Challenge_Statements.pdf

LA Wildfire Recovery Technology Showcase Challenge Statements Background Multiple communities in Los Angeles were directly and indirectly affected by the January wildfires and firestorms. LA’s recovery is Governor Newsom’s top priority. His administration has been working tirelessly to support recovery and rebuilding efforts.

Within days of the first fires, the federal, state, and local governments opened in-person disaster recovery centers and resource hubs to support survivors with immediate needs and longer-term recovery efforts. Survivors include those who have lost their homes, as well as business owners and employees whose place of business has been affected.

These centers have already supported over 21,000 visits. An online disaster recovery portal, ca.gov/lafires, was also launched by the state to connect survivors with the government entities they need to seek financial assistance, begin their clean-up and rebuilding efforts, get connected with mental health support, replace vital documents, and more. California is leading the way in transparency about recovery efforts through its online recovery dashboard, which shares the recovery metrics most important to survivors.

The administration wants to build off of this already critical work. The Government Operations Agency is hosting an event to showcase how technology can support the recovery and rebuilding work that is both ongoing and to come. We want to hear from private sector and nonprofit technology companies about the additional services, improvements, and innovations that can launch immediately improve the experience for survivors on their road to recovery. The state is particularly interested in the following four challenge areas. Organizations may respond to as many challenges as they have proposals for or may propose more than one solution to a given challenge.

When addressing a challenge, each respondent should consider how the solution will be accessible to non- and limited-English speakers, people of color, those with limited sight or vision capabilities, and low-income people.

1. Improving the survivor experience with digital recovery services The state has heard directly from survivors that having to go to one of a few physical locations to complete required forms and get critical information is difficult. Additionally, the physical sites often do not have translators or materials in multiple languages. We want to make it easier for people to access information and apply for state services online.

https://www.ca.gov/lafires/get-help-in-person/ https://www.ca.gov/lafires/get-help-in-person/ https://www.ca.gov/lafires/get-help-online/ https://www.ca.gov/lafires/get-help-online/ https://www.ca.gov/lafires/track-progress/

Although many recovery services are available online, the breadth of different services across federal, state, and local governments may require survivors to interact with different service providers with some requiring a phone call or even a physical signature. The state is interested in how it can digitize multilingual and accessible services related to the LA wildfires recovery. This includes proposals regarding data and information sharing across federal, state, and local agencies to integrate these digital services.

2. Analytics and data services to promote equitable outcomes for affected survivors

Data plays a critical role in the state’s response to the LA Wildfires. More specifically, data may help inform and prioritize specific recovery efforts as well as ensure those efforts promote equitable outcomes for affected services.

California has the largest and most diverse population in the country and the Governor is committed to a California for All. The state is interested in hearing proposals about analytics and data services to support data-driven, culturally and demographically relevant fire recovery, response, and survivor support.

3. Supporting all survivors to ensure there are no barriers to receiving the assistance they need

The state has heard from survivors and community-based organizations that survivors are concerned about their privacy and personal safety when applying for public benefits.

California is home to historically underrepresented, hard-to-reach, and mixed immigrant status communities who are eligible for many survivor benefits and programs. Members of these communities may not know about or seek those benefits. The state is interested in hearing proposals about how to increase survivors’ awareness of and comfort with the support they’re eligible to receive. The goal is to increase the uptake of these services and programs while ensuring the safety, security, and privacy of these survivors and their data. This challenge may relate to both technical, cultural, and informational barriers to providing emergency assistance services.

https://www.ca.gov/lafires/get-help-online/

4. Other Survivor recovery is a complex and evolving process. The state is interested in making it easier to recover by helping survivors have reliable information and easy access to knowing the steps and where they are on the road to recovery.

If your organization sees an opportunity space not detailed in one of the challenges above, the state is interested in hearing your proposal for additional ways to immediately support survivors and/or the state’s fire response and recovery efforts.