Los Angeles Innovation & Resilience Readiness Index

ScienceDocs is preparing a Los Angeles-area Local Innovation & Resilience Readiness Index to better understand how local companies are adopting AI, automation, cybersecurity, optimization, modern business systems, and government contracting/grant opportunities.

The goal is to produce an aggregate snapshot of local business readiness that may be shared with civic, economic development, chamber, and government stakeholders, including the Mayor’s Office and other local business leadership groups.

Individual company responses will be kept confidential unless you give explicit permission otherwise. Participating companies may also receive a complimentary high-level readiness snapshot showing where they appear strongest and where additional support may be useful.

Estimated time: 10–15 minutes
Best completed by: Owner, executive, operations leader, IT leader, finance leader, or transformation/change leader.

Step 1 of 9 - Priorities & Service Fit

11%

Company Profile

Basic information used to segment aggregate readiness results by geography, industry, and company size.

Company name(Required)

Website

Primary contact name(Required)

Contact title

Email address(Required)

Phone number

Primary business location(Required)

ZIP code of primary office or operating location(Required)

Industry(Required)

Approximate number of employees(Required)

Approximate annual revenue

Which best describes your company’s current growth stage?(Required)

Startup / early-stage

Growing but still informal operationally

Established and stable

Scaling quickly

Mature but modernizing

Restructuring, recovering, or repositioning

Other

Permission and Confidentiality

Individual responses should remain confidential unless you explicitly give permission otherwise.

May your company’s responses be included anonymously in aggregate index results?(Required)

Yes

May ResilienceOps identify your company as a participant in the study?(Required)

Yes

Ask us first

Would you be open to a short follow-up interview?

Yes

Maybe

Current Business Priorities

These questions help identify where technology, process, cybersecurity, AI, optimization, change management, or public-sector support may be valuable.

What are your company’s top priorities over the next 12 months?(Required)

Increase revenue

Reduce operating costs

Improve margins

Improve customer experience

Improve employee productivity

Adopt AI tools

Automate manual work

Improve cybersecurity

Improve reporting and visibility

Improve project delivery

Improve inventory, scheduling, routing, or capacity planning

Improve cash flow

Win government contracts

Apply for grants or public funding

Complete or stabilize an ERP / CRM / SAP implementation

Improve change management and employee adoption

Prepare for growth or expansion

Improve disaster / business continuity planning

Other

Select up to five if possible.

What is the biggest operational frustration in your business right now?

Where do you feel the company is losing the most time or money?

How urgent is your need to improve operations, technology, cybersecurity, or automation?(Required)

1 - Very Low

2 - Low

3 - Moderate

4 - High

5 - Very High

Do you currently have budget allocated for technology, process improvement, cybersecurity, AI, or consulting support?

Yes, active budget

Likely, but not finalized

No formal budget, but open to a business case

Not sure

If there is a budget range, what is it?

Which areas would you like ResilienceOps to help evaluate?

AI readiness

AI use case discovery

AI governance and policy

Workflow automation

Optimization engineering

Operations improvement

Data strategy and dashboards

Cybersecurity review

Business continuity / resilience planning

ERP / SAP / CRM adoption support

Change management

Employee training

Government contracting support

Grant support

Not sure yet

Digital Systems and Data Foundation

This section assesses whether the company has enough data and systems structure to benefit from AI, automation, optimization, and analytics.

Which systems does your company currently use?(Required)

Accounting system

Payroll / HR system

CRM

ERP

Inventory management system

Project management system

E-commerce platform

Customer support / ticketing system

Business intelligence / dashboard tool

Field service / dispatch system

Document management system

Spreadsheets as a primary operating system

Mostly email / manual processes

Other

If you use an ERP or major business system, which one?

SAP

Oracle / NetSuite

Microsoft Dynamics

Salesforce

QuickBooks

Odoo

Zoho

Custom-built system

Industry-specific platform

We do not use one

Other

How organized is your company’s operational data?(Required)

1 - Scattered across spreadsheets, emails, and individual employees

2 - Some systems exist, but data is inconsistent or duplicated

3 - Key systems are in place, but reporting still requires manual work

4 - Most important data is centralized and reportable

5 - Data is integrated, governed, and actively used for decision-making

How often does leadership review operational or financial dashboards?(Required)

1 - We do not have dashboards

2 - Rarely / only when needed

3 - Monthly

4 - Weekly

5 - Daily or near-real-time

How confident are you in the accuracy of your business data?(Required)

1 - Very Low

2 - Low

3 - Moderate

4 - High

5 - Very High

Which data problems affect your company?

