San Francisco to Pilot ‘Try-Before-You-Buy’ Vendor Pool

The San Francisco Department of Technology and the Office of the City Administrator have released a request for qualifications that will serve as the pilot for a “new procurement framework” for vendors supplying emerging technologies.

In the RFQ, the city/county government notes that the list will serve as a pilot project “to enable smarter city acquisition and testing of technology,” which will continue to add suppliers during the course of the next two years.

The local government is classifying the pilot as a sort of try-before-you-buy framework in which departments identify their specific problems before partnering with pool vendors on a “short-term, lower-dollar experiment to test and evaluate the solution before committing to a full contract.”

Why would companies with limited resources and staff participate in a program that asks them to test their solutions at a reduced cost? The city said this program will serve as a streamlined alternative to the standard procurement vehicles that can be lengthy and unpredictable.

“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,” the RFQ website states.

In addition, the city points out that the pilot will offer participating vendors greater visibility into the challenges facing the various city departments while offering a "low-barrier entry point."

Interested vendors should be aware that a pre-proposal conference will be held May 19, followed closely by the deadline to submit questions May 22. The deadline to submit applications to join the pool is June 26. The city will announce the initial group of firms accepted into the vendor pool July 31, but will continue adding to the pool through December 2027.

More information about the pilot project is available here, and full access to the solicitation can be found through the city’s partner portal.