Experimental Design and Advanced Research Projects Accelerator (EDARPA) - Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA)
Order Number: 91990021A0017
The purpose of this procurement is to secure technical support for the U.S. Department of Education (Department) through a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with all work being issued through Call Orders. The technical support activities are intended to provide the Department subject matter expertise to advance the use and development of emerging technologies and innovative practices in the field of public education. To accelerate the development, implementation, or adoption of innovations, the Department may opt to conduct prize competitions, crowdsourcing, pilots, technology prototyping, strategic design, citizen science, or similar activities. Call Orders may range from brief and urgent requests to multi-year strategic development projects. Work may be required to be performed under tight deadlines. The ordering period of this agreement shall be sixty months.
The tasks under this BPA may involve logistical and administrative support for competitions involving education technology, development and implementation of national education strategies, review and scans of industries and labor markets, collection of new data and information, and data and policy analyses. In addition, the BPA may involve all aspects of logistical and related support for conferences and meetings.
This BPA shall provide technical support to the Department across a wide range of subject areas related such as, but not limited to:
- Open innovation prize competitions
- Application development and interoperability
- Mixed Reality
- Artificial Intelligence
- Emerging technology
- Development of innovative competitive processes
- Human-centered design
- Cybersecurity
- Badges, credentials and skill certification, or
- Communication and outreach.
Specific and immediate areas of interest to the Department include:
- Management of challenges and open innovation prize competitions
- Facilitation of the design and development of technology-related prototypes in private industry
- Exploration of emerging educational technologies in areas of national need
- Analysis of the education technology, software, and hardware markets.
Although the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) is the originating office, this BPA is available to all program offices within the Department of Education.