Duplicate data

Missing data

Inaccurate data

Systems do not talk to each other

Too much manual reporting

No clear owner for data quality

Employees use different versions of the truth

Hard to get timely reports

Data is available but not actionable

No major data problems

Other

Do you have documented standard operating procedures for core business processes?(Required)

1 - No

2 - Some informal documentation

3 - Some formal SOPs

4 - Most major processes documented

5 - Fully documented and regularly updated

AI and Automation Readiness

This section identifies practical AI and automation opportunities while also assessing governance and training maturity.

Is your company currently using AI tools?(Required)

1 - No, not yet

2 - Some employees use AI informally

3 - We are experimenting with AI in a few areas

4 - We use AI in specific business workflows

5 - AI is part of our formal operating strategy

Which AI tools or automation tools are currently used?

ChatGPT

Microsoft Copilot

Google Gemini

Claude

AI features inside existing software

Zapier / Make / workflow automation

Robotic process automation

AI-powered customer support

AI-assisted marketing or content creation

AI-assisted sales outreach

AI-assisted finance / accounting

AI-assisted HR / recruiting

AI-assisted proposal, grant, or contract writing

Custom AI tools or models

None

Other

Where would AI or automation be most valuable in your business?(Required)

Customer service

Sales outreach

Marketing

Proposal writing

Grant writing

Finance / accounting

HR / recruiting

Operations

Scheduling

Inventory

Procurement

Reporting and dashboards

Document review

Compliance

Training and knowledge management

Cybersecurity

Not sure yet

Other

Does your company have an AI usage policy?(Required)

1 - No

2 - Informal guidance only

3 - Draft policy in progress

4 - Yes, basic policy

5 - Yes, mature policy with review, training, and oversight

Are employees trained on safe and effective AI use?(Required)

1 - No

2 - A few employees are self-taught

3 - Some informal internal guidance

4 - Formal training for selected employees

5 - Formal training across the organization

What are your biggest concerns about AI adoption?

Data privacy

Cybersecurity

Accuracy / hallucinations

Employee misuse

Legal or compliance risk

Customer trust

Lack of internal expertise

Unclear ROI

Tool overload

Resistance from staff

Integration with existing systems

No major concerns

Other

How interested are you in identifying practical AI use cases for your company?(Required)

1 - Very Low

2 - Low

3 - Moderate

4 - High

5 - Very High

Optimization Engineering and Operational Performance

These questions identify opportunities in scheduling, routing, capacity, staffing, inventory, workflow, forecasting, and operating discipline.

Which operational areas are most important to improve?(Required)

Scheduling

Staffing

Routing / dispatch

Inventory

Procurement

Production planning

Project delivery

Customer response time

Order fulfillment

Billing / collections

Quality control

Forecasting demand

Capacity planning

Vendor management

Workflow handoffs

Other

How are operational decisions currently made?(Required)

1 - Mostly by experience or intuition

2 - Mostly with spreadsheets

3 - With reports from business systems

4 - With dashboards and structured KPIs

5 - With advanced analytics, forecasting, or optimization tools

Where do bottlenecks most often appear?

Sales-to-operations handoff

Scheduling

Staffing availability

Inventory / materials

Customer approvals

Vendor delays

Internal approvals

Finance / billing

Technology / system limitations

Lack of clear process ownership

Not sure

Other

Do you measure the cost of delays, rework, waste, underutilized labor, or missed opportunities?(Required)

1 - No

2 - Occasionally

3 - Yes, but manually

4 - Yes, with reports

5 - Yes, continuously and systematically

How predictable are your workloads, demand, or project volumes?(Required)

1 - Very Low

2 - Low

3 - Moderate

4 - High

5 - Very High

Would better forecasting, scheduling, routing, or resource allocation have measurable financial value for your company?(Required)

Not sure

Maybe

Probably

Yes

Cybersecurity and Business Resilience

This section measures risk exposure, recovery capability, and preparedness for cyber, technology, and regional disruptions.

