rfp-des-2026-23-addendum-3.pdf

RFP DES 2026-23 Addendum 3 – NH Water Infrastructure Funding Dashboard RFP 9/25/2026 Page 1 of 24

The State of New Hampshire

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

Robert R. Scott, Commissioner

New Hampshire Water Infrastructure Funding Dashboard RFP DES 2026-23 – Addendum 3

September 2026

1. PURPOSE OF ADDENDUM

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) issues Addendum No. 3 to address inquiries received during the firm inquiry period. This addendum supplements the Clarifications provided in Addendum No. 1. For convenience, the questions and responses from Addendum No. 1 are reproduced in the Clarifications section and remain unchanged.

2. CLARIFICATIONS

1) Is there an established budget or not-to-exceed amount for the five-year contract?

Answer 1: There is no established budget or not‑to‑exceed amount designated for the five‑year contract. We are seeking proposals that outline a comprehensive and cost-effective approach to meeting the scope of services described in the RFP. All proposed costs will be evaluated as part of the overall submission. (Addendum 1 A1).

2) Section II.B states that the selected Firm may be contracted to host the dashboard. Should the total cost in Section III.H include hosting for the full five-year period, or should hosting be priced as a separate line?

Answer 2: Please include pricing for hosting the dashboard for the full five-year period as a separate line item. (Addendum 1 A2).

3) NHDES already publishes an ArcGIS Hub open data site. Does NHDES require the new dashboard to be built and hosted within its existing ArcGIS Online organization?

Answer 3: NHDES is open to a dashboard that is built and hosted in any format that meets the needs as defined in the RFP. The dashboard does not necessarily need to be built/hosted in ArcGIS Online.

(Addendum 1 A3).

4) Will NHDES staff need to add or edit project data themselves between the twice yearly updates described in Section II.B.a?

Answer 4: NHDES will provide any necessary edits or additions to the project data for the contracted Firm to incorporate into the dashboard. (Addendum 1 A4).

5) Section II.A.a.iv calls for a narrative for each project. Will NHDES supply the written narratives, or should proposers include writing them?

Answer 5: NHDES will supply the written project narratives. (Addendum 1 A5).

6) Approximately how many funded projects are in the initial 2021 to current data set?

Answer 6: Approximately 400 funded projects are included in the initial list. (Addendum 1 A6).

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7) Is the new dashboard intended to replace the existing NHDES ARPA story maps, or to run alongside them?

Answer 7: The new dashboard is intended to supplement the existing NHDES ARPA story map to present data on additional funding sources which include: American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds (DWSRF and CWSRF, respectively). (Addendum 1 A7).

8) This RFP does not appear on the statewide Bids and Proposals portal. Where will NHDES publish the addendum with responses to inquiries?

Answer 8: The addendum will be published as an attachment to the bid file on the NH Department of Administrative Services Procurement and Support Services Bids page. (Addendum 1 A8).

9) The RFP permits links to websites and other mechanisms for demonstrating previous dashboard work. May a proposal also include a link to an interactive working concept or prototype prepared specifically for this RFP, in addition to screenshots embedded in the proposal PDF?

Answer 9: Yes.

10) If oral interviews and product demonstrations are held, will firms be able to present a live demonstration of the proposed user experience?

Answer 10: Yes.

11) Section II.A.a.ii references highlighting efforts “not typically funded such as the Disadvantaged category.” Can NHDES clarify what this designation refers to (for example, a funding set-aside or disadvantaged-community criteria), whether a per-project designation will be provided in the source data, and whether NHDES has a preferred public-facing label for it?

Answer 11: The disadvantaged category refers to a select group of community-owned mobile home/condominium associations that applied for and were offered ARPA grant funding towards water and wastewater system infrastructure improvements; The preferred public-facing label can be discussed at a future date.

12) What systems and formats currently hold the project, funding award, location, narrative, and media information for the approximately 400 projects (for example, spreadsheets, databases, ArcGIS services, or content published in the existing StoryMaps)?

Answer 12: The data will be compiled and provided via Excel; the dashboard is not intended to interact with any state databases.

13) Will NHDES provide one consolidated, authoritative dataset for the initial implementation, or should firms include reconciliation across multiple sources within their scope?

Answer 13: See Answer 12; NHDES will provide a single Excel spreadsheet that will encompass all necessary data.

14) Can a single project carry multiple funding awards across programs or years, and do the source data include stable project and award identifiers that preserve those relationships?

Answer: Yes, a single project can be funded with multiple funding awards across programs. The Excel spreadsheet separates each project, with its own unique identification number, by row and award amounts per funding source are in separate columns.

https://apps.das.nh.gov/NHProcurement/Bid https://apps.das.nh.gov/NHProcurement/Bid

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15) Approximately what portion of the initial projects currently have approved photos, videos, or other visuals available, and what treatment does NHDES expect for projects where media is not available?

Answer 15: Limited media has been obtained. Additional media will be provided over the course of the project. NHDES is aiming for three to six photos and one to two videos per project, if available. NHDES intends to reach out to the project contacts to provide the media used for the project, the selected Firm is not expected to obtain media for the projects.

