application process for new users and datasets. More detailed information about this effort is provided in the attached solicitaion and performance work statement.