What types of sensitive data does your company handle?(Required)

Customer personal information

Employee personal information

Payment / card data

Healthcare or wellness data

Legal or confidential client data

Financial records

Government contract information

Intellectual property

Vendor / supplier data

We do not handle much sensitive data

Not sure

Which cybersecurity practices are currently in place?(Required)

Multi-factor authentication

Password manager

Endpoint protection / antivirus

Regular software patching

Secure backups

Tested backup recovery

Employee cybersecurity training

Phishing awareness / testing

Written cybersecurity policy

Incident response plan

Cyber insurance

Vendor / security review process

Access controls by role

Security monitoring

None / not sure

When was your last cybersecurity review, audit, or risk assessment?(Required)

1 - Never

2 - More than 2 years ago

3 - Within the last 2 years

4 - Within the last 12 months

5 - Ongoing / continuous review

Has your company experienced a cybersecurity incident, fraud attempt, ransomware event, business email compromise, or serious data exposure?

Yes

Not sure

Prefer not to say

Are you required or expected to meet any cybersecurity or compliance standards?

Cyber insurance requirements

Customer / vendor security requirements

Government contract requirements

HIPAA

PCI

SOC 2

ISO 27001

CMMC or defense-related requirements

State privacy requirements

Not sure

None

Other

How confident are you that your company could recover quickly from a cyberattack or major system outage?(Required)

1 - Very Low

2 - Low

3 - Moderate

4 - High

5 - Very High

Does your company have a written business continuity or disaster recovery plan?(Required)

1 - No

2 - Informal plan only

3 - Written plan, but not recently updated

4 - Written plan and reviewed annually

5 - Written plan, tested and actively maintained

Which disruptions would significantly affect your business?

Cyberattack

Power outage

Internet outage

Earthquake

Wildfire / smoke disruption

Flooding / storms

Supply chain disruption

Vendor failure

Loss of key employee

Labor shortage

System outage

Transportation / logistics disruption

Regulatory change

Economic slowdown

Other

Do you have backup vendors, alternate suppliers, or contingency plans for critical dependencies?(Required)

1 - No

2 - Some informal backups

3 - Backups for selected critical areas

4 - Formal backup / vendor contingency plans

5 - Formal plans tested or reviewed regularly

How quickly could your company resume critical operations after a major technology outage?(Required)

5 - Same day

4 - 1 to 2 days

3 - 3 to 7 days

1 - More than a week

2 - Not sure

How prepared is your company for a major regional disruption?(Required)

1 - Very Low

2 - Low

3 - Moderate

4 - High

5 - Very High

Recent Technology Adoption, ERP, SAP, CRM, and Change Management

These questions identify adoption, training, workflow, data migration, and post-implementation support needs.

Has your company recently adopted or implemented a major new system?

Yes, within the last 6 months

Yes, within the last 12 months

Yes, within the last 24 months

Planned within the next 12 months

No major system changes recently

Not sure

What type of system was recently adopted or is planned?

SAP

ERP

CRM

Accounting / finance system

HR / payroll system

Inventory system

Project management system

Customer support system

E-commerce system

Business intelligence / dashboard system

Cybersecurity platform

AI / automation platform

Other

Not applicable

How successful has the adoption been so far?

1 - Difficult / not meeting expectations

2 - Mixed, with significant issues

3 - Generally successful but still uneven

4 - Successful

5 - Very successful and well-adopted

3 - Not applicable

What problems have appeared during or after implementation?

Employees not using the system consistently

Insufficient training

Poor data migration

Workflows not redesigned

System does not match business needs

Too much manual workaround activity

Reporting problems

Integration problems

Leadership lacks visibility

Project went over budget

Project took longer than expected

Vendor support issues

No major problems

Other

Do you have an internal owner responsible for adoption, training, process redesign, and continuous improvement?(Required)

1 - No

2 - Informal owner

3 - Yes, part-time responsibility

4 - Yes, dedicated owner or team

5 - Yes, dedicated owner or team with executive sponsorship

Would outside support be useful for improving adoption, training, workflows, reporting, or ROI from a recent system implementation?

Not sure

Maybe

Probably

Yes

Workforce Skills and Change Readiness

How comfortable are employees with adopting new technology?(Required)

1 - Very Low

2 - Low

3 - Moderate

4 - High

5 - Very High

Which workforce challenges affect technology adoption?