16) Which specific accessibility standard and validation process will NHDES use to review and accept the dashboard and related public content, and can NHDES provide or direct firms to the NHDES Vendor Public Information Guidelines referenced in Section II.A.c?

Answer 16: The selected Firm will need to certify to NHDES that it meets the State accessibility requirements specified in Section II.A.c of the RFP. The NHDES Vendor Public Information Guidelines are provided via a hyperlink in Section II.A.c of the RFP originally published.

17) Are there requirements or constraints regarding hosting environment, security review, web analytics, or domain/DNS for the dashboard?

Answer 17: At this time, there are no additional requirements or constraints regarding hosting environment, security review, web analytics, or domain/DNS for the dashboard. If NHDES is to take over hosting the dashboard, these details will be worked out with the State of New Hampshire Department of Information Technology (NHDoIT) and the selected Firm.

18) If NHDES elects to take over the platform at the end of the contract period, what handoff artifacts are expected (for example, source code, data exports, documentation, or deployment configuration)?

Answer 18: These details are to be worked out with NHDoIT and the selected firm.

19) For pricing purposes, should the base five-year cost include incorporation of any portion of the approximately 35 years of historical project data, or will historical expansion beyond the initial 2021-current dataset be scoped and authorized separately after the initial deployment?

Answer 19: The five-year cost should include incorporation of historical project data.

20) Does NHDES have a desired or required public launch date for the Year 1 dashboard, or should firms propose a schedule anchored to notice to proceed and NHDES review milestones?

Answer 20: The project schedule can be discussed at contract award.

21) Beyond the user guide and Year 1 presentation, does NHDES anticipate a particular number, format, or frequency of promotional or outreach materials during the contract term?

Answer 21: NHDES does not anticipate additional promotional or outreach materials after the first year.

Additional outreach materials or work beyond the scope included in the proposal may be addressed between NHDES and the selected Firm as the need arises.

22) Do you anticipate this dashboard to be built in a Business Intelligence (BI) tool or custom build?

Answer 22: See Answer 3. NHDES is open to any format/platform that meets the RFP needs.

23) What Business Intelligence (BI) tool licenses (e.g., Power BI) do you already have?

Answer 23: NHDES has access to tool licenses, but this project is not limited to utilizing these licenses.

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24) Is there a budget for this project?

Answer 24: See Answer 1.

25) What format is the project data in today?

Answer 25: See Answer 12.

26) Is loading the 35 years of historic data included in this bid or priced separately?

Answer 26: See Answer 19.

27) Does "modifications" in Years 2-5 mean data refreshes only, or new features too?

Answer 27: Modifications would entail the additional of data, i.e. new awarded projects, and small updates to the dashboard to address user/public/NHDES feedback regarding functionality.

28) What does NHDES taking over the platform at contract end look like?

Answer 28: See Answer 18.

29) In what format will NHDES provide the underlying project data (e.g., spreadsheet/CSV export, database, API access), and will it arrive as a single delivery or on an ongoing basis?

Answer 29: See Answer 12. The initial data will be sent to the selected firm via a single Excel spreadsheet. NHDES may submit additional data via Excel spreadsheets no more than twice a year.

30) Has the project data already been cleaned and standardized or should the firm plan for data cleaning/normalization as part of the scope?

Answer 30: Yes, the data will be cleaned and standardized when presented to the selected firm; further normalization can be discussed if needed.

31) Approximately how many individual projects/data points will be included in the initial dataset (current projects plus 2021–present)?

Answer 31: See Answer 6.

32) Does NHDES already have photos, videos, and other visual assets for each project, or will the firm need to source, create, or coordinate collection of this media?

Answer 32: Yes, NHDES has media (photos, videos, etc.) and will provide it to the selected firm.

33) In what format is the ~35 years of historic project data NHDES holds and is there a rough timeframe for when it might be incorporated into the dashboard?

Answer 33: The 35-years of historic project data will be formatted in an excel spreadsheet. NHDES expects this data to be incorporated into the dashboard within Years 2-5 of the contract with the selected firm.

34) Does the project data include coordinates or geocoded locations, or should the firm plan to geocode as part of scope, and at what precision (address, facility, or town level)? Are all funded projects point locations, or do some represent linear infrastructure (mains, sewer lines) or service areas?

Answer 34: At this time, the project data does not include latitude/longitude coordinates or geocoded locations. NHDES can provide project addresses, street locations, or proposed locations to the selected firm, which would then be responsible for geocoding the project locations. Firms should include the associated geocoding labor costs as a separate line item in their proposals. Projects vary in scale; some

9/25/2026 Page 5 of 24 may represent a specific location, while others may involve infrastructure across multiple streets within a city or town (e.g., sewer lines).

35) Does NHDES have a preferred or required technology platform/stack, particularly for the GIS and data visualization components?

Answer 35: See Answer 3.

36) Does the dashboard need to integrate with any existing NHDES systems, GIS platforms, or the State's website content management system?

Answer 36: The dashboard does not need to be integrated with any existing NHDES systems, GIS platforms, or the State’s website content management system.

37) Will the dashboard be hosted on an NHDES-managed domain/subdomain, or on infrastructure managed by the selected firm?

