Curatorial Government Bids & RFPs

The bid notice states that offerors must demonstrate the capacity to design a multimillion dollar museum exhibition experience of similar size and scope as the nmal exhibits intend to be, and offerors must have worked with a diverse group of personnel, such as content developers, architects, curators, scientists, educators, exhibition evaluators, design coordinators, writers, collections managers, facility managers, engineers, media producers, museum technical staff, and exhibit fabricators, etc. Offerors must demonstrate this capacity by showing the offerors prior experience from the past seven years designing exhibitions for at least three complete museum or very complex museum exhibits that integrated objects, images, and multimedia. For the purposes of this minimum requirement, a museum is defined as a not for profit institution that uses historical artifacts or living collections to create a participatory, transparent, and educational experience that enhances visitors understanding of the world. Each example of offerors prior exhibition design experience must involve a total exhibition footprint of at least 35, 000 sq. ft. and at least one example must involve a total exhibition footprint larger than 45, 000 sq. ft. At least one example must have been fabricated and completed the other examples may be in the process of fabrication. Note that subcontractor performance cannot satisfy the minimum requirement of the prime contractor. Failure of an offeror to meet the minimum requirement will result in offerors proposal not being evaluated.

The deadline for submitting responses to this Request for Information is April 15, 2026, as stated in the notice.

The bid notice states that this is a Request for Information (RFI) for market research and does not constitute a solicitation or a request for competitive proposals, therefore no award criterion is specified.

The bid notice requires vendors to have proven expertise in museum operations, specifically in providing contracted staffing and management for cultural institutions, particularly museums in the New England region. Core areas of expertise include curatorial and collections management, visitor and guest services, education and public programming, and general operations support (exhibit maintenance, AV and IT systems management).

The notice does not specify a delivery deadline for the services. The period of performance for the Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) will not exceed 60 months, and BPA calls will not exceed 12 months past the expiration of the master agreement.

The notice outlines specific labor categories with required education, experience, and skills for various roles such as Archivist, Historian, Editor, and Graphic Designer. For example, an Archivist must have an ALA-accredited MLS or MLIS with a concentration in archival studies and two years of experience processing archival collections.

The notice mentions that defective services must be reperformed at no cost to the government.

The notice does not explicitly mention sample submissions for this sources sought announcement. However, for specific roles like Archivist, providing sample finding aids is required.