RGO RFI_Advanced Analytics_Readiness-Response-Recovery_ Updated.pdf

FEMA RFI – 70FA3126I00000004

RESPONSE DIRECTORATE

FEMA

Response Geospatial Office: Advanced Analytics for Readiness, Response, and Recovery Request for Information: 70FA3126I00000004

INTRODUCTION

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY.

This Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for information and market research planning purposes; it does not constitute a solicitation or a promise to issue a solicitation. Furthermore, those who respond to this RFI should not anticipate feedback with regards to its submission;

other than acknowledgment of receipt – ONLY IF a request for an acknowledgement is requested by the submitter. This RFI does not commit the government to contract for any supply or service. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is not seeking proposals at this time. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay any costs incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future solicitation.

The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the government.

All submissions become the property of the federal government and will not be returned.

Any information that the vendor considers proprietary should be clearly marked as such.

1. Background:

Summary: The Response Geospatial Office (RGO) within FEMA delivers collaboration, technical assistance, imagery acquisition, and geospatial data and analysis to FEMA Headquarters and Regions, supporting decision-making and situational awareness during disaster response. To ensure readiness for incident-specific support, RGO conducts planning, technical development, training, and standardization of systems, products, and business procedures during blue-sky periods, advancing the use of data analytics for response operations. Whether responding to notice or no-notice incidents, RGO is expected to deploy swiftly, leveraging geospatial tools and products to understand threats, evaluate impacts, assess damage, and inform operational decisions. This requires timely acquisition of data, products, and imagery, as well as engagement with subject matter experts to advance analytics and modeling. During response operations, RGO should unify the geospatial community to share data, expertise, and resources, maximizing decision support and operational effectiveness.

The support requested within this RFI provides strategic and technical subject matter expertise to ensure readiness and incident-specific response and requires expertise in science, technology, and disaster response to assist with a range of dynamic data science, systems and process engineering, and management tasks.

2. Request for Information (RFI) Questions:

1. Governance and Documentation

Describe your experience developing, updating, and maintaining multi-year strategic plans, communications plans, and process documentation (e.g., fact sheets, job aids, guidance documents, web/SharePoint content) for geospatial programs supporting disaster response or emergency management. In your response, address the following:

a) Outline your methodology for collaborating with stakeholders to define vision, objectives, and performance metrics, and for tracking progress against implementation plans.

b) Explain how you ensure documentation remains current, actionable, and aligned with evolving mission requirements and federal directives.

c) Discuss your experience facilitating governance forums, such as monthly meetings and annual reviews, and maintaining associated documentation (e.g., agendas, minutes, action items).

d) Provide specific examples of similar work completed for other agencies, including the scope of your involvement, the types of deliverables produced, and the impact on program effectiveness and stakeholder engagement.

2. Geospatial Data Management Describe your end-to-end approach to identifying, curating, validating, and maintaining authoritative geospatial data inventories and metadata in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment. In your response, address the following:

a) Detail your methodologies for discovering, evaluating, and integrating disparate data sources (e.g., federal, state, local, commercial, crowdsourced, remote sensing) to build and sustain comprehensive, mission-ready data inventories.

b) Explain your processes for establishing and enforcing data governance, including version control, lineage tracking, metadata standardization (e.g., FGDC, ISO), and lifecycle management.

c) Discuss your strategies for ensuring data integrity, quality assurance, and validation, including methods for identifying and resolving data redundancy, inaccuracies, and gaps.

d) Describe how you achieve and maintain interoperability across platforms and systems, including the use of open standards, APIs, and data transformation tools to support seamless data sharing and integration. Provide examples of how you have ensured compliance with federal requirements and best practices (e.g., OMB, DHS, FEMA, Open Data Act), and how you have supported data archival, retention, and secure dissemination in previous projects.

