I would be _very_ surprised if any 18Fers were a part of the "national design studio." It is, at the very least, Doge affiliated, and Doge is who killed 18F.
So on the surface it seems that we already had many of these types of orgs, but they killed them all and spun up their own renamed and rebadged versions.
That being said, this project does seem like a potential big win.
Does anyone have a scoop on NDS? Is it composed of 18F staffers?