After months of identifying and developing the goals, needs, and requirements of RM3P, program management was pleased to announce the program’s request for information (RFI) last month. The RFI asks questions and invites suggestions from industry stakeholders to support the process of procuring, developing, and deploying RM3P. The program’s success is contingent on the collaboration between public sector, private industry, and the traveling public. The recent RFI is the biggest step so far in engaging with private industry.
In the RFI, potential software developers and service providers are encouraged to comment on the opportunities and challenges of RM3P’s five program elements. For instance, regarding the AI-Based Decision Support System, we asked what data and how many days of data are needed in order to train a prediction engine to reliably predict risk of incident or congestion. Or, for Dynamic Incentivization, respondents were asked to provide insights on how best to balance between customer privacy protection and being able to verify that incentive requirements have been met.
Following the RFI announcement, 116 industry leaders representing 45 companies joined a webinar for RM3P Industry Day on June 25, 2020, to learn more about the program elements, review the RFI process, and ask questions of program leadership. VDOT received 41 responses by the deadline of July 9, 2020. Firms that responded to the RFI were given the opportunity to participate in one-on-one virtual discussions with VDOT and the RM3P team. The answers and suggestions gathered as a product of the RFI will allow RM3P to generate more thorough and feasible statements of work.