Commercial Off-the-Shelf Computer Aided Dispatch System

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) BEING RELEASED PURSUANT TO FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) PART 10: MARKET RESEARCH. 

This RFI is issued solely for informational, market research, and planning purposes only. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals.

Respondents are advised that the United States (U.S.) Government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the responding party’s expense. At this time, proprietary information is not being requested, and respondents shall refrain from providing proprietary information in response to this RFI. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued.

Background

The USCG uses its 45 Command Centers (CCs) as the 24/7 Command & Control (C2) and Information Management (IM) hub for Operational Commanders to execute the service's eleven statutory missions. The USCG's historic investment in new sensor and AI-driven analysis capabilities is creating a new demand signal for process improvement supported by greater integration, automation and efficiency in the CC operational workflow.

The current operational environment requires watchstanders to pivot between numerous disparate systems, paper-based checklists, and manual data entry to manage a single incident. This fractured workflow degrades all CC functions and slows the speed of operational decision making.

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is seeking information from potential offerors who are interested in, and are able to, provide a modernized, cloud-based/cloud capable, Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system to serve as the foundational workflow engine for the CC(s). Selected offerors will be expected to provide a demonstration of advertised capability to representatives of the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard is seeking a CAD system to provide the following specific operational functions to support the operational workflow:

• Provide the capability to plan missions and assign resources in advance of a defined operational period;
• Provide the information and visualization necessary to manage an incident from the time the initial time an incident is reported to the conclusion of the incident;
• Provide transparency regarding the status of all current and planned missions;
• Integrate all tactical communications capabilities and provide voice to text transcription;
• Provide capability to enable CC to send and receive tasking data and updates to/from deployed teams, cutters, boats, or aircraft via machine-to-machine communications (e.g. Tactical Awareness Kits (TAK);
• Provide capability to export operational data from the CAD to an appropriate cross domain gateway to support ingestion, processing and/or routing to higher classification levels.
• Automate routine processes (e.g. generate and complete Quick Response Cards (QRCs)) and capture mission/case data for records management;
• Provide the capability to access and view available sensor data;
• Provide CAD-based AI to support queries, briefs and produce tailored operational reports
• Integrate with existing or intended USCG enterprise GIS capability;
• Provide integration with 911 PSAPS/NextGen 911 capabilities;
• Provide automated alerts, updates and operational information to operational staff and supervisors;
• Support two-way data transfer between USCG command centers and the USCG technical solution for National Incident Management System operations.
• Provide capability that enables users to configure the user-interface to adapt to user-specific needs

The CAD system will be entirely UNCLASSIFIED but will host sensitive data. The CAD system must be able to handle a high volume and velocity of data from various sources, including AI-generated alerts and sensor feeds. The CAD system will be expected to support approximately 1,600 primary users (watchstanders) and approximately 5,000 secondary users at the supported operational commands. The CAD system will need to be highly available, reliable, maintainable, and scalable. The CAD system will need to be cyber secure and resilient, prioritizing modern, API-based integration to ensure a flexible and extensible design.

This Request for Information (RFI) is to determine the ability of small and large business vendors to provide the requested software solution, along with the requisite services needed for implementation, operations, and maintenance.

B.1        General Information (Please reference the question number with each response as follows)

1.           Company Name, Company Address, Company Point of Contact, Telephone Number, Email Address, and Business Type.

2.           Provide a general description of your relevant products and/or capabilities.  Please provide URL links, if more detailed information is available online.

3.           Is your product available on any current government strategic sourcing contracts?  Please list the contract vehicle (contract number, GSA FSS number) if applicable.

4.           Would you likely provide a quote if a Request for Proposal was issued?  If not, please explain why.

5.           Can your company offer a solution that meets the USCG capability needs described in this RFI?  If you can only meet a subset of capability needs, can your product(s) readily be integrated into a larger solution?

6.           Given the description of USCG needs, is your company willing to provide a demonstration of your product to USCG representatives?

7.           How many times have you successfully implemented large, highly complex case management solutions?  Please provide an example including summary level details regarding size/complexity and technical approach (i.e., architecture, software).  For each example, provide a customer/agency (including a contract # if for Federal Agency) contact name, phone number, email address.

In order to make a determination for a small business set-aside, two or more qualified and capable small businesses must submit responses that demonstrate their qualifications. Responses must demonstrate the company's ability to perform in accordance with the Limitations on Subcontracting clause (FAR 52.219-14).

B.2        Specific Information (Please reference the question number with each response as follows)

General

1.           Given the description of the USCG need in this RFI, provide a recommended summary level technical solution architecture and brief rationale of how/why it meets the USCG need.

2.           Describe how your recommended solution is modular and allows for capability insertion and integration of future capabilities.

3.           Describe the licensing model(s) you would recommend, including any key affordability advantages it provides.

4.           Have you implemented highly secure systems before, particularly FIPS-199 H/H/H and/or IL4/5 cloud solutions?  Describe how you would ensure security is "baked-in, not bolted-on."

5.           Given the description of the USCG need in this RFI, what key risks do you perceive?  How would you address them?

