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,I ' • · 1, MEMORANDUM TO: Members of the Data Processing Rev-Lew Committee FROM: John SUBJECT: WatsaqaW ' H i \I "H I' HUD RFP 2-70, Urban Infornation System Grant I! p !ir; The City has received RFP 2-70 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This statement of work invites proposals for the I, ,1 !I,, ii l',, research and development of a comprehensive, integrated municipal information bystem or sub-system. This is an experiment to learn whether or not a prototype can be developed and successfully operated as a relative- ly standardized system which can be transferred to other municipalities with a minimum of alterations. Past approaches to urb an information systems have been fragmentary. What is needed is a system formulated as an integra l part of municipal (( opera tions.b ased on the s a tisfaction of operationa l requirement s of municipa l agencie8 and maintenance of the data base for tha t system. To a chieve thi s br oad goa l, a fourfold integra tion is required, linking together the foll owing : 1. The processing, analytica l and contr ol c apabilities of urban information s ystems . 2.. The several comp limentary approa ches to i nformation deve lop ment ; housekeeping , da t a bank, model··bui l ding, and pr ocess control. 3. ,:he various processes of ur ban administration . 4. The many urban and other governmental entities within a municipality. There are several basic principles which this project must observe: 1. A fundamental analysis of the entire system and its needs is necessary. 2. The system must be ·operationally based, i.e. in support of I • I' �- 2 - municipal operations. l. The syotem :f.s municipal - oriented, since it is at this level that urban problems and programs are dealt with. 4·. . Automation rather than computerization of the system is de-sired. S;. . The system must provide for feedback from the community & its government. 6·. Since this is an R & D effort, experimentation and innovation are desirable. Careful documentation is an absolute necessity. Success and failures should be explicitly recorded for the benefit of other municipalities. One_ complete system and several subsystems will be funded in this project. I .n general, the functions of a municipality fall . in four categories: 1 •. Public safety - police, fire, inspections Z.. Public finance - usually every department has an accounting · function, with an overall budget department. 3.. Human resources development - health, welfare, education, recreation, etc. 4. Physica l and eco.aomic development - planning, .- ·construction, maintenance, engineering, utilities. A subsystem comprising one of the above divisions should be completed and tested within two years , while the complete system will have three years. Respondents are required to propose their respective for ma tion into consorti a . consisting of a t a minimum the municipality as the prime contr actor and a systems /so f t ware subcontractor. A college, univer s i t y , or center s ubcontractor as a t hird member of the consor tium is urged but I ! i �- 3 I I! not required. No contractor or sub-contractor may be involved in more than one such project. A. municipality must demonstrate that it has already made a sub- " stantial investment of human and material resources into the development of a municipal information system. Existing experience and resources

I· must be utilized to expedite the development of a system. The proposal must have a rational relationship to existing development of an ir.. formation system or subsystem in the municipality. The municipality must provide the project leader and leadership for all phases of the pr,oject. Assuming that a university or research center is included, the following roles are most appropriate: - educational and training course design, and orientation connected with the project • cost/benefit analysis and evaluation of the success & failures systems conceptualization - rationalization of information .and decision processes _The systems/computer software organization would perform the following: - s ystems conceptua lization • detailed systems design • programming - systems & procedures - detailed documentation & manual preparation technical training The proposal must specify who will do what and when it will be done. The consortium project team should include the following tyPes of personnel: ! l I �II - 4 - 1: - experienced municipal functional and managerial professionals i I ,, I • municipal government analysts - computer technicians - d.ocumentation & procedures manual specialists -researchers, hum.,n factors scientists, social scientists - training specialists -academicians - political scientists, public administrators, urbanologists, and infornation and computer scientists. The municipality must show evidence of the commitment of all government individuals & units whose cooperation is essential to the scope of.-·work proposed. It must also show a commitment of the following re- SDur.ces to the project: r. . Personnel: .. , - · the mix of talents available C - · the· specific persons involved, their contribution and relevant background, & the time they will spend on it. - · the relationship of non-project municipal professional employees & policy-making officials to the project. 2.. Machines: - the EDP equipment available - the support available from suppliers/manufacturers 3. Organization: - · a project leader - the c apability to continue the proj ect beyond the life of the fed er a l f unding The munici pality mu s t i nclude a " le tte r of i ntent" f rom al l members of the con.sortium. It must a l so show evidence of its co1Illlitment to utili ze the systems in planning, operations , and management . �II - 5 - J! i' The consortia involved in ·:the project will maintain a close liaison Informal status and .,, progress reports will help to keep everyone informed and to reduce dup-

