Disaster Management Portal

The Vendor is required to provide to develop and implement a Disaster Relief Portal that delivers timely, authoritative information to constituents and enables streamlined access/application to recovery assistance and case management.
- The objective is to create a modular, MVP-driven digital platform that delivers immediate, high-value improvements for residents, reduces risks associated with integration and adoption, and builds reusable digital infrastructure to support future state services.
- The solution will initially focus on improving the constituent experience during disaster recovery and related service delivery, which requires greater coordination and modernization of digital experiences across multiple agencies.
- This effort supports the State’s broader vision of a unified digital experience that leverages shared technology infrastructure and collaborative approaches to enable more consistent, coordinated, and efficient service delivery over time.
- These challenges are most visible during disaster events, when timely, accurate information and coordinated access to assistance are critical. However, the underlying challenges extend beyond disaster recovery.
- This complexity often leads to frustration, as users must repeatedly verify their identity and search through different systems to access the information or assistance they need.
- These difficulties include:
•    Confusing and inconsistent information across websites and disjointed platforms
•    Repeated requests for the same information causing frustration, delays, and user entry errors
•    Limited access to real-time status updates on applications, benefits, or recovery efforts
•    An increased risk of data loss or breach when constituents are required to submit personal information via separate portals
- These user-facing challenges stem from underlying technical barriers including: fragmented data systems that cannot easily share information across agencies, lack of standardized APIs and integration patterns, inconsistent identity and authentication approaches across platforms, and limited real-time data synchronization capabilities. Addressing the constituent experience requires solving these foundational technical interoperability challenges.
- Agencies often lack shared, real-time visibility into constituent application statuses, program capacity, and federal recovery resources, further complicating coordination and decision-making. This leads to an overload of case management and staff.
- The Portal may support information delivery, intake, routing, notifications, and limited visibility into intake progress; however, it shall not serve as the system of record for eligibility determinations, case adjudication, benefit approval, or payments.
- Authoritative records, decisions, and case management functions shall remain with the appropriate State, federal, or local agency systems.
- The Disaster Portal solution aims to deliver an integrated, user-centric platform that supports the full lifecycle of disaster response and State of Emergency. To provide for its effectiveness, the following table outlines the desired outcomes, measurable indicators for validating success, associated pain points, and key thematic areas guiding the portal’s development and evaluation.