STATES OF OPPORTUNITY

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is considering a 511 service to provide travelers an easy-to-remember phone number for information. The procurement is expected in the second quarter of 2002. The department seeks a system offering callers news on road and weather conditions, traffic delays, public transportation and a variety of related content, such as parking availability, airport and airline information, travel services and tourist interests.

The state of Nevada is looking for help with engineering design specification and project planning and management for phase 2 of a three-phase, multiyear, digital communications system project. The procurement should be released in the first quarter of 2002. Phase 2 will provide connectivity from Las Vegas to Ely, Nev., along the eastern edge of the state. Each phase includes new digital communications equipment operating in parallel with the aging analog equipment, along with the improvement or replacement of site buildings, communications towers, antennae and site work.

The New York Power Authority will request formal proposals to purchase, configure and implement an integrated library system. The procurement is expected in the first quarter of 2002. The system should be integrated, online and server-based with a centralized repository that can be accessed from various sites. The objective is to provide computer support to the authority's corporate library processes, such as cataloging, circulation, serials control and acquisitions.

The North Dakota Criminal Justice Advisory Committee may release in the second quarter of 2002 a request for proposals to implement a criminal justice information sharing system. The objectives are to define information sharing needs of the state's criminal justice agencies; develop a conceptual design for technologies to support information exchange; develop data standards for shared information among agencies; and identify and plan implementation of high-priority criminal justice information sharing projects.

These opportunities are compiled by Federal Sources Inc., a market research firm in McLean, Va. (www.fedsources.com).