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Res:ear.ch· &. development is defined to consist of six steP"s: ,, 1 ,, 1. Systems analysis z.. Sys.t ems Conceptualization 3. Systems Design 4. Systems De,•elopment ~ ., 5.:•. Sys.tems Implementation Systems Evaluation Each. s.tep. is: closely interrelated and provides inputs to the other. The are:as: which will require the greatest attention to detail, and which have been merely skinnned in the past, are data acquisition and data base management. Present emphasis should be on an information and decision system rather than a data processing system. The research and development projects must utilize the systems approach, have clearly stated objectives, and exhibit effective systems management. They must also be based on design concepts that are trans- ferable to other municipalities. H -n•t The information systems must provide for continuing data base management and development, as well as implementation procedures for data base management. Data base documentation will include the exact n ame of each datum, a discussion of its .-meani ng where necessary ,to . be absolutely clear , its sour ce location , the frequency with which it is repor ted , t he range and kind of values associated wi th it , the meaning of the codes , and the medium, place and identity of its s torage . This process s hou ld be automated with a minimum of human interfacing wherever pos sible . The problem of �- 6 - i l I I Ii data compatibility is greatly increased by multi-source reporting. t Differences in coding and classification schemes, data names, area definition, reporting dates and period covered will have to be reconciled. A data access control plan must be developed for the system, governing- the release of data in terms of what, who, when and how. Certai-n data will be considered mandatory, some will be recorrmended, and some optional by Federal agencies. Geocoding of the data base is also required. The data system should be open-ended to allow data sharing. Proposals should reflect an interest to employ conventional models of hardware and peripherals which have o;ccapacity appropriate for the system or subsystem. This is necessary if the project· is to be transferable to other cities. This approach permits the conceptualization of incremental development of the information system. At the least sophisticated level are automatic data processing techniques conventionally employed in the administr a tive a f f a irs of the municipality. These include pe..--sonne l, finance and property accounting, . billing and disbursing, registering and licensing, and other routine tasks. The requirement for software is generally limited to data and files management, cross-tabula tion and report genera t i on. The computer proces sing mode conventiona lly emp loyed is batch- proces s ing. A second level of sophistica tion are hardwar e and software in support of the control of operation of a municip ality . These i nc lude scheduling, dispatching , alloc a t i on and moni tering, e.g ., t raffic control , and emergency vehic le di s pa tching. Emphasis here is on a rapid response capability , and therefore, the on-line, real time mode is more generally appropriate. A third level of s ophistication is in terms of the hardware, software and files required for planning support. Here, both batch processing l j, I'. �- 7 and on~line, real time modes are important. 0 Generalized software conventionally required includes PERT and/or CPM for planning and s..cheduling, simulation and statistinal analysis programs. Tharemaining level of sophistication is at the policy- making I and management level. Here the requirement at its fullest development - -is- fo.r exception-reporting techniques, a planning-programming-budgeting system, automated alerting systems, on-line cross-tabulation and report generation and the cathode ray tube and teletypewriter for on-line displays. Detailed analysis of current municipal operations is required to determine their relationship to the goals of the system. Existing procedures, forms, records, and reports must be evaluated in terms of the. basic functions performed by the city. Points of information generation, processing, and utilization and the extent of this information must also be identified. Decision-flow analys~s are also nec~ssary. Bel.ow is a check list of specific capabilities the data processing system should have: --Capabilities to accept and output data in a variety of forms. --Capabilities to handle large volumes of data. - -Capabilities to operate on individual values in a data set. - -Capabilities to manipulate and a lter data set structure. --Capabilities for report production and gr aphic displ ay. --Capabili ties for f act retrieval and ana lysis. --Capabi lities for data base r efer ence s ervi ce and documentation. --Capabilities for pr oces s management. The deve lopment o f an i mplement ati on p l an mus t be effected in coordination with all participating agencies . necessary to implement the sys tem. The plan should outline the steps It should include: ,1 II 1i . 