RFI Cover Page_Exploring Next-Gen Digital Identity Authentication and Navigation on VA.gov 7 Jan.docx

Exploring Next-Generation Digital Identity, Authentication, and Navigation on VA.gov

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Exploring Next-Generation Digital Identity, Authentication, and Navigation on VA.gov

Introduction:

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only issued for conducting market research. Accordingly, this RFI constitutes neither a Request for Quote (RFQ), Request for Proposal (RFP), nor a guarantee that one will be issued by the Government in the future; furthermore, it does not commit the Government to contract for any services described herein. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is not, at this time, seeking proposals or quotes, and therefore, will not accept, review, or evaluate unsolicited proposals or quotes received in response hereto. This notice is not to be construed as a commitment on the part of the Government to award a contract, nor does the Government intend to pay for any information submitted because of this request. The Government does not reimburse respondents for any costs associated with submission of the information being requested or reimburse expenses incurred for responses to this RFI. The information provided may be used by VA in developing its acquisition strategy and Performance Work Statement (PWS). Any information submitted by respondents to this RFI is strictly voluntary; however, any information received shall become the property of the Government and will not be returned to the respondent. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary, restricted, or competition sensitive information contained in their response. This is a request for information and does not obligate the Government in any way, nor does it commit the Government to any specific course of action. Product information, brochures, part numbers, and/or other description information may be included with the submission.

Requirement:

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) delivers digital services and benefits to Veterans through VA.gov and the VA Health and Benefits mobile application. VA leadership has identified persistent challenges that prevent some Veterans from easily authenticating, signing in, and navigating VA digital services. These challenges relate to identity verification, multi-factor authentication (MFA), post-authentication navigation, accessibility, and varying levels of digital literacy and connectivity.

This Request is issued to gather market intelligence on available ideas, capabilities, patterns, and emerging approaches that could help Veterans more easily access and use VA.gov and related VA digital services, with a particular focus on digital identity, authentication, and post-login navigation.

VA seeks insights from industry, academia, and other stakeholders on delivering a fundamentally improved digital identity experience for Veterans—one that is seamless and frictionless to use while maintaining or exceeding current security standards.

Please refer to the attached draft Market Intelligence Report that describes the technical specifications for this effort.

Responses:

All responsible sources may submit a response in accordance with the information below.

NO MARKETING MATERIALS ARE ALLOWED AS PART OF THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION. Please submit the below requested information by 2pm ET on January 27, 2026 via email to Julia Renna, Contract Specialist at julia.renna@va.gov, and Evan Schlisserman, Contracting Officer at evan.schlisserman@va.gov. Any questions from industry are due by 12pm ET on January 20, 2026 via email.

Complete responses shall be limited to 10 pages and shall include the below. The 10-page limit should be devoted to substantive, experience-focused responses to this request and should not be used for general corporate marketing, promotional content, or boilerplate company information. ROMs, appendices, company overviews, past performance information, and attached visuals/diagrams will be excluded from the page limitation.

(A) Capability Statement,

(B) Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM)

All VA current requirements identified herein are subject to change at any time. If you have questions concerning this announcement, on the Market Intelligence Report, or on the technical requirements, please submit all questions via email to the government contacts listed above. VA appreciates your time and anticipated response.

As part of your RFI response, please provide the following information:

A. CAPABILITY STATEMENT:

1. Please submit a capability statement describing your company’s ability to meet the overall requirement described and responses to the questions below. The capability statement shall be limited to ten (10) pages and address each of the requirements of the Market Intelligence Report, including, but not limited to, the following. Respondents should refer to the Market Intelligence Report for specific response requirements:

· Descriptions of relevant ideas, capabilities, and approaches.

· Case studies or examples from similar environments.

· User journey workflows for identity proofing, sign-in, recovery, and navigation.

· Known limitations, risks, and tradeoffs.

· Lessons learned from past deployments.

· A clear identification of the specific tools, platforms, APIs, data integrations, and operational capabilities VA would need to have in place to operationalize the proposed identity, authentication, and navigation solutions, distinguishing between what VA must provide and what the respondent would deliver.

Responses may be informal and narrative; diagrams, visuals, and workflow illustrations are encouraged (attachments such as images or separate diagram files do not count toward the page limit).

Respondents are requested to include:

· Company or organization overview (name, location, and brief description of relevant capabilities).

· Relevant experience with similar challenges.

· Responses to the topics and questions in this request.

· Descriptions of relevant technologies and approaches.

· Any additional information relevant to VA's objectives.

B. ROM:

Provide a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) as an estimation of the cost associated with your proposal.

Post RFI Phase

VA envisions that once RFI responses are reviewed, select responders may be invited to provide a face-to-face or telephonic briefing to VA personnel to answer additional questions with respect to their capability statement and completed Schedule B provided. VA retains sole discretion of whether any post RFI briefings are warranted and which industry partners may be invited to provide additional market research information.

OFFERORS ARE ADVISED THAT THIS REQUIREMENT MAY BE DELAYED, CANCELED, OR REVISED AT ANY TIME **VA reserves the right to not respond to any, all, or select responses or materials received.**