Answer 37: Ideally, the selected firm will host the dashboard throughout the duration of the contract.

At the end of the contract, if it is decided that NHDES needs to take over as the host, the details of this transition will need to be worked NHDoIT, NHDES, and the selected firm.

38) Are there specific State of NH IT security, data privacy, or hosting standards the platform must meet?

Answer 38: There are no additional requirements.

39) Is built-in usage analytics/reporting on dashboard traffic desired as part of the deliverable?

Answer 39: This is not a requirement but would be beneficial. The cost for this service can be included as a separate line item within the bid.

40) Can NHDES confirm the specific accessibility standard referenced (e.g., WCAG 2.1 AA) and share the State of NH accessibility requirements and NHDES Vendor Public Information Guidelines referenced in Section II.A.c prior to proposal submission?

Answer 40: See Answer 16.

41) Is the "up to twice a year" maintenance allowance a hard cap, or can additional updates be requested and billed separately during the contract term?

Answer 41: NHDES would not need more frequent updates than up to twice a year.

42) If the firm hosts the dashboard, what are NHDES's expectations for uptime, support response times, and security monitoring?

Answer 42: NHDES expects ongoing support and security monitoring by the selected Firm to maintain optimal operation.

43) What deliverables are expected if/when NHDES elects to take over the platform at the end of the contract period (e.g., source code handoff, documentation, training, data export)?

Answer 43: See Answer 18.

44) Are there page limits, font/formatting requirements, or a maximum proposal length for the sections in Part III beyond the one-page maximum specified for Basic Firm Information?

Answer 44: No, beyond the one-page maximum specified for Basic Firm information, there are no limitations regarding page length or font/format for proposals pertaining to the sections in Part III.

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45) Should the cost proposal (Section III.H) be included within the single submitted PDF or provided as a separate file or attachment?

Answer 45: NHDES has no preference.

46) Are reference contacts required as part of the Previous Work section, and if so, how many should be provided?

Answer 46: Firms selected for interviews may be requested to provide references. Further details will be provided.

47) Is there an estimated budget range or not-to-exceed amount for this engagement that NHDES can share to help scope the proposal?

Answer 47: See Answer 1.

48) Approximately how many projects/records are included in the initial 2021 - Current Dataset.

Answer 48: See Answer 6.

49) In what systems and formats is the project and funding data currently maintained (e.g., Excel, CSV, database, GIS system, APIs)?

Answer 49: See Answer 12.

50) Can NHDES provide representative sample datasets showing project, funding, location, narrative, and multimedia metadata to help vendors assess data structure and complexity?

Answer 50: See Addendum #4.

51) Is the existing data already cleansed, standardized, and ready for dashboard consumption, or should the vendor include data cleansing, normalization, deduplication, and enrichment activities?

Answer 51: See Answer 30.

52) Approximately how many projects/records are contained in the available 35 years of historical data, and are these records maintained in the same format and structure as the 2021-current data?

The RFP notes that this historical data may be added after initial deployment.

Answer 52: According to our electronic records, the approximate project count is 1,400 over the 35 years of historical data (this number includes the 400 projects of the initial data set). Historical records will be maintained in the same format/structure as initial data set, via an Excel Spreadsheet.

53) After initial deployment, how frequently will project/funding data change, and what is the preferred mechanism for refreshing the dashboard—manual file upload, scheduled data load, API/integration, or another approach?

Answer 53: The project/funding data is not expected to change after posting; updates will be provided via Excel (up to twice per year). NHDES does not have a preference on the preferred mechanism approach.

54) Does the existing project dataset contain validated latitude/longitude coordinates or other GIS information sufficient to geographically locate each project?

Answer 54: See Answer 34.

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55) Does NHDES currently use ArcGIS or another enterprise GIS platform, and if so, can the selected vendor leverage existing GIS services, data layers, and licenses?

Answer 55: See Answer 23. Yes; NHDES uses ArcGIS among other platforms.

56) Beyond displaying project locations, are additional GIS layers expected, such as municipalities, counties, watersheds, legislative districts, water systems, or infrastructure boundaries?

Answer 56: Yes, additional GIS layers are expected; exact details need not be scoped at this time.

57) Does NHDES have a preferred dashboard, BI, GIS, CMS, cloud, or web technology platform that vendors should use or align with? The RFP currently asks vendors to propose the platform/application.

Answer 57: See Answer 3. Vendors can propose which platform would best suit the dashboard.

58) Does NHDES currently maintain licenses for platforms such as ArcGIS, Power BI, Tableau, or other visualization/content-management technologies that could be leveraged for this solution?

Answer 58: See Answer 23 and Answer 55.

59) Does NHDES have a preferred hosting environment or cloud provider, or should vendors propose and price a fully managed hosting solution?

Answer 59: See Answer 23. If vendors would like to use their own hosting environment or cloud provider, the price should be included as a separate line item in their proposal.

60) Are there specific State of New Hampshire security, cloud hosting, data residency, vulnerability testing, penetration testing, or application security requirements that the solution must meet?

Answer 60: See Answer 38.

61) Does NHDES require an administrative interface that allows authorized staff to independently add or modify projects, funding information, narratives, photos/videos, and other dashboard content?

