• In the more recent of the two RFPs, released Jan. 9, CalOES seeks a respondent to “drive the download and adoption of the MyShake app,” coordinating a team that includes, “at minimum,” a public relations lead/accounting principal, a project/account project manager, and specialists in communication, media, digital, visual media/video and misinformation, along with support staff.
The successful candidate will be charged with organizing and coordinating “a comprehensive statewide education and outreach campaign,” and leading public relations activities that achieve goals including “at least 4 million downloads of the California Earthquake Early Warning app – MyShake.” The contractor will also be responsible for creating an “interactive website hosted by CalOES” to improve user experience both at the individual and business levels. The agency also seeks targeted marketing to encourage the app’s use in workforce safety, and the use of “Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) technology” to facilitate automated equipment actions such as shut-offs, safe mode and notifications.
• Proposals are due by 3 p.m. Feb. 18. The contract will begin upon approval and run through June 30, 2022, with the option of a one-year extension. The contract’s initial award is not to exceed $6.65 million. Cal OES intends to “award the agreement for the full budgeted amount and expects the Media Buy section to be the major cost component to support the objective to increase downloads of the MyShake app,” it said in the RFP — but the agency also said it has no obligation to use the entire financial amount. Minimum qualifications include five years' public relations experience and at least two statewide outreach campaigns with an average budget of at least $2.5 million, for the team (contractor and sub).
• In an RFP released July 6, CalOES also seeks a contractor to do a study mandated by Assembly Bill 911, the so-called Manny Alert Act, which became law in October. It requires a study of the feasibility of developing a statewide database that would let all residents — including the elderly, disabled and at-risk — “voluntarily provide vital health and safety information, with an encrypted connection,” for first responders to access during a 911 call.
Applicants must consider that all information submitted through the statewide system would be confidential and disclosable only to “law, fire, and emergency medical service personnel at the scene of an emergency”; and that the technology would require submitters confirm its accuracy. Other considerations include the feasibility of integrating aggregated data with existing 911 data; technology expansion or replacement; and cost comparisons between statewide and individual public safety answering point systems. The feasibility study and funding estimate will be due in a final report by Oct. 1. CalOES will make the study public.
• Proposals are due by 3 p.m. Feb. 5. The contract starts Jan. 1 or on approval and runs through March 31, 2021. Its initial award is not to exceed $250,000 and here again, CalOES indicates it’s under no obligation to use the entire amount. Minimum qualifications include at least four years experience in “the public safety consulting experience”; computer-aided dispatch development and design; and the design and building of Next-Generation 911 systems.
