The state Employment Development Department (EDD) and a San Francisco-based government technology company are teaming up to present a virtual Vendor Day on Tuesday. The event had been scheduled for Feb. 24 but was postponed.
EDD and City Innovate Inc. are hosting the program, which is scheduled for 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday. Registrants will be emailed a link to the Zoom gathering.
Each Vendor Day focuses on a specific challenge or need. The purpose of next week’s Vendor Day “is to introduce the vendor community to EDDNext and the Online Identity Proofing initiative,” City Innovate Executive Vice President Marlon Paulo said in a LinkedIn post. “EDD is seeking to identify innovative organizations to partner with to transform how we conduct business in a rapidly evolving environment and solve EDDNext challenges.”
EDDNext, according to the department, is a “multiyear technical innovation project” with the goal of delivering “customer-centric services and exceptional business value” by engaging with customers to improve EDD’s unemployment, disability, and paid family leave benefits programs.
The event will begin with opening remarks and an overview of EDDNext. Following that, “challenge statements” will be proposed, giving vendors an idea of the nature and scope of the project and what solutions would be appropriate. Then, vendors will have a chance to ask questions and to offer feedback.
After the event, Paulo explained, “Firms are invited to submit their application with ideas, strategies, and approaches to the challenge statements through our vendor portal,” for which a link will be provided after the event.
The application has multiple sections, Paulo noted, and typically takes an hour or two to complete.
“You’ll be asked to describe your ideas, strategies, and approaches to the Online Identity Proofing challenge statement and provide information about your organization’s background and qualifications,” he said. The online application must be completed by 11:59 p.m. March 10, and can be edited until the deadline.
Those seeking to attend Tuesday’s event should email Maxwell Thompson at City Innovate and include their company, name and email address.
Some of the largest agencies in state government, including the California Department of Technology, the California Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Financial Information System for California (FI$Cal), have been hosting vendor forums for the last few years. Since the pandemic fueled remote work in March 2020, the events have been held in a virtual format.
EDD’s last Vendor Forum was in August, with the theme “Customer-Centric Services.”
Paulo is a veteran technologist who is familiar to many in the IT community. Before joining City Innovate one year ago, he had spent his career in the public sector, serving in various executive technology roles with the California State Assembly, the Department of Mental Health, FI$Cal, the California Department of Technology, and Santa Clara County government.