Answer 61: NHDES will not be requiring an administrator interface as part of the scope.

62) Approximately how many photos and videos are associated with the initial project dataset, where are these assets currently stored, and should the proposed solution host them or reference an existing repository?

Answer 62: See Answer 15. The proposed solution should host the media files.

63) When the RFP references a “story map or other communication tool,” does NHDES have a preferred platform or expected user experience, or may vendors propose an equivalent storytelling capability?

Answer 63: Vendors may propose an equivalent storytelling capability, but ideally NHDES would like an interactive map component to the dashboard.

64) Beyond total projects, dollars invested, town, and project type, what additional KPIs, filters, and reporting dimensions should be supported (e.g., funding source, year, program, project status, infrastructure type)?

Answer 64: Beyond total projects, dollars invested, town/city/community, and project type filters, other filters such as county, district, funding source, funding award date (commitment date), and program type would be important details of each project to include.

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65) Is there a specific target date or desired duration within Year 1 for the initial production launch, including design, development, data loading, UAT and go-live? The RFP identifies Year 1 deliverables but does not specify an implementation completion date.

Answer 65: Schedule/details/deadlines can be discussed at contract award.

66) Which WCAG version and level, and who performs conformance testing?

Answer 66: See Answer 16. WCAG Version 2.1 Level AA.

67) Does "not to exceed twice a year" mean two data refreshes, two change windows, or a cap on total support? Are defect fixes and uptime monitoring separate from those two events?

Answer 67: See Answer 41. To clarify, the statement “not to exceed twice a year” was intended to communicate to interested firms that NHDES would not need to provide an updated data set to upload into the dashboard more than twice a year. Yes, defect fixes and uptime monitoring would be separate.

68) Is there any information in the project dataset that should not be publicly available? For example, PII or other sensitive details that are expected to be stored but not made available in the dashboard?

Answer 68: There is no information included in the dataset is deemed as sensitive; all dataset information can be publicly available.

69) If the Firm hosts the dashboard, are there specific State security requirements for third-party hosting (e.g., data residency, encryption standards) we should account for in our approach and cost?

Answer 69: No additional State security requirements apply to this project.

70) What is the expected dataset format (spreadsheet, GIS shapefile, database export, API)?

Answer 70: See Answer 12; excel spreadsheet.

71) Does the expected dataset include latitude/longitude, or similar location identifiable fields?

Answer 71: See Answer 34.

72) What is the expected delivery format for project photos and videos?

Answer 72: Expected delivery formats are .jpg for photos and .mp4 for videos.

73) Will the dashboard be hosted under a nh.gov subdomain or embedded within an existing NHDES site, and does that constrain the technical stack or require integration with existing State web infrastructure?

Answer: See Answer 36. The dashboard is not required to be hosted under a nh.gov subdomain or embedded within an existing NHDES site. Integration with State systems is not required.

74) Does NHDES expect the proposed dashboard to be based on a Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) product/platform, or a fully custom-developed solution?

Answer 74: See Answer 3; NHDES has no expectations regarding commercial off-the-shelf product/platform versus a fully custom-developed solution.

75) Who is the incumbent vendor currently providing similar services?

Answer 75: There is no incumbent vendor for this scope.

76) Is the incumbent vendor allowed to participate in this RFP?

Answer 76: See Answer 75. All interested vendors are allowed to submit a proposal to the RFP.

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77) What are the current limitations and challenges that you are facing?

Answer 77: Our current limitations and challenges include a lack of expertise with platforms that can effectively integrate and present our project data set to the public in a clean, creative and attractive presentation, including the breadth of NHDES investments and the statewide initiative to improve water infrastructure.

78) How many separate datasets/sources are expected to be integrated into the dashboard?

Answer 78: Initially, one Excel spreadsheet will be provided to the selected firm that encompasses the initial dataset. During the contract, an additional Excel spreadsheet containing historical data will be provided, along with up to two Excel spreadsheets per contract year containing updates to active projects and newly added projects. The firm will be responsible for incorporating these data updates into the dashboard.

79) In what formats and systems is the existing project data currently maintained (e.g., Excel, CSV, database, GIS, SharePoint, or other systems)?

Answer 79: See Answer 12. The data is compiled and maintained through a single excel spreadsheet.

80) Does NHDES expect the solution to include a centralized data repository/database for storing and managing project, funding, geographic, narrative, and multimedia data, or will the dashboard consume data directly from NHDES’ existing data sources?

Answer 80: NHDES does not have any expectations and is open to either option. The only existing data source that NHDES will provide where data can be pulled from is in the format of an excel spreadsheet.

81) Does NHDES have an existing GIS/ESRI environment that the dashboard is expected to integrate with?

Answer 81: See Answer 36. Yes, NHDES operates in an ArcGIS environment but integration is not required.

82) Will NHDES provide cleaned and validated data, or is the selected Firm expected to perform data cleansing, transformation, and validation?

Answer 82: See Answer 30.

83) Will NHDES provide the project narratives, photographs, videos, and other media, or is the selected Firm expected to create/edit the narratives and prepare the content for publication?

