EXT TIS | Emerging Technologies RFQ

***The Questions and Answers Addendum has been posted as of June 5, 2026. Please review all questions and answers carefully.*** * Please note the Pre-Proposal Conference link on the RFQ document has been replaced with the recording of the meeting and the slides are attached as of May 28, 2026.* * Please note the Pre-Proposal Conference link has been fixed as of May 12, 2026. Please click the link in the RFQ document to join the Microsoft Teams Meeting on May 19th 10am PDT * We are thrilled to announce that the City and County of San Francisco has released a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) solicitation to create a pool of firms who provide products, software, and services powered by emerging technologies such as AI. San Francisco is launching this first-of-its-kind procurement pathway designed to make it easier and faster for emerging technology vendors to work with the City. The Emerging Technologies Request for Qualifications (RFQ) pool is a two-year pilot of a new "try before you buy" framework: City departments identify a real problem they need to solve, then partner with vendors from the pool on a short-term, lower-dollar experiment to test and evaluate the solution before committing to a full contract. Whether you're new to government contracts or a seasoned vendor, this pool is designed to reduce the typical barriers and complexity of working with the City — apply once, stay eligible for two years, and get matched directly with departments that have a genuine need for what you offer. How will the pool work: 1) Apply. Interested firms can apply to join the pool at any time by completing a Response Form, linked in the RFQ document, which asks for information about your firm, product offerings, and prior deployments. The Form also asks firms to acknowledge City contracting requirements 2) Get screened. The City will screen applications to the pool to ensure firms meet the minimum qualifications listed in the solicitation. After this step, the City will announce firms accepted to the pool and provide the roster to City departments. 3) Submit proposal. City departments will contact firms in the pool with their business needs through a mini-RFP process. Firms may provide a project-specific proposal should their product match that department’s needs. 4) Experiment with us. If selected, firms and the City will experiment together. Initially, City departments will seek a lower-dollar, shorter-term engagement and contract while they safely test the product or service against their needs. 5) Evaluate. Once the experiment wraps up, the City will assess whether the tool performed as expected, delivered accurate and equitable outputs, and met the department's needs. Vendors should expect to participate in this review by sharing performance data and collaborating on any improvements. Transparency is central to how we evaluate emerging technologies before we scale it. 6) Launch in production. If the experiment is successful, City departments may then seek a longer-term contract as we implement the new technology in our operations. Why should you join? Getting a foot in the door with a city government can be hard. The procurement process is often lengthy, resource-intensive, and unpredictable. This pool is an attempt to address those pain points. Instead of competing for large contracts upfront, you enter a pre-qualified pool through a single streamlined application and become eligible for mini-RFP opportunities across City departments. Engagements start small and low-risk, giving your product a real chance to demonstrate value in a government setting. If your experiment succeeds, there's a clear path to a longer-term production contract. You'll also get visibility beyond a single department: accepted vendors may be invited to Demo Days and featured in a City-managed library of emerging technology products available for departments to explore. For vendors new to City contracting, this is a low-barrier entry point. For experienced vendors, it's a streamlined alternative to traditional procurement with real potential to scale. Interested firms should carefully review all attachments for the full information on what is required and how to apply.