Cultural Property Prototype

The Department of State, Bureau of Global Acquisitions, is soliciting quotes for the development of a prototype AI-powered cultural property identification tool. This total small business set-aside under NAICS 541511 aims to create a proof-of-concept application for U.S. law enforcement to identify illicitly trafficked cultural property, with a specific requirement to include training data from Ukraine and at least one other country subject to U.S. import restrictions. The project has a nine-month period of performance and requires the delivery of a standalone application and a comprehensive technical report. The prototype must be disconnected from government networks and adhere to federal AI governance and compliance standards. The government will award the contract based on a price-technical trade-off analysis, where the technical approach and work plan are significantly more important than price. Proposals must be submitted in three volumes: a Go/No Go volume including C-SCRM questionnaires and software attestations, a technical quote limited to fifteen pages, and a firm-fixed price quote. Evaluation will focus on the contractor's technical approach, the functionality of the standalone application, and the concordance rate between the tool's outputs and subject-matter expert assessments. The award is anticipated to be below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold, and the contractor will be required to use the Invoice Processing Platform for all payments.