3. Analytic Tools and Impact Analysis

Describe your experience architecting, developing, and operationalizing advanced geospatial analytic tools and impact analysis models in support of disaster response operations. Specifically, provide examples of past performance and address your ability to:

a. Design and implement automated, scalable systems for rapid processing and integration of large, disparate datasets (including remote sensing, real-time feeds, and structured/unstructured data)

b. Develop and maintain dashboards, predictive models, and automated alerting systems that support both steady-state and surge operations. Utilize and integrate multiple programming languages (e.g., Python, R, JavaScript, Arcade, SQL) and platforms (e.g., ESRI ArcGIS Online, PowerBI, AWS, open-source GIS) to deliver robust, resilient solutions.

c. Ensure operational accuracy, reliability, and timeliness under tight deadlines, including your approach to code validation, error handling, and continuous improvement.

d. Provide specific examples of complex analytic solutions you have delivered for federal or emergency management clients, including the challenges faced and how you ensured mission success.

4. Imagery Acquisition and Processing Describe your experience executing large-scale, rapid acquisition, processing, and delivery of high-resolution aerial and satellite imagery in support of time-sensitive disaster response operations. In your response, address the following:

a. Detail your technical capabilities and operational workflows for acquiring, processing, orthorectifying, mosaicking, and delivering multi-source imagery at sub-meter resolution, including compliance with federal geospatial guidelines and standards for accuracy, georeferencing, and timeliness requirements.

b. Please specify the types of imagery with which you have direct experience and describe how you have utilized each type to support disaster response or emergency management operations. Discuss your experience coordinating with multiple imagery providers and managing surge requirements during large-scale incidents, including your ability to obtain competitive vendor quotes, mobilize airborne assets, and deliver actionable image services within hours of tasking.

c. Describe your quality assurance and validation processes for ensuring imagery meets technical specifications for collection, processing, and use (e.g., horizontal accuracy, sun angle, projection), and your strategies for troubleshooting and resolving data ingestion or processing issues under operational pressure.

d. Provide specific examples of successful imagery missions for emergency management applications for clients, including challenges encountered (e.g., adverse weather, airspace restrictions, data volume, rapid dissemination) and how you ensure mission success.

5. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Describe your experience designing, evaluating, and operationalizing advanced AI/ML solutions for geospatial analysis in high-stakes disaster response environments.

Specifically:

a) Detail your approach to developing, training, and validating AI/ML models (including computer vision, natural language processing, and predictive analytics) using large, heterogeneous geospatial datasets (e.g., satellite/aerial imagery, sensor feeds, social media, and open-source intelligence).

b) Explain your methods for benchmarking model performance against traditional analytic techniques, quantifying uncertainty, and ensuring model interpretability and transparency for operational users.

c) Discuss your strategies for integrating AI/ML models into existing geospatial workflows and enterprise systems, including automation, real-time processing, and human-in-the-loop validation.

d) Provide specific examples of AI/ML-enabled solutions you have deployed in support of disaster response, including challenges encountered (e.g., data quality, model drift, operational constraints) and how you ensured accuracy, reliability, and compliance with federal data governance and security requirements.

6. Cloud and Enterprise System Operations Describe your experience architecting, administering, and optimizing enterprise-scale, cloud-based GIS systems supporting mission-critical operations. Specifically:

a) Detail your approach to managing complex, hybrid cloud environments (e.g., AWS, Microsoft Azure, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Windows Server) for GIS applications, including automated patching, configuration management, and zero-downtime updates.

b) Explain how you ensure compliance with evolving federal IT and cybersecurity policies (e.g., DHS/FEMA directives, FISMA, FedRAMP), including your processes for continuous monitoring, vulnerability management, and incident response.

c) Discuss the advanced tools, automation frameworks, and monitoring solutions you use to proactively detect and resolve issues, optimize system performance, and ensure high availability and disaster recovery.

d) Provide examples of how you have implemented role- and attribute-based access controls, multi-factor authentication, and secure integration with enterprise identity services in a federal environment.

e) Include specific case studies where you successfully maintained or restored system availability during high-impact events, describing the challenges faced and lessons learned.

