San Diego Archaeological Center

San Diego Archaeological Center, a non-profit organization based in Escondido, California, provides archaeological curation, collections management, and Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) consultation services to the Department of the Navy and Department of the Marine Corps as a prime contractor, competing full-and-open with no set-aside designations across its federal footprint.

The organization specializes in artifact cataloging, secure storage, archival management, accessioning, inventory control, and facilitation of federally mandated NAGPRA consultations with tribal partners. Core work centers on professional curatorial services supporting federal compliance with the Archaeological Resources Protection Act and National Historic Preservation Act at Navy and Marine Corps installations throughout Southern California. Representative contract work includes a $90,630 firm fixed-price delivery order from Navy Installations Command (awarded January 2026) for curation and collections management across Naval Base Point Loma, San Clemente Island, Naval Base Coronado, Naval Air Facility El Centro, Naval Station Monterey, and Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach; a $135,860 delivery order from the Marine Corps (September 2025) for curatorial and collections management at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar; and a $65,625 delivery order from Naval Facilities Engineering Command (March 2025) for architectural collections management and curation services. The center also holds a single-award Indefinite Delivery Contract (N6247320D0040) valued at $1.697 million from Naval Facilities Engineering Command, effective through September 2026, under which two task orders have been issued.

Customer concentration is nearly total within Department of the Navy components. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command anchors the portfolio with 19 awards worth $4.9 million in combined potential value (93% of all dollars), while the Marine Corps holds 30 awards ($1.2 million) and Navy Installations Command holds 21 awards ($766 thousand), together accounting for 95% of all awards. The center operates under five primary indefinite delivery contracts, with the largest task-order concentration under Indefinite Delivery Contract N6247306D2218 (20 task orders, $459 thousand) and N6247315D0806 (17 task orders, $723 thousand), reflecting sustained multi-year curation relationships across geographically distributed installations.

Beyond contract work, San Diego Archaeological Center holds a federal grant award from the National Park Service (CFDA and funding agency designation listed as "National Office"; award date October 1, 2024, completion September 30, 2026) focused on facilitating prompt repatriation of human remains and cultural items through enhanced tribal consultation processes. Grant objectives include offering stipends to tribal representatives, elders, and religious leaders for consultation participation, contracting with a NAGPRA consulting firm for formal training and protocol development, and preparing human remains and cultural items for reinterment.

Recent activity shows modest volume — one to four awards per year across 2022–2025 — with three awards (combined potential value $231 thousand) facing completion inside the next twenty-four months, creating limited near-term recompete exposure. The center operates exclusively as a prime across its federal footprint with no subcontract participation. All awards carry full-and-open competition designation with no SBA set-asides, positioning the center as a specialized single-source provider of professional archaeological services to military cultural resource management programs rather than a competitive incumbent across multiple vehicles.