Answer 83: See Answer 32. Along with pictures and videos, NHDES will provide the project narratives.

84) Does NHDES prefer the selected Firm to host the dashboard, or does NHDES have an existing State cloud environment in which the solution should be deployed?

Answer 84: See Answer 37.

85) Does NHDES have any technology or platform preferences for developing the interactive dashboard, such as Power BI, Tableau?

Answer 85: See Answer 3.

86) Is there an expected number of dashboard pages, sections, widgets, charts, or visualizations?

Answer 86: No. As long as the information is clearly communicated/presented to the public, NHDES has no expectations/limits to the number of dashboard pages, sections, widgets, charts, or visualizations to be incorporated into the dashboard.

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87) Should the dashboard provide real-time or near-real-time updates, or will data be refreshed periodically through scheduled/manual updates?

Answer 87: See Answer 41. Once the dashboard is live, NHDES does not anticipate a need for real-time or near-real-time updates. Data is expected to be refreshed periodically, no more than twice per year.

88) What format will the project data (funding amounts, project descriptions, locations, etc.) be delivered in — flat files (CSV/Excel), a database export, or API access?

Answer 88: See Answer 12 and Answer 70.

89) What system currently houses this project data (e.g., a database platform, GIS system, SharePoint, or another tool)? Is there an existing internal dashboard or reporting tool NHDES uses today that we should be aware of?

Answer 89: Data is maintained in LGTS but converted into a singular excel spreadsheet. NHDES has access to multiple reporting tools and internal dashboards, but NHDES is open to a dashboard that is built and hosted in any format that meets the needs as defined in the RFP.

90) Would NHDES be able to provide a sample or representative dataset during the proposal stage, to help firms scope the technical approach and cost estimate accurately? Or is full data access only provided after contract award?

Answer 90: See Addendum #4.

91) Approximately how many project records fall within the initial 2021-to-current dataset, versus the full ~35-year historical dataset referenced in Section II.B?

Answer 91: See Answer 6 and Answer 52.

92) Are project locations already geocoded (latitude/longitude), or only available as addresses or town names that would require geocoding as part of the scope?

Answer 92: See Answer 34.

93) What format are the project photos and videos in, and where are they currently stored? Has usage/publication clearance already been secured for public display of this media?

Answer 93: See Answers 15, 62, and 72.

94) Are there specific State of NH IT security, hosting, or compliance requirements the dashboard platform must meet, beyond the accessibility requirements and Vendor Public Information Guidelines referenced in Section II.A.c?

Answer 94: See Answer 38 and 60.

95) Does the dashboard need to integrate with or be embedded within an existing NHDES website, or can it operate as a standalone application with a link from the NHDES site?

Answer 95: See Answer 36.

96) For the ongoing maintenance period (Section II.B, limited to twice yearly updates), how will updated project data be delivered to the selected Firm between refresh cycles?

Answer 96: See Answer 29.

97) What data formats and approximate volumes should firms assume for the 2021–current dataset and any historical data added during Years 2–5? Will NHDES provide the data in an import-ready

9/25/2026 Page 11 of 24 format, or should firms include digitization, cleaning, normalization, and geocoding in their proposed scope? Sections II.B.b and II.E.a.ii, pages 2–3 Answer 97: See Answers 6, 19, 30, 33, and 52.

98) Should the total proposed cost include dashboard hosting, platform licensing, and infrastructure fees for the full five-year term? If hosting is optional, how should firms present those costs in the proposal? Sections II.B.b and III.H, pages 2–3 Answer 98: The total proposed cost should include hosting the dashboard, platform licensing and infrastructure fees, while under contract with NHDES for the full 5-year contract term, as separate line items. Please provide total cost amount with a task-level breakdown including all scope-related costs (licensing/infrastructure reflected accordingly).

99) Has NHDES established an anticipated budget range or contract ceiling for Year 1 development or the full five-year contract? Sections III.H and IV.A, pages 3–4 Answer 99: See Answer 1.

100) Under what circumstances, if any, would NHDES consider paying a premium for superior results or additional value?

Answer 100: See Answer 1. NHDES is not limited to selecting the lowest cost bidder. NHDES will review cost information for completeness and value for the scope of work described in the RFP.

101) If a firm does not receive confirmation that its proposal was received, what follow-up process should it use before the submission deadline? Section V.A, page 6 Answer 101: Firms that decided to submit proposals should follow up via e-mail contact provided in the RFP to confirm receipt of their proposal submission prior to the due date. Please refer to the RFP – Submitting a Proposal section.

102) Engagement model. For Year 1, does NHDES anticipate the selected Firm providing a dedicated resource(s) embedded with NHDES on a full-time basis (potentially supporting work beyond this dashboard)?

Answer 102: NHDES will leave it to the selected firm to determine the appropriate staffing capacity and level of resources to dedicate to the project. The dashboard will be the sole project for which NHDES is engaging in a firm under this solicitation. If the proposed staffing is sufficient to meet the project requirements and agreed-upon deadlines, NHDES is open to the firm’s proposed staffing approach and resource availability.

103) Photos and videos. Section II.A.a.iii calls for "photos, videos or other visuals for projects." Will NHDES supply this media for each project? Are these expected to be included in the dashboard(s)?