7. Enterprise Cloud Modernization and Scalability Describe your experience leading the modernization and transformation of enterprise-level geospatial cloud environments supporting large, distributed user bases and mission-critical operations. In your response, address the following:

a) Detail your methodology for conducting comprehensive gap analyses of legacy geospatial architectures, identifying technical debt, and developing actionable roadmaps for modernization, consolidation, and migration to cloud-native solutions.

b) Explain your approach to architecting and deploying highly available, fault-tolerant, and scalable cloud infrastructures (e.g., multi-region, auto-scaling, containerization, infrastructure as code) that support advanced geospatial analytics, real-time data integration, and disaster recovery.

c) Discuss how you evaluate, select, and integrate emerging technologies (e.g., serverless computing, AI/ML services, open-source GIS, automation/orchestration frameworks) to maximize operational agility, security, and cost efficiency while ensuring compliance with federal mandates (e.g., FedRAMP, FISMA, DHS/FEMA directives).

d) Describe your strategies for minimizing operational disruption during large-scale migrations or consolidations, including data integrity assurance, rollback planning, stakeholder engagement, and post-migration validation.

e) Provide detailed case studies of enterprise cloud modernization projects you have led, highlighting technical and organizational challenges (e.g., legacy system integration, security hardening, user adoption), the solutions you implemented, and measurable outcomes achieved.

8. Cybersecurity and Compliance Describe your experience implementing and maintaining robust cybersecurity controls for enterprise geospatial systems in a federal environment. In your response, address the following:

a) Detail your approach to designing, implementing, and continuously monitoring security controls in accordance with DHS and FEMA directives, including how you ensure compliance with FISMA, FedRAMP, and DHS MD 4300A Sensitive Systems Policy.

b) Explain your experience serving as or supporting the Information System Security Officer (ISSO) role, including developing and executing contingency plans, responding to Information Security Vulnerability Management (ISVM) notifications, and maintaining required security documentation and artifacts.

c) Discuss your methodologies for supporting the full lifecycle of Authority to Operate (ATO) and Authority to Connect (ATC) processes, including preparation of assessment and authorization packages, remediation of Plan of Actions and Milestones (POA&M), and coordination with system owners and auditors.

d) Describe the automated tools and processes you use for information security continuous monitoring (ISCM), credentialed scanning, vulnerability management, and incident response, and how you ensure timely adjudication of findings and reporting

e) Provide specific examples of how you have successfully maintained ATO status and managed cybersecurity for geospatial or similarly complex systems, including challenges encountered and how you ensured operational continuity and compliance.

9. Incident Response and Surge Support Describe your ability to deliver rapid, scalable surge support during incidents of national significance, including the deployment of qualified subject matter experts, execution of advanced geospatial analysis and modeling, and effective coordination with FEMA and interagency partners. In your response, address the following:

a) Explain your operational strategies for mobilizing personnel and resources within hours of tasking, including your approach to 24/7 operations, staffing surge teams, and maintaining readiness for both notice and no-notice events.

b) Detail your experience acquiring and integrating novel data sources (e.g., aerial imagery, satellite data, social media feeds) and producing actionable geospatial products (e.g., impact assessments, damage models, incident dashboards) under tight timelines.

c) Discuss your methods for facilitating interagency collaboration, establishing incident-specific information sharing platforms, and managing access controls to ensure secure and efficient dissemination of data and products.

d) Provide specific examples of prior surge support delivered under federal contracts, including the scale and complexity of the incidents, types of geospatial and analytic products provided, coordination mechanisms used, and measurable outcomes achieved.

e) Describe any challenges encountered during surge deployments (e.g., data gaps, operational constraints, stakeholder coordination) and how you addressed them to ensure mission success.

