The subject of the contract is the establishment and operation of an office for the competence network "Artificial Intelligence in Arts and Culture" within the service period from March 1, 2026, to December 31, 2028.
The core product of the competence network is to be a continuing education offering that both bundles existing educational offerings and makes them usable for the target group, as well as includes specifically developed formats. The continuing education offering is to consist of two components: a low-threshold broad educational approach following a discourse and learning offering (working title "open offer") and a multi-month program for the systematic development of competencies (working title "AI Academy").

LOT-0001
AI Office.
The examination of a competence network or center "Artificial Intelligence in Arts and Culture", commissioned by the governmental factions in the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament in May 2024, has shown that the interdisciplinary and cross-genre development of competencies at the intersection of AI in arts and culture in North Rhine-Westphalia is necessary, possible, and advisable, and should definitely rely on the networking of existing institutions and actors.
With a newly established competence network "Artificial Intelligence in Arts and Culture", the state government aims to empower artists from all disciplines and cultural workers from North Rhine-Westphalia to confidently engage with and consciously utilize the technological developments in the field of AI. Artists and cultural workers are understood as a potentially critical consciousness that accompanies the societal change associated with technological progress.
The core product of the competence network is to be a continuing education offering that both bundles existing educational offerings and makes them usable for the target group, as well as includes specifically developed formats. The continuing education offering is to consist of two components: a low-threshold broad educational approach following a discourse and learning offering (working title "open offer") and a multi-month program for the systematic development of competencies (working title "AI Academy").
The implementation of the continuing education offering should take place in addition to in-person and online events also via a learning experience platform (LEP).
In addition to the continuing education offering, project work and research settings for a deeper engagement with artistic questions surrounding the topic of AI and arts are to be established (working title "AI Fellows").
The programming, coordinating, and organizational tasks around the concept, establishment, and implementation of the "Competence Network AI in Arts and Culture in NRW" are to be located at an office. In addition to the continuing education offering and the realization or coordination of project work and research settings, this office is responsible for the networking and involvement of existing actors. As a professionally informed instance that is in close exchange with the cultural scenes and technology partners, the office is also the point of contact for the Ministry of Culture and Science (MKW) and the locally responsible district government. It handles the processing of scholarships for them.
The MKW is looking for a provider or organization that can be responsible for the establishment and operation of the office in the years 2026 to 2028 and provide the associated services.

Goals, Service, and Task Description
1. Goals:
The Ministry of Culture and Science commissions the establishment and operation of an office "AI in Arts and Culture" that is to act as a nucleus and incubator of a relevant state-wide competence network.
The goals of the office are:
- to empower the target groups of artists and cultural workers, as well as students of artistic subjects and cultural workers in North Rhine-Westphalia to use AI informed and confidently in their work through the provision of competencies,
- to strengthen artistic research and production at the intersection of technological developments surrounding the topic of AI and make it accessible as a reflection and discourse space,
- to bundle and network actors, competencies, and resources at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence, as well as arts and culture with an interdisciplinary and cross-genre approach,
- to raise and discourse different artistic, ethical, social, and legal questions that arise at the intersection of AI and cultural production.
Service and task description:
To achieve these goals, the office should develop and implement different offerings. The office should play the role of organizer for the realization of the offerings and also act as a central actor that picks up, networks, and communicates existing offerings. The office should take on the task of systematically involving individual and institutional actors in North Rhine-Westphalia as network partners into their work.
The network partners are to be involved as implementation partners in the realization of both the continuing education formats and the project work and research settings, address the different target groups as multipliers, and raise awareness for the offerings of the competence network. They can also, for example, be involved in programming as a program advisory board.
The service and task description is divided into nine work packages corresponding to the planned offerings, which include both conceptual and recurring operational tasks. The work packages are described in detail in the service description. The rough chronological sequence of the individual work packages is illustrated in Figure 1. The detailed schedule and milestone setting will be carried out by the future contractor in close coordination with the MKW after the contract begins.