Answer 103: See Answer 32; inclusion of provided media (photos, videos, etc.) in the dashboard is part of the scope.

104) You have five years of project data. Approximately how many rows of data is there per year?

Answer 104: The data set contains roughly 400 projects in the initial portion and approximately 1,400 projects across the full 35-year historical dataset. Each row in the provided Excel spreadsheet represents one project. Because project counts vary significantly from year to year based on available funding, the number of rows per year ranges widely—some years include as few as 3 projects, while

9/25/2026 Page 12 of 24 others have up to 300 projects. NHDES is seeking a firm that can compile all this data into an interactive dashboard under a 5-year contract.

105) Where is the data currently stored and how will the contractor be provided access?

Answer 105: See Answers 12 and 79.

106) The details of the project sound appropriate for multiple, connected dashboards to be built. Are you open to this, as opposed to a single dashboard?

Answer 106: NHDES is open to either a single dashboard or multiple connected dashboards. Firms are encouraged to propose the format or platform they feel best meets the needs outlined in the RFP and effectively represents the full dataset.

107) Narrative scope. Section II.A.a.iv asks for "a narrative for each project." Could NHDES clarify what this is expected to include - for example, the project description/caption text already in your records, or additional narrative content summarizing each project's need, funding, and community impact? Please also confirm whether NHDES will supply this text or whether the Firm is expected to author it.

Answer 107: See Answer 5. Each project narrative is a 2–5 sentence description explaining how the awarded funding is or was used by the project. NHDES will provide this narrative content based on existing project records.

114) What are the source systems Reports data is coming from?

Answer 114: See Answers 12 and 79.

115) What would be the data volumes of 5 years, reports are being displayed?

Answer 115: See Answers 6, 52, and 104.

116) Is there any existing data mart or data warehouse?

Answer 116: No. Project data is currently stored in LGTS and in an Excel spreadsheet.

117) Existing Reports are pointing to which DB (Ex:- Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, Postgress)?

Answer 117: Existing reports pull data from LGTS and Excel. NHDES does not use Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, Postgress or any other external database system for these reports.

118) What Technology would be used for reporting (Ex:- PowerBI, Tableau)?

Answer 118: See Answers 3, 22 and 85. NHDES is open to any technology that for reporting needs that support the RFP.

119) Are the any existing reports dashboards, if so please provide number of Reports, dashboards?

Answer 119: See Answer 7. All information is held currently in a singular excel spreadsheet and the dashboard is intended to work independently of any other existing dashboard.

120) Are you looking for SaaS or On-premise visualization solution?

Answer 120: See Answer 3. NHDES is open to any platform/hosting/visualization solution that meets the RFP needs.

121) What is the max reports rendering time is expected?

Answer 121: The maximum acceptable report rendering time will be determined during the active project period as performance can be evaluated and refined. Firms are encouraged to propose a

9/25/2026 Page 13 of 24 rendering time they deem appropriate for the size and complexity of the dataset and their selected platform.

122) Any third-party application integrations needed?

Answer 122: See Answer 36. The dashboard does not need to be integrated with any third-party applications.

123) Please provide the anticipated number of project records for the 2021-current initial deployment, the source data formats and data dictionary, and a representative sample dataset if available. Should vendors assume NHDES will provide validated narratives, coordinates, funding fields, and media links, or should proposals include data cleansing, geocoding, narrative editing, and media preparation?

Answer 123: See Answers 5, 6, 14, and 30.

124) Please clarify what is meant by the option for NHDES to “take over the platform” at the end of the contract. Would a transferable cloud tenant and complete export of data, configuration, and media satisfy this requirement, or does NHDES anticipate receiving source code and deploying the application within a State-controlled hosting environment?

Answer 124: See Answer 18.

125) Should incorporation of project data predating 2021 be included in the base five-year price? If so, please identify the estimated number of historical records, anticipated timing, available fields, and maximum volume expected during each of the twice-annual update cycles.

Answer 125: See Answers 19, 33, and 52.

126) Please identify the specific accessibility standard, including the required WCAG version and conformance level, and provide the referenced NHDES Vendor Public Information Guidelines. Please also identify any mandatory hosting, security, backup, uptime, incident-notification, data-residency, or vulnerability-testing requirements.

Answer 126: See Answer 16.

127) Will NHDES accept a fixed annual SaaS subscription covering hosting, licensing, initial configuration, maintenance, and the specified update cycles, provided that the proposal also allocates costs by task as requested? If available, please also provide the anticipated five-year budget or not-to-exceed contract amount.

Answer 127: See Answer 1. NHDES will not accept a fixed annual SaaS subscription, proposals must include a total cost with task-level breakdown for the entire 5-year contract.

128) What is the maximum email attachment size that NHDES can receive?

Answer 128: File transfer can be coordinated with the selected Firm.

129) Will proposal receipt confirmations be provided automatically or should firms separately request confirmation of receipt?

Answer 129: See Answer 101. Firms are solely responsible for confirming receipt of their proposal prior to the due date.

130) Apart from the proposal PDF, are there any mandatory forms, certifications, attestations, or administrative documents required to be submitted as part of the proposal response?

