Develop and Implement a New Ag Data Bank (Data Bank) and Grants Program for the NDWEE's Opportunity for Nebraska: Reducing Emissions and Decarbonization Program (ONE RED)

The State of Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment (NDWEE) is issuing Request for Proposal Number 124065 O5 to procure vendor services for the development and implementation of a Carbon Intensity (CI) Data Bank and associated Grants Program supporting the Opportunity for Nebraska: Reducing Emissions and Decarbonization Program (ONE RED). This is a technology development and management services procurement seeking a qualified contractor to design, develop, and maintain secure digital platforms and provide comprehensive program support services. The primary deliverables include: (1) a CI Data Bank system that allows third-party approved service providers to upload verified carbon intensity scores for participating farmers; (2) a Precision Agriculture and Carbon Intensity Grants Program digital interface enabling farmers and vendors to submit cropping data and grant applications; (3) automated payment systems processing incentive payments upon data verification; (4) comprehensive cybersecurity and data privacy protections meeting GDPR, CCPA, and federal standards; (5) user training materials and multi-channel customer support; and (6) advanced reporting and analytics capabilities tracking performance indicators including CO2 reductions and soil health improvements. The contractor must demonstrate capability to manage large volumes of agricultural data with 99.5% system uptime, conduct annual cybersecurity audits by CISA, CISM, or CISSP-certified professionals, manage Approved Service Providers subcontracts, implement fraud prevention measures, and submit quarterly and annual reports to NDWEE and EPA. Evaluation criteria allocate 25 points to Corporate Overview, 65 points to Technical Response, and 10 points to Cost (with optional 20 additional points for vendor demonstrations), for a maximum score of 120 points. The written question deadline is February 2, 2026; electronic solicitation opens February 23, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. Central Time; Intent to Award will be posted March 11, 2026; and contract execution is anticipated for March 23, 2026, with an initial term through September 30, 2029 and options to renew for two additional six-month periods.

The solicitation welcomes participation from resident disabled veterans, businesses in designated enterprise zones, and blind persons licensed by the Commission for the Blind & Visually Impaired, though Nebraska vendors are preferred but not required and no formal set-asides are designated. The contractor must identify all subcontractors with their respective scopes of work and estimated costs, and must maintain comprehensive insurance coverage including workers' compensation, commercial general liability, commercial automobile liability, professional liability, cyber liability, and commercial crime insurance with specified minimum limits. The contractor will utilize StreamLink Software Inc. (DBA AmpliFund) for data management protocols and must ensure the grant management system is hosted on the State of Nebraska's single-tenant Microsoft Azure cloud environment with SOC 2 audit standard compliance. No incumbent vendor or current contractor is identified, indicating this is a new procurement. Bidders must submit firm, fixed labor rates organized by category (Management/Executive, Technical Staff, Program Staff, and Support Staff) that will remain constant throughout the contract term, with all costs presented as not-to-exceed amounts in the prescribed Cost Sheet format. The contract is subject to availability of EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Implementation Grant funds awarded to Nebraska in October 2024, and specific budget values are not disclosed in the solicitation documents; however, farmers will receive initial financial incentives averaging $0.03 per bushel or $6.00 per acre for Registry participation, and CI score vendors may receive enrollment fees not exceeding $500 for first-time enrollment of farming operations.