- Solicitation for decennial and geospatial work expected in Q1 FY27
- Enterprise and systems and program support requirements remain under evaluation
- Agency cites rising demand for emerging technology capabilities
The U.S. Census Bureau will pursue its decennial and geospatial technology modernization contracts ahead of two bureau-wide vehicles, leaving roughly half of a $2.6 billion acquisition framework without a schedule.
In a special notice published Tuesday on SAM.gov, the bureau said it is reassessing portions of the Census Transformation and Application Modernization, or CenTAM, framework because enterprise needs have evolved since it was built, citing increased demand for “Super Intelligence” and other emerging technology capabilities.
The Census Bureau will split the procurement into two tracks: Part A will cover mature decennial and geospatial requirements, with solicitation expected in the first quarter of fiscal 2027. Part B will encompass enterprise systems and program support, though its scope and acquisition strategy remain under review
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What Work Does the Geospatial Requirement Cover?
The geospatial order, known as GEOTAM, will support the Master Address File/Topologically Integrated Geographic system, or MAF/TIGER, the nationwide geographic database underlying every Census Bureau product that places people and businesses on a map.
Bureau materials from a July industry day stated that the system contains more than 14 million unique geographic areas, legal boundaries for roughly 40,000 government units, approximately 7 million miles of roads and addresses for more than 151 million housing units, with structure points for about 96.9 percent of those units.
The environment supporting that database spans more than 60 databases and over 500 terabytes of storage across Amazon Web Services GovCloud, Oracle Cloud, Google Cloud and two bureau facilities, running about 150 applications for more than 500 internal users.
GEOTAM will deliver systems and applications supporting IT, geospatial, economic, demographic and research methodology programs, along with the 2030 decennial census and early 2040 efforts.
The bureau said it has no formal cloud migration strategy for geospatial applications but is actively moving systems and expects the awardee to support that effort. The Census Bureau deems experience with Oracle Spatial and the Topology Data Model essential, citing both technologies as critical components of MAF/TIGER’s current architecture.
What Does the Decennial Requirement Involve?
The decennial order, called DTAM, covers the application portfolio that drives the census count. Scope includes address frame management, high-volume response data ingestion, data quality validation, business rules and decisioning engines, survey management, and dashboards that generate apportionment counts and public data products.
Bureau objectives for the first DTAM order include stabilizing and scaling systems to handle peak operational demand, aligning capabilities with zero trust principles and federal lifecycle review requirements, and advancing cloud architectures built for real-time decennial workflows.
Among the data science requirements are capabilities that incorporate large language models consistent with the bureau’s security, privacy and governance rules. The models must support explainability, bias awareness and validation under applicable National Institute of Standards and Technology guidance.
How Is the CenTAM Framework Structured?
The full CenTAM framework comprises four blanket purchase agreements, each carrying one base year and eight option years, all set aside for small businesses. Part A holds two single-award agreements: decennial at roughly $1 billion and geospatial at about $241 million. Part B holds two multiple-award agreements: enterprise at roughly $1 billion and systems and program support at about $311 million.
The bureau said the Part A and Part B designations are not acquisition phases and do not require sequential participation.