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Answer 130: The RFP requires one electronic PDF proposal containing the information identified in Section III, Proposal Format, including Sections III.A–I. No separate proposal forms, certifications, or attestations are specified. The State of New Hampshire Form P-37 applies to the resulting contract and is not identified as a separate proposal submission requirement. See Sections III and VII.B.

131) Are subcontractors required to submit any separate forms, certifications, or disclosures as part of the proposal?

Answer 131: If subcontractors will be used by the selected firm, the proposal must include their contact information, qualifications, and the tasks they will assist with. See Section III.E of the RFP.

132) What data sources and formats will NHDES provide for the 2021–current project data (e.g., Excel, CSV, database, GIS layers, APIs)?

Answer 132: See Answers 12 and 13.

133) Approximately how many project records are included in the initial 2021–current dataset?

Answer 133: See Answer 6.

134) What data elements will be available for each project, including funding amount, funding source/program, project type, municipality, project status, project dates, coordinates, descriptions, and project narratives?

Answer 134: See Answers 5, 14, 32, 34, and 64.

135) Are project locations already available as latitude/longitude, GIS coordinates, addresses, or GIS feature layers, or will the selected Firm be responsible for geocoding the projects?

Answer 135: See Answer 34.

136) What level of data cleansing, normalization, deduplication, and transformation should the Firm anticipate before the data can be used in the dashboard?

Answer 136: See Answer 30.

137) How frequently will the underlying project and funding data need to be refreshed after the initial deployment?

Answer 137: See Answers 41 and 67.

138) Will NHDES provide a repeatable data source for future updates, or will the Firm be expected to perform data extraction and transformation for each update?

Answer 138: See Answer 29.

139) What is the approximate volume, format, and quality of the 35 years of historical project data?

Answer 139: See Answers 30, 33, and 52.

140) Does NHDES anticipate that historical data will be incorporated during Years 2–5, and if so, is there an expected target year or schedule?

Answer 140: See Answers 33 and 65.

141) Should the Firm provide a separate unit price or hourly estimate for incorporating additional historical data beyond the initial 2021–current dataset?

Answer 141: See Answer 19.

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142) Does NHDES have a preferred dashboard, GIS, or web application platform, or may the Firm recommend the platform based on the proposed solution?

Answer 142: See Answers 3, 22, 35, 57, and 85.

143) Does NHDES currently own or have access to licenses for platforms such as Power BI, ArcGIS, ArcGIS StoryMaps, or other visualization/GIS platforms that could be used for this project?

Answer 143: See Answers 23, 55, and 58.

144) If additional software or platform licenses are required, should the Firm include those licensing costs in the proposal?

Answer 144: See Section III.H of the RFP and Answer 98.

145) Does NHDES have an existing public website or web portal into which the dashboard will be integrated or embedded?

Answer 145: See Answer 36.

146) Does NHDES have an existing GIS environment, ArcGIS Online/Enterprise deployment, or other mapping platform that the selected Firm should integrate with?

Answer 146: See Answers 3, 36, and 55.

147) Will NHDES provide the project narratives, photos, and videos, or is the selected Firm expected to develop, edit, or curate this content Answer 147: See Answers 5, 32, 83, and 103.

148) Approximately how many projects will require project narratives and multimedia content in the initial deployment?

Answer 148: See Answers 6, 15, 32, and 62.

149) Where are the existing photos and videos stored, and what formats are currently available Answer 149: See Answers 15, 62, and 72.

150) Which specific accessibility standards and guidelines should the solution comply with (for example, WCAG version and conformance level)?

Answer 150: See Section II.A.c. of the RFP and Answer 16.

151) Does NHDES require formal accessibility testing, documentation, or certification as part of the project deliverables?

Answer 151: See Section II.A.c. of the RFP and Answer 16.

152) Does "not to exceed twice a year" refer to two scheduled dashboard releases, two update requests, or two maintenance events per year?

Answer 152: See Answers 41 and 67. Twice-yearly applies to updated datasets not separate releases or maintenance.

153) What types of maintenance or modifications should be included in the base Years 2–5 maintenance scope versus treated as additional work?

Answer 153: See Answer 27.

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154) Does NHDES have a target date or deadline for initial dashboard deployment during Year 1?

Answer 154: See Answer 20. No target date or deadline for the initial dashboard deployment during Year 1 has been established; the project schedule and associated deadlines can be discussed at contract award.

155) Are there specific dates or events by which the dashboard must be available to the public?

Answer 155: See Answer 20 and 154. There are no specific dates or upcoming events by which the dashboard must be available to the public.

156) Should vendors provide a single five-year total cost or should Years 1–5 be priced separately?

Answer 156: See Answers 2 and 98. Total cost plus task-level break down are required but the break down per year is not required but is acceptable.

157) Should potential historical data incorporation during Years 2–5 be included in the base price, or should it be provided as an optional/unit-priced service?

Answer 157: See Answer 19.

158) Should hosting and software/platform licensing be included in the base cost or presented as separate optional costs?

Answer 158: See Answer 2.

159) Under D. Personnel and Qualifications-please confirm if firms can provide brief bios for key personnel.