'I �,; •' - 8 - I\,, --Hardware and software considerations, i. e., detail the hardware installations and system progranmtlng. -Facility requirements. -Procedures necessary to integrate the system into operations. -Discussion of user needs and how the system will meet them. -Discussion of subsystem development and strategy. --0-efinition of external agency relations. --Automatic data processing p0licies. -A central index of information that presently exists in the municipality. HUD will require that the proposals be submitted prior to 3:00 P.M. (EDT) o·c tober 31, 1969. Format for submission will be Part I, Technical and Administrative Data, and Part II, Financial Data. Standardized terms and conditions for federal grant programs will apply to the contract. Proposals will be evaluated by HUD and results of the competition should be known during December, 1969. Factors in Selection The selection of participants in this program will be determined by the extent to which each of the items listed below is satisfied in the proposals of respondents. These items are sunmarized from indicated loca- tions elsewhere in this statement of work. they appear, and not in order of importance. 1. Objectives of the Project. 2. Sel~ction of project. 3. Emphasis on Fundamental Analysis. 4. Emphasis on operationally based. s·. Emphasis on municipal orientation. They are listed in the order lj ! \ ·( �t 1'

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i 6. Emphasis on automation. 7 •. Emphasis on providing environmental and governmental feedback. ff •. Emphasis on research and development. 9-.. The type of project. If an information subsystem, the munkipal functions which will be grouped together and served by the subsystem s.hould. be listed and discussed. If an integrated municipal infor- mation system, the functions grouped together in each subsystem should be listed according to subsystem. Full justification should be set· forth for departures from the classification of functions ur. the statement of work. 10·•. P.opulation of the municipality. Departures from the expressed rnle. must be justified. 11. Assurance of sufficient level of investment to promise completion 01:· project within. the allowed . time. ll. Current existing level of investment in municipal information systems. 13. Relationship of the proposal to existing information system development in the municipality. 14. Formation of Consortium and identification of members. 15. Definition of roles of members of the consortium. 16. Range of talents made available by the consortium. 17. Evidence of cooperation. 18. Resource conmitment. 19. Letters of intent. 20. Long-range commitment. 21. Plans for extra-consortium participants. 22.. Willingness to participate on Inter-Consortium Panel. 2J·. Concept of Data Acquisition. ,, 1l;> I' i; !I 11

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IiI I: i' �- 10 - } 24. Concept- of Data Base Management. 25. Concept of Data Base Documentation. 26:. . Concept of Data Compatibility. U. . Concept . oLData Access Control. 2lr. . Concept- of Data Standardization. - 29. s·tatement of willingness to comply USAC standardized, data lists. .. I I 1.0:. . Geocoding. 31. Concept of system expansion. 32. Concept of ·documentation. 33:. . Concept of _Transferability--hardware. 3:4-. . Concept of Transferability--software. 35~. . Concept .of _Transferability--System design. 3b~ . Concept of . Transferability--Documentation. 3]. Concept of internal monitoring and evaluation. 38 . Statement of willingness to plan a pro gr um of briefings and demonstrations. 39. Concept of Research Program. 40. If the comprehensive integrated municipal information system (IMIS) option is exercised: 41. Concept of IMIS. If the municipal information subsystem (MIS) option is exercised: Concept of MIS. 42. Proposal of special area of research. 43. Concept of system perspectives. 44. Definition of effort and mix of resources al located by tasks. 45. Specification of task time-phasing. 46. Agreement to perform tasks. 47·. Agreement to use conventional, non-machine language in progranming. �- 11 - lj I I 48. C Agreement to use conventional, easily transferable programming ,, language(s). 4-9~. Agreement to place all software and related documentation developed in this project in the public domain. 50~ . Agreement to the principle of program modularity. 51:• . Agreement to project orientation. 52·. D"escription of organizational arrangements. 5.3. Dissemination plans. 5~. Continuation plans. 55~ . Existing long-range information system development plan. Sb~. Relate the proposal to the long-range plan. ST• . Iaentification of probable other resource support for plan. SB: Agreement to maintain a project journal for case study. 5.9.. . Agreement to use systems approach. 60. Concept of specifications and characteristics. �