On May 6, 2025, the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) announced that it is seeking consultants for six projects directed towards the development of formal recommendations to federal and, where appropriate, Congress and the President.

Proposals must be received by July 3, 2025, to be guaranteed consideration for the following projects:

• General Permits and Permits by Rule
• Improving Access to Information About License and Permit Programs
• Improving Transparency in the Review of Applications for Licenses and Permits
• Regulatory Warnings

Proposals will be considered on a rolling basis for the following projects:

• Collection, Use, and Availability of Agency Adjudication Data
• Frontline Decision Making in the Adjudication of Applications

Read on to learn more about ACUS, consulting for ACUS, and the six projects for which ACUS is currently seeking consultants.

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About ACUS

ACUS is an independent agency charged with identifying and promoting improvements in the efficiency, adequacy, and fairness of federal administrative procedure.

ACUS is best known for the more than 300 recommendations it has adopted since 1968. Many ACUS recommendations have resulted in reforms by federal agencies, the President, Congress, and the Judicial Conference. Recommendations are adopted by the 101-member Conference, which consists of a Senate-confirmed Chairman; ten presidential appointees; 50 senior federal officials; and 40 leading academics, practitioners, and other private-sector experts. Many other prominent public- and private-sector experts also participate in the development of recommendations.

Consulting for ACUS

Recommendations are typically informed by a report prepared by a consultant or team of consultants. Consultants also work closely with committees of Conference members and the full Conference membership to develop the recommendations. Final consultant reports are published on the ACUS website and distributed widely among government policymakers. Previous reports are available on the ACUS website.

The consultant(s) for each project below will prepare a report; work with a committee of ACUS members to produce recommendations to federal agencies, the President, Congress, and/or the Judicial Conference; and participate in a plenary session of the full ACUS membership in December 2026 or June 2027. Consultants for each project will receive up to $25,000, plus related expenses, depending on the number of consultants and allocation of responsibilities. 

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General Permits and Permits by Rule

This project will examine agencies’ use of general permits and permits by rule and will make recommendations to agencies—and Congress and the President, if warranted—to improve fairness, accuracy, efficiency, timeliness, and transparency in the granting of permission to undertake regulated activities. Click here for more details about the project and instructions for submitting a proposal.

Improving Access to Information About License and Permit Programs

This project examines how the federal government provides information about licenses and permits and helps regulated entities identify the licenses and permits that apply to their situations and access application processes. It will make recommendations to agencies and, if warranted, the President or Congress, to improve public access to information about licensing and permitting programs.

Although the project focuses primarily on licenses and permits issued by federal agencies, it also addresses licenses and permits issued by state, local, tribal, and territorial governments under federal programs. Click here for more details about the project and instructions for submitting a proposal.

Improving Transparency in the Review of Applications for Licenses and Permits

This project examines what information about pending license and permit applications agencies make publicly available and how they do so. It will identify best practices to help agencies collect and disclose information about the status of pending applications to promote efficiency, accuracy, transparency, and accountability. Click here for more details about the project and instructions for submitting a proposal.

Regulatory Warnings

This project will examine the circumstances under which agencies issue regulatory warnings and offer a set of best practices for agencies that promote accuracy, fairness, efficiency, and transparency. Among other topics, the project will address when agencies should and should not issue regulatory warnings, procedures for issuing regulatory warnings and providing parties with an opportunity to respond to them, and when agencies should or should not proceed with enforcement proceedings after issuing regulatory warnings. Click here for more details about the project and instructions for submitting a proposal.

Collection, Use, and Availability of Agency Adjudicative Data

ACUS has long recommended that agencies employ statistical and nonstatistical techniques to evaluate the quality, timeliness, fairness, and efficiency of their adjudications, particularly in recent years given recent developments in electronic case management. This project will identify best practices to help agencies collect data about their adjudication systems, ensure data quality, use adjudication data effectively, and make adjudication data publicly available when appropriate.

Among other topics, the project will address how agencies identify data elements most essential for improving the fairness, timeliness, efficiency, and quality of their adjudicatory processes; how agencies build capacity to identify those data elements; future integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning in data collection and analysis processes; how and when agencies should make data they collect publicly available; and data retention and security issues. Click here for more details about the project and instructions for submitting a proposal.

Frontline Decision Making in the Adjudication of Applications

This project identifies best practices for frontline decision making in the adjudication of benefits, loans, grants, licenses, and other applications in which there is a later opportunity for an evidentiary hearing. Among other topics, it examines the personnel involved in frontline processes; the processes used to develop records and decide cases prior to the hearing stage; the relationship between frontline and hearing-level proceedings, including how evidence obtained and findings made in frontline proceedings may be used at the hearing level; the development and communication of relevant policies; quality assurance and strategies for promoting timeliness; and interactions between frontline components and other agency components, including those responsible for more formal adjudication and policy development. Click here for more details about the project and instructions for submitting a proposal.