Issue Date: 7/7/26   

Proposal Due Date:  7/24/26

Anticipated Award Date: 8/01/26

Anticipated Award Amount: up to $15,000 USD

To Whom It May Concern:

IREX (International Research & Exchanges Board) is seeking proposals from qualified vendors to design, develop, initially host, test, and refine a Ukrainian-language AI chatbot for use by IREX, as well as eventually transfer ownership of the tool to IREX or another designated party. The chatbot will draw from an approved knowledge base on education content and support teachers in creating ready-to-use classroom exercises. The target audience for this tool will be Ukrainian school teachers, based in Ukraine. The selected contractor will work with IREX and the local program team to confirm the chatbot’s objectives, advise on technical architecture and AI safety, adapt the knowledge base for effective use, build and test the tool, and support user feedback and refinement. The anticipated initial development timeline is approximately six weeks. Ideally, the contractor will have experience developing AI tools for educational contexts.

IREX reserves the right to withdraw this request for proposals at any time up to the award of the contract.

Proposal Requirements

Organizations interested in providing this service must submit a proposal that demonstrates their technical and operational capacity to design, develop, test, host, and refine a Ukrainian-language AI chatbot that supports teachers in creating ready-to-use classroom exercises based on an approved IREX knowledge base. Proposals should clearly describe the vendor’s proposed approach, relevant experience, anticipated timeline, staffing, hosting model, security and privacy safeguards, testing process, and transition plan.

• Develop, with an estimated six-week long initial development period, a Ukrainian-language AI chatbot that enables teachers to generate ready-to-use classroom exercises.
• Work with IREX and the local program team to integrate and structure IREX-provided knowledge-base materials for chatbot use. Additionally, advise on technical architecture and AI safety, and support effective testing, deployment, and refinement.
• Provide secure vendor hosting during initial implementation and a transition plan for transferring the chatbot, documentation, administrative access, user data, and related technical assets to IREX or another designated party.
• Support user login functionality and describe safeguards for account access, authentication, data storage, user activity data, digital security, and data privacy.
• Include quality assurance measures to reduce inaccurate, inappropriate, or unsupported outputs and maintain pedagogically useful responses across subjects.
• Create and implement a practical plan, as well as provide technical support, for user testing, feedback collection, feedback incorporation, and rollout in coordination with the program team.
• Ensure the chatbot is accessible, user-friendly, appropriate for teachers with varying levels of digital literacy, and supported through regular communication in English and Ukrainian.

Proposal Content

• Company profile, resumes of key personnel, and references for three similar projects, including client contact information. Max 1 page.
• Technical proposal and anticipated timeline, including the proposed development approach, technical architecture, hosting model, knowledge-base integration process, source citation approach, user testing plan, and rollout approach. It should include a draft transition and handover plan describing how the chatbot, documentation, administrative access, user data, and related technical assets could be transferred to IREX or another designated party. Timeline should include a weekly implementation plan with key milestones. Max 2 pages.
• AI safety, quality assurance, and data protection approach, including safeguards for user login, authentication, user data, inaccurate or unsupported outputs, and inappropriate content. Max 1 page.
• Financial proposal with an itemized budget, including development, hosting, maintenance, transition, and any licensing or third-party service costs.

Proposal Submission Requirements

If you are interested in furnishing this service, please e-mail an English-language proposal to sdoroshenko@irex.org 

If you decide to submit a proposal, it must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on July 24, 2026. Late submissions will only be considered if in the best interests of the project, and then at IREX’s sole discretion. All proposals submitted must be valid for a period of not less than sixty (60) calendar days from the closing date indicated above.

Proposal Evaluation

The criteria are listed in descending order, starting with the most important factors to be evaluated.

• Technical approach, including chatbot design, knowledge-base grounding, source citation, testing, and rollout plan (30%)
• Relevant experience developing AI, chatbot, education technology, or knowledge-based tools, including quality of references (20%)
• AI safety, data privacy, user login, hosting, and transition plan (20%)
• Cost reasonableness and price competitiveness (20%)
• Staffing, timeline, responsiveness, and ability to communicate effectively in English and Ukrainian (10%)

IREX may at its discretion ask for additional information or perform site visits. IREX may accept multiple bidders and partial bids for the services requested.

Renewal

IREX reserves the right, based on availability of funding and vendor performance, to enter into subsequent contractual agreements with the winning vendor for a period of up to three years without issuing a new RFP.

Contact Information

Name: Sofia Doroshenko

Title: Program Coordinator

IREX

1350 I Street NW, Suite 1100

Washington, D.C.  20005