Answer 159: Yes, include qualifications for the project manager and key personnel; brief bios are acceptable.

160) Please confirm if vendors can provide project approach under vision.

Answer 160: Yes, project vision may describe approach, lessons learned and suggested additions/functions.

161) Can vendors provide commercial references?

Answer 161: See Answer 46. References may be requested if selected for interviews; details will be provided then.

162) When is P-37 form required?

Answer 162: The P-37 form is required at contract execution.

163) Year 1 source data and approximately 35-year archive. For proposal pricing and implementation planning, can NHDES provide additional information about the source format(s) and approximate volume of the current and 2021-current project data expected in Year 1? Public NHDES GIS services show that some program information is already available through structured ArcGIS services. Should proposers expect the broader ARPA, BIL, DWSRF, CWSRF and other current-project sources to be available in similarly structured records, or should the proposal assume material source profiling and normalization across multiple formats? For the approximately 35 years of historic funded-project data, should historic-data profiling/normalization be treated as a controlled Years 2-5 maintenance activity as records are made available, or does NHDES expect the base five-year fixed price to include a defined full migration quantity for the entire historic archive?

Answer 163: See Answers 6, 30 and 33.

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164) Reuse of existing NHDES ArcGIS Enterprise and public services. Public NHDES GIS resources indicate that NHDES operates an ArcGIS Enterprise environment and publishes program-specific data services. For DES 2026-23, does NHDES prefer that the selected Firm reuse or integrate with existing NHDES Enterprise services and NHDES-controlled hosting where practical, or should proposers price a separately hosted public application/data tier? If reuse is preferred, which existing services, environments, licenses, or administrative boundaries should proposers assume will be made available to the selected Firm for implementation?

Answer 164: See Answers 23, 36 and 55.

165) Would NHDES be open during contract negotiation to an Exhibit A clarification that NHDES owns or receives the required perpetual rights to project-specific deliverables while the contractor retains ownership of pre-existing/background intellectual property and third-party components, with sufficient perpetual rights granted to NHDES for any such background material incorporated into the delivered system?

Answer 165: This can be discussed with the selected Firm during contract negotiations.

166) Vendor Public Information Guidelines / accessibility acceptance evidence. The RFP requires publicly available content to meet State accessibility requirements and the NHDES Vendor Public Information Guidelines. The linked Vendor Public Information Guidelines file is currently not retrievable through our network environment. Can NHDES confirm that the linked file is the current controlling version and, if available, provide an alternate accessible copy or identify any superseding publication requirements? For accessibility acceptance, should proposers plan to provide documented WCAG 2.1 AA testing/remediation evidence as part of acceptance, or does NHDES require a specific formal artifact such as an Accessibility Conformance Report/VPAT or independent third-party audit?

Answer 166: See Answer 66. If any of the links provided in the RFP are not accessible, please reach out to the RFP contact for assistance.

167) The State includes Section II E Timeline which references project milestones. Would the State please confirm that the selected Firm will not invoice lump sum payments upon completion of the milestones listed in the RFQ and that the awarded Firm shall invoice for progress on the contract at the labor category rates included in the proposal for work performed over the five year period of Performance?

Answer 167: Invoices may be submitted throughout the contract period and are not required to be lump sum invoices.

168) Does the State have page limits for the overall proposal length or required sections of the proposal.

Answer 168: No, but clear and concise is preferred.

169) Will NHDES provide all project data in a digital format with sufficient location information for mapping and how will associated project photos/videos be provided to the selected firm?

Answer 169: See Answers 12, 32, and 34. A method of transferring project photos/videos will be discussed with the selected firm.

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170) Approximately how many projects are included in the full 35-year historical dataset?

Answer 170: See Answer 52.

171) For Years 2–5, what types and approximate volume of updates should be anticipated as part of the semi-annual updates?

Answer 171: See Answer 27. The volume of updates, outside of adding additional historical data, is not expected to be significant.

172) Are there any State IT, cybersecurity, or accessibility review/approval requirements that the dashboard must satisfy prior to public launch?

Answer 172: Content must meet State accessibility requirements and NHDES Vendor Public Information Guidelines per Section II.A.c of the RFP. Additional IT/cybersecurity requirements would not apply to this project.

173) Could NHDES clarify the expected web architecture for the final dashboard? Specifically, is the system intended to be hosted on a standalone subdomain (e.g., dashboard.des.nh.gov) managed by the vendor/state, or should it be optimized for embedding (such as an iframe or web component) within the existing NHDES Infrastructure Funding microsite or main des.nh.gov?

Answer 173: See Answers 36 and 37. Options for optimization can be discussed with the selected firm.

174) If the dashboard is expected to be hosted under a State of New Hampshire subdomain, is there a separate NH Department of Information Technology (DoIT) security review, hosting clearance process, or specific authentication/SSO requirement we should plan for in our proposal?

Answer 174: See Answers 17 and 18.

175) To ensure a seamless transition should NHDES decide to take over the platform: a. Does NHDES or the State of New Hampshire have a preferred technology stack or standard database infrastructure? b. Does NHDES (or the State of NH more broadly) already hold an Esri ArcGIS Online/Hub license?