Your agency can engage us directly for AI consulting - without an RFP.

H-GAC AI02-26 is the AI Consulting Services cooperative purchasing contract awarded by the Houston-Galveston Area Council in March 2026. It was competitively procured — H-GAC published a solicitation, evaluated responses and selected 28 qualified AI consulting vendors. Any H-GAC member agency can now hire from those 28 vendors directly, citing the contract number. The competitive procurement requirement is already satisfied by H-GAC’s process.

Yes. H-GAC contracts are awarded through a public competitive solicitation compliant with applicable state statutes — specifically Texas Local Government Code (Title 7, Chapters 771 and 791), which also authorises other states’ local governments to participate. When your agency uses an H-GAC contract, the competitive procurement requirement has already been met by H-GAC’s award process. Your agency issues a Purchase Order directly; no separate RFP or competitive rebid is required. Your procurement and legal teams should review your state’s specific Interlocal Cooperation Act provisions if you are outside Texas.

Any H-GAC member agency is eligible. That includes Texas cities, counties, school districts, public utilities, special districts, emergency services agencies and qualifying non-profit organisations providing government services. The contract is also available to government entities nationwide that comply with their applicable state procurement laws — most states have interlocal cooperation statutes that permit participation in contracts established by another government entity. H-GAC membership is free and established through an Interlocal Contract at hgacbuy.org.

Joining H-GAC requires executing a free Interlocal Contract with H-GAC, which establishes your agency as a member. The process is completed at hgacbuy.org. There are no annual membership dues. Once your Interlocal Contract is in place, your agency has immediate access to all H-GAC contracts including AI02-26. Paramount’s government team will walk you through the process at no cost and no obligation — contact us to start.

Once your agency issues a Purchase Order referencing contract AI02-26, Paramount mobilises a dedicated consulting team promptly. Our standard government engagement begins with an AI readiness assessment, followed by a prioritised roadmap and a phased delivery plan aligned with your budget cycle. All engagements operate under CMMI Level 3 process standards, with a named government consulting lead and regular progress reporting to your designated point of contact.

We treat compliance as a design constraint, not an afterthought. For court systems we apply CJIS awareness throughout scoping, data architecture and tooling selection. For health departments and clinical environments, V2T is HIPAA-aware by design. For universities, we apply FERPA principles to student data governance from the initial readiness assessment. Our consultants have worked inside all three of these compliance environments before — we do not learn on your engagement.

Email govt@paramountsoft.net with the subject line “H-GAC AI02-26 Partnership” and a brief description of your firm’s core capabilities and the type of collaboration you have in mind. Our government consulting lead will follow up directly. We are open to subcontracting, joint agency responses, referral arrangements and co-delivery partnerships. The conversation is free and there is no obligation.