Lack of time for training

Skill gaps

Resistance to change

Too many disconnected tools

Lack of leadership alignment

Poor communication around change

No internal champion

Turnover

Language / accessibility barriers

Generational comfort differences

Union / work-rule considerations

No major challenges

Other

How does your company usually train employees on new systems or processes?(Required)

1 - No formal training

2 - Peer-to-peer only

3 - Vendor training only

4 - Internal documentation and selected training

5 - Formal training with measurement and reinforcement

Does leadership have a clear technology or transformation roadmap?(Required)

1 - No

2 - Informal ideas only

3 - Draft roadmap

4 - Yes, 12-month roadmap

5 - Yes, multi-year roadmap with budget and ownership

Government Contracting and Grant Readiness

This section identifies readiness for local, state, and federal contracts, grants, certifications, public funding, and prime/subcontractor relationships.

Has your company ever pursued government contracts?(Required)

Yes, local / city contracts

Yes, county contracts

Yes, state contracts

Yes, federal contracts

Yes, as a subcontractor

No, but interested

No, not interested

Not sure

Has your company ever pursued grants or public funding?(Required)

Yes, local grants

Yes, state grants

Yes, federal grants

Yes, nonprofit / philanthropic grants

No, but interested

No, not interested

Not sure

What best describes your current government contracting or grant maturity?(Required)

1 - We have not started

2 - We are interested but unsure where to begin

3 - We have registered on some portals but have not won

4 - We have submitted proposals or applications

5 - We have won at least one contract or grant

5 - We regularly pursue and win opportunities

1 - Not applicable

Which government contracting or grant assets do you currently have?

Capability statement

Past performance examples

Certifications

Proposal templates

Grant narrative templates

Budget templates

Compliance / reporting process

Dedicated proposal or grant writer

CRM or pipeline for opportunities

Relationships with primes / subcontractors

None

Not sure

How complete are your contract and grant materials and processes?(Required)

1 - No materials or process

2 - A few informal materials

3 - Some usable materials, but incomplete

4 - Strong materials and repeatable process

5 - Mature pipeline, templates, compliance, and reporting process

Which certifications or designations does your company currently hold?

Small Business Enterprise

Local Small Business Enterprise

Minority Business Enterprise

Women Business Enterprise

Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise

Veteran-owned business

HUBZone or similar location-based designation

Other certification

None

Not sure

How would you describe your certification readiness?(Required)

1 - No certifications and no current plan

2 - Interested but have not started

3 - Evaluating eligibility or in progress

4 - At least one certification in place

5 - Multiple relevant certifications actively maintained

Have you worked with an LA-based prime contractor, subcontractor, or public-sector partner?(Required)

5 - Yes, as a prime

4 - Yes, as a subcontractor

4 - Yes, as a vendor / supplier

3 - We have discussed opportunities but not yet worked together

1 - No

2 - Not sure

If yes, what type of LA-based prime, subcontractor, public agency, or partner did you work with?

What are your biggest barriers to government contracting or grants?

Finding relevant opportunities

Understanding eligibility

Registrations and portals

Certifications

Proposal writing

Grant writing

Pricing / cost proposal

Budget development

Compliance requirements

Cybersecurity requirements

Insurance / bonding requirements

Finding prime / subcontractor partners

Lack of past performance

Reporting after award

Cash flow during contract performance

Not sure where to begin

Other

Would support with government contracts, grants, or public funding opportunities be valuable?(Required)

1 - Very Low

2 - Low

3 - Moderate

4 - High

5 - Very High

Which government contracting or grant support would be most useful?

Opportunity scanning

Eligibility review

Registration support

Certification support

Capability statement

Proposal writing

Grant writing

Budget development

Compliance planning

Contract readiness assessment

Prime / subcontractor teaming strategy

AI-assisted proposal / grant workflow

Post-award reporting

Not sure

Other

Final Readiness Snapshot

What outcome would make this assessment worthwhile for you?

How soon would you consider starting an improvement initiative?

Immediately

Within 30 days

1-3 months

3-6 months

Later this year

Just researching

Who would be involved in approving this type of work?

Owner / founder

CEO / president

COO / operations leader

CFO / finance leader

CIO / IT leader

HR / training leader

Department head

Board

External advisor

Other

Would you like a complimentary high-level readiness snapshot based on your responses?(Required)

Yes

Maybe

May ResilienceOps contact you to discuss your responses?(Required)

Yes

Any additional comments, concerns, or context?

Digital Systems and Data Score - 15 points

AI and Automation Score - 15 points

Optimization and Operations Score - 15 points

Cybersecurity Score - 20 points

Business Continuity Score - 10 points

Change Management and Workforce Score - 10 points

Government Contracting and Grant Readiness Score - 15 points

Overall Local Innovation and Resilience Readiness Index Score - 100 points