Auckland Museum - Software Development and Technical Infrastructure for: Online Collections API

Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira (AM) is undertaking a major redevelopment of its Online Collections infrastructure to ensure that its two flagship platforms—Online Cenotaph (OC) and Collections Online (CO)—remain sustainable, accessible, and responsive to current and future user needs.

We are now seeking a technical development partner to support the design, build, and implementation of a new Application Programming Interface and supporting infrastructure. This API will underpin Auckland Museum’s digital collections infrastructure, providing a scalable and secure system that enables rich data sharing, enhanced search, multimedia delivery, and seamless integration across internal and external platforms.

This work sits within a broader multi-year redevelopment programme and aligns with AM’s Path to 2029 strategy, which prioritises open access, digital sustainability, cultural responsiveness, and long-term community impact.

AM is inviting companies to participate in a competitive and closed Request for Proposal (RFP) process. All proposals will be evaluated in accordance with this document.

The intent of this process is to select a Partner that can demonstrate:

• Conceptual understanding of our goals and user needs
• Relevant technical and cultural capability
• A track record of delivering comparable digital infrastructure projects
• Assurance around budget alignment and delivery against specified milestones

We are not seeking a fully resolved solution at this stage. Instead, we are looking for strong partnership potential, a well-reasoned approach to project delivery, and evidence of ability to build a secure, extensible, and culturally appropriate API framework that supports our collections, platforms, and users now and in the future.