6.           What would be an estimated schedule including milestones for a development environment stand-up, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), and Initial Operating Capability (IOC)?  Describe any key schedule risks and how you would address them.

7.           Describe the recommended developmental approach, including agile methodology.  How is Technical Debt managed?  Identify any key needs levied on the Government to enable success of the agile approach.

8.           Provide a summary of problems encountered implementing large complex case management solutions and how you avoided or fixed them (i.e., lessons learned).

9.           What key information do you feel is lacking, that may limit your ability to respond to this RFI completely and accurately?  What key questions do you have?  [Note - No proprietary information should be included in any response to this question, as the USCG may use this information in future RFIs, industry days, etc. or publish questions & answers (identity redacted).]

Acquisition, Procurement and Pricing

10.        Describe what product modifications (if any) would be needed to meet the USCG needs.  Briefly discuss any associated risks and cost implications.

11.        Please provide a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost estimate, breaking out the following cost elements: development/implementation costs; cloud license(s); software license(s); sustainment cost(s).  Identify any key cost assumptions or cost risks.

12.        Please provide any recommendations for structuring the contract (e.g., CLINS, contract type(s), handling change requests, growth)

Cybersecurity, Cyber Survivability, & System Security Engineering

13.        Describe cyber security & resilience aspects of the recommended solution, including zero trust.

14.        Discuss how readily your solution could be implemented in a FedRAMP High and Impact Level 4/5 cloud environment?  Do you already have a similar solution running in an IL 4+ environment?  If not, what would be the potential impact of needing to do so?

15.        Describe your approach to Role and/or Attribute Based Access Control to limit access to functions and data?  Would it ensure adequate protection of sensitive data of different types (PII, PHI, LES, etc.)?

16.        Describe your approach to cyber monitoring and threat mitigation?  Would the approach be compatible with using a DoD approved Cyber Security Service Provider (CSSP)?

Compliance

17.        Is your solution compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. §794d)?

Interoperability

18.        How does your solution enable interoperability?  What open standards are used?  Does it offer a standard Application Programming Interface (API)?

19.        Describe your approach to integrating with external data sources, specifically AI-generated alerts, Courses of Action (COAs), and sensor feeds from other systems.

20.        Describe your solution's ability to serve as an authoritative data engine to push data to external display layers and/or export incident files to other systems.

Data Management & Storage

21.        Describe how the recommended solution would improve data management, quality, validation, and eliminate redundant data entry to reduce "swivel chair" operations.

22.        How does your solution handle data lifecycle management, including data retention, archiving, and deletion policies?

23.        Describe how your solution creates automated, unalterable audit trails of all user actions, M2M communications, and system events.

System Capabilities

24.        Describe your solution’s ability to deliver a customizable, User-Defined Operating Picture (UDOP) with an integrated geospatial map display (GIS) that fuses incident data, resource data, and external information layers.

25.        Describe your solution's shore-side component for machine-to-machine (M2M) C2 and tasking, enabling users to push digital tasks to assets and receive automated status updates.

26.        Please describe if and how your solution provides AI-driven dispatch recommendations based on resource proximity, capability, and readiness.

27.        Describe how your solution will allow multiple authorized users to initiate and collaborate on records simultaneously.

28.        Please describe how your solution reduces watchstander cognitive load by automating documentation as a byproduct of operational actions.

Data Analytics and Reporting

29.        Describe the Data Analytics capability in your approach, including custom reports and dashboards to identify operational trends, performance gaps, and planning factors.

30.        Describe if/how the system provides the capability to automatically generate and distribute reports & briefings.

Support

31.        Please provide a description of system support strategy: (e.g., training, what levels/tiers of support are available; what is included; the procedures for helpdesk escalation; hours of operation; response times; and location(s) of support services).

Miscellaneous

32.        Please provide any additional information or details that may have been missed. 

33.        Are there additional questions you recommend we ask industry in a follow-up RFI? 

34.        Would you be interested in attending a “Reverse Industry Day” with the government?

B.3      Future State (Please reference the question number with each response as follows)

35.        What provisions or features does your solution provide that mitigates future obsolescence risks?

C. Contract Type

TBD

D.           Place of Performance

TBD

E. Requirements 

See Sections A & B.

F. Submission and POC Information

Interested parties are invited to submit a response to the above questions by June 12, 2026 at 3:00 PM EST. All responses and questions regarding this RFI must be emailed to Bradford.D.Clark@uscg.mil

You may also submit supplemental materials such as brochures and product literature to the above email address.  Offerors will be expected to provide a demonstration of advertised capability to representatives of the Coast Guard.  Selected offerors will be notified and provided with coordinating instructions for planned computer-aided dispatch demonstrations.

All proprietary information that is not to be disseminated in follow-on Government documents must be clearly identified in the response.

All costs associated with responding to this (RFI/Intent to Bid), as well as any initial demonstrations, will be solely at the responding party’s expense. Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials submitted.  All information received that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly.  Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations. Responses will not be returned, nor will the Government confirm receipt. All Government and Contractor personnel reviewing responses will have signed nondisclosure agreements and understand their responsibility for proper use and protection from unauthorized disclosure of proprietary information as described in 41 USC 2101-2107. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified.  Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned.