Sources Sought
Data & AI Mission Expert Services (DAMES) IDIQ
Department of Defense · Department of the Air Force
AI summarySources sought notice FA701427SAFCNDAMES is a request for information (RFI), not a solicitation. The Department of the Air Force Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Officer is looking for companies for a potential indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ: a contract that sets up a pool for later task orders) contract for Data & AI Mission Expert Services (DAMES). Capability statements of up to 15 pages are due by the response due date, November 2, 2026, 10:00 AM Eastern; no set-aside is used. More in the summary
Market research, not a bid. Replying is free and tells Department of the Air Force who could do this work. Send a short reply to the contracting contact; no price is needed. See the contact
AI summary Beta
Sources sought notice FA701427SAFCNDAMES is a request for information (RFI), not a solicitation. The Department of the Air Force Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Officer is looking for companies for a potential indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ: a contract that sets up a pool for later task orders) contract for Data & AI Mission Expert Services (DAMES). Capability statements of up to 15 pages are due by the response due date, November 2, 2026, 10:00 AM Eastern; no set-aside is used.
Who can bid
- Ability to work on government networks up to TS/SCI and other classified and forward-deployed environments wherever needed.
- Staff with final U.S. Government clearances who are U.S. citizens, if communications security (COMSEC) access is needed.
How to submit: Email to the primary point of contact listed in the SAM.gov announcement (not in the text provided); large submissions may need several emails, so confirm receipt. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (5)
From the version posted Oct 23, 2026.
- Serious: Classified networks and clearances. Work covers networks up to TS/SCI, so a business needs cleared staff and experience on classified systems.
- Worth checking: Employee turnover limit and vacancy billing rule. Turnover must stay at 10% or less, and the Government will not pay for a position left empty over 20 working days.
- Minor: Request for information only. This notice only gathers market information and leads to no award; a later solicitation may follow.
Show all 5Show fewer
- Minor: Possible technical-rating selection method. The Government is considering picking the highest technically rated offeror, so price may count for less than technical strength.
- Minor: Place of performance differs between SAM.gov and the draft PWS. SAM.gov lists Andrews AFB, MD, but the draft PWS cover page says the Pentagon, so ask where the work will be done.
Read from the notice and 2 attachments. Show which files.
- Performance Work Statement - DAMES IDIQ - DRAFT 10232026.pdf (read)
- Performance Work Statement - DAMES IDIQ - DRAFT.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Data acquisition, preparation and architecture: build pipelines and AI-ready data, vector databases and synthetic data sets across security levels up to Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI).
- Enterprise analytics and AI engineering: machine learning models, generative AI, retrieval augmented generation (RAG: AI answers drawn from a store of documents), model-operations pipelines, and model deployment.
- Data and AI governance: governance frameworks, maturity and AI-readiness assessments, policy documents, and secretariat support for senior-leader governance forums.
- Advanced analytics and dashboards for commanders, plus research, prototyping and testing of new data and AI tools.
- Run and sustain the data and AI environments: a data operations center, issue tracking, metrics, security patching, and Risk Management Framework (RMF: the Defense Department's security approval process) paperwork.
- Kickoff meeting within 5 calendar days of award, with a draft Program Management Plan, transition-in plan and quality control plan delivered there.
- Monthly status report due the 10th business day of each month, with meeting minutes one business day after each monthly meeting.
- Contract type
- Potential IDIQ contract with task orders; not yet a solicitation
- Place of performance
- Andrews AFB, MD per SAM.gov; the draft statement of work cover page says the Pentagon
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- Contract vehicle
- Potential IDIQ contract
- How they'll choose
- Not an evaluation: this RFI is market research. The Government is considering selecting the highest technically rated offeror (HRTO) for a later award and asks for industry feedback.
- Offers due
- November 2, 2026, 10:00 AM Eastern
- How to submit
- Email to the primary point of contact listed in the SAM.gov announcement (not in the text provided); large submissions may need several emails, so confirm receipt
- Page limits
- Capability statement: 15 pages in total, single spaced, 12-point font, in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat
What to include when you submit
- Send a capability statement with your approach for accomplishing the performance work statement (PWS).
