California state officials are calling on technology vendors to propose innovative solutions to aid survivors of the recent Los Angeles wildfires. The California Department of Technology (CDT), Department of General Services (DGS) and Office of Data and Innovation (ODI) hosted a Vendor Forum on Wednesday, February 19, to launch the effort to “break out of the status quo and find better solutions” while aiming for an expedited response to speed recovery.   

State Chief Information Officer and CDT Director Liana Bailey-Crimmins said state and local officials are taking a whole government approach to disaster response, integrating city, county, state, and federal efforts. The goal is to streamline survivor assistance through digital solutions, ensuring equitable and easy access to services.   

Proposals will be considered by staff who will select the most innovative solutions for a vendor showcase event in Los Angeles on March 7th.  Officials emphasized the challenge is not a formal solicitation but could lead to future contracts that would have to follow existing procurement rules.  The deadline to respond to four separate challenges, with a proposal no longer than two pages in length, is February 24 at 5 pm. 

The four challenge statements include:

• Improving the survivor experience with digital recovery services
• Analytics and data services to promote equitable outcomes for affected survivors
• Supporting all survivors to ensure there are no barriers to receiving the assistance they need
• Other 

The proposal notice and details are here: https://caleprocure.ca.gov/event/77601/0000034343.  

Following the forum, the CDT Stakeholder Relations team distributed the slide deck and Q and A.  The session was also recorded.

Contact the team and submit proposals via email to stakeholderrelations@state.ca.gov.