10. Project Management and Reporting Describe your approach to program and project management for large, complex federal contracts, particularly those supporting geospatial or disaster response operations. In your response, address the following:

a) Specify the project management methodologies (e.g., Agile, PMI, hybrid) you employ to ensure timely delivery, quality assurance, and transparency across all phases of contract execution.

b) Detail your processes for requirements management, resource allocation, and stakeholder engagement, including how you facilitate collaboration and drive continuous improvement within multidisciplinary teams.

c) Explain your approach to risk identification, assessment, mitigation, and documentation, including the development and maintenance of risk management plans and contingency strategies.

d) Describe the tools and systems you use for tracking project progress, managing schedules, monitoring costs, and ensuring accountability for deliverables (e.g., MS Project, JIRA, dashboards, automated reporting).

e) Provide examples of how you have produced and maintained comprehensive program documentation (e.g., project management plans, status reports, onboarding/offboarding records), and how you have ensured clear, timely communication with federal stakeholders.

f) Include specific examples from prior federal contracts that demonstrate your ability to manage complex, multi-task projects, address challenges, and deliver successful outcomes.

3. RFI Response Format:

In order to better assist in the review of submittals to this RFI, respondents are encouraged to prepare a capabilities statement that closely adheres to the following format:

The document format shall be either Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx), or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) formats. Responses shall be prepared using 12 pt. font, 1-inch margins, and 8.5” by 11” paper and shall not exceed ten (10) pages in length, including images, data displays, charts, graphs, and tables.

Respondents are encouraged to ensure that their submittals are complete and address all items outlined within this RFI. Respondents may provide additional promotional literature in addition to their response as long as the literature conforms to the response format. Submissions in response to this RFI shall not exceed 10 pages.

Response Deadline and Point of Contact Information:

FEMA will only give consideration to submissions in response to this notice that are in the form of Microsoft Word and/or PDF (searchable format) documents attached to emails received no later than 7/24/2026 at 12:00PM EST:

Contracting Officer Janine Bennett: Janine.Bennett@fema.dhs.gov.

Interested parties are requested to submit a statement of capability outlining past work that is related to this requirement. The statement of capability shall also include the information listed below:

1) Company Name/Division, mailing address, e-mail address, telephone, FAX numbers, and website address (if available).

mailto:Janine.Bennett@fema.dhs.gov.

2) Single point-of-contact name, title, telephone, and email address.

3) DUNS number, CAGE Code, Tax Identification Number (TIN), and company structure (Corporation, LLC, partnership, joint venture, etc.). Please note that companies must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) to be considered potential sources (https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/).

4) A statement addressing whether the company has an accounting system that has been determined adequate by DCAA or another cognizant audit agency for purposes of performing work on a federal government cost type contract.

5) A statement addressing whether the company has a property management system that has been determined acceptable for use on a federal government contract.

6) Applicable NAICS code under which the company customarily does business.

7) Business size for NAICS Codes 481211 and socio-economic status, if qualified as one or more of the following:

a) 8(a) firm (must be certified by SBA)

b) Small Disadvantaged Business (must be certified by SBA)

c) Woman-Owned Small Business

d) HUBZone firm (must be certified by SBA)

e) Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (must be listed in the VetBiz Vendor

Information pages)

8) If a teaming arrangement is contemplated, discuss potential team members.

9) A description of the firm’s ability to perform the work and any other information you believe to be important to the purposes of this RFI.

The responses received will assist FEMA with identifying the number and nature of the entities that consider themselves feasible technical solution providers, as well as any teaming arrangements that may evolve as a result of this requirement.

Each respondent, by submitting a response, agrees that any cost incurred by it in responding to this request, or in support of activities associated with this RFI, shall be the sole responsibility of respondent. FEMA shall incur no obligations or liabilities whatsoever, to anyone, for any costs or expenses incurred by the respondent in responding to this RFI. Responses to this RFI will not be returned.

4. Industry Discussions

Some respondents may be asked to provide additional information regarding the matters addressed in this RFI. Such requests will be provided approximately 2 weeks following the deadline to respond to this RFI. Those respondents will be contacted directly if there is a need for further information.

http://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/)

5. Questions

Respondents may submit questions regarding this RFI to the contact(s) listed below. Responses to questions may be posted on beta.SAM.gov. Please send any questions you may have to the Contracting Officer, Janine Bennett: Janine.Bennett@fema.dhs.gov Each question shall provide the section and page number of the particular item being referred to in this RFI.

mailto:Janine.Bennett@fema.dhs.gov