- Describe relevant past contracts: contract number, period of performance, whether you were the prime or a subcontractor, and a summary of services.
- Give your timeline to get the required skill set in place for award, including transition time and clearances if required.
- Include your CAGE (Commercial and Government Entity) code, Unique Entity ID and size standard.
- Optional: give feedback on the proposed selection method (pros and cons) and on how the requirement could be clearer.
Not in the notice text
- The primary point of contact for sending the response is listed on SAM.gov but not in the text provided.
- The length of the IDIQ, its ceiling, and the number of awards are not stated. The draft PWS mentions option years but gives no length.
- A second copy of the draft PWS (Performance Work Statement - DAMES IDIQ - DRAFT.pdf) could not be opened; check it on SAM.gov.
- The required clearance levels and the security classification form (DD Form 254) are not provided.
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside. Any business can reply: this is market research, and no bid is being taken yet.
- To respond, send a short reply to the contracting contact near the top of this page. No price is needed.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 23, 2026
- Notice type
- Sources Sought
- Office
- FA7014 Afdw PK, Andrews AFB, MD
- Product/service code
- R499 · Support – Professional: Other
- Business type
- Consulting & professional services (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 541990)
- Versions
2 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 23, 2026 · Amendment 0001 (this version)Due Nov 2, 2026
- Oct 22, 2026 · Sources SoughtDue Nov 2, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
Terms on this notice: Sources sought notice
Full notice text from SAM.gov
The Department of the Air Force Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Officer (DAF CDAO in SAF/CND) is conducting market intelligence to identify sources for a potential requirement for Data & AI Mission Expert Services (DAMES) IDIQ support services in accordance with the attached Performance Work Statement. The Government is still in the early acquisition planning stage and all activities at this time are considered market intelligence. This is a Request for Information (RFI) and is NOT a request for proposals and the information received will be utilized for acquisition planning purposes. Responders are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred with response to this announcement and information submitted in response to this RFI will not be returned. 1.0 REQUESTED INFORMATION 1.1 Capability Statement: Request you submit a capability statement that presents your technical capability for completing the attached Performance Work Statement. The capability statement shall at a minimum address the specific items below. 1.1.1 Approach: Describe your approach for accomplishing the Performance Work Statement. 1.1.2 Past Performance: Identify previous contracts which are relevant to the scope of the Performance Work Statement. Include contract number, period of performance, whether performance was completed as a prime or subcontract, and a summary of services provided. 1.1.3 Timeline: Attached your timeline in obtaining the required skill set for contract award. This timeline should include time for any applicable transition period, clearances (if required), and any other information that would be crucial to successfully transition to contract award. 1.1.4 Page Limit: Capability Statements are limited to 15 pages in total length, single spaced, and 12-point font and accessible by either Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat. 1.2 Submission Instructions: Please provide your responses to this RFI to the primary POC listed in this announcement by the timeframe listed in this announcement. Additionally, please include your company's CAGE, Unique Entity ID, and Size Standard as part of your submission. Please note: Large submissions may be required to be sent via multiple e-mails. The Government recommends contacting the primary POC in this announcement to verify receipt. 1.3 Industry Discussions: The Government may choose to meet with companies who responded to this RFI to hold one-on-one discussions. Discussions would only be held to obtain further clarification of potential capability to meet the requirement. 1.4 Proposed Acquisition Strategy: The Government is contemplating using the Highest Technically Rated Offeror (HRTO) selection methodology for this acquisition. This allows the Government to promote efficiency in acquisition through a streamlined selection decision, especially for this knowledge based services where technical ability is of paramount concern. The Government would like to solicit industry feedback for this acquisition approach regarding the pros/cons that industry perceives with the acquisition approach. 1.5 Industry Feedback Regarding Requirement: While the Government is the final decision regarding the requirement, we would like to solicit industry feedback regarding the attached requirements documentation and where industry thinks that we could improve the overall quality of the product/service received by updating/clarifying our requirement.
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