Meeting Facilitation and/or Community Engagement
City of Edmonds
Edmonds, WA
SUMMARY
The City of Edmonds seeks professional services from a person or team to provide support for the work of a newly formed Housing Commission in one of the following ways: (1) meeting facilitation; (2) community engagement; or (3) both meeting facilitation and community engagement. Interested parties may submit their qualifications to support the City in any of these three ways. To be considered for the project, interested firms must submit a Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) by August 15, 4:00 pm.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
A new Citizens Housing Commission will work between Fall 2019 and the end of 2020 to develop housing policies for recommendation to the City Council. The City desires professional support to: (1) facilitate each Commission meeting to ensure good discussion and schedule progress; and (2) provide guidance and assistance to broadly and meaningfully engage the community on housing issues. These two roles may be provided by the same firm or different firms, depending on qualifications and availability. Use of technology and visual tools is encouraged.
PROJECT BUDGET
The professional services budget for this project is $86,000. It may be broken into the following categories, with the possibility of flexibility between them:
- Up to $26,000 for meeting facilitation;
- Up to $60,000 for community engagement support.
TIMEFRAME
Overall Consultant work for the project will begin as quickly as possible in September. It is expected to continue through late December, 2020.
Consultant Selection Process
The following 2019 dates are anticipated but subject to change at the City's discretion.
- Start of advertising RFQ: (circa) July 24
- Responses due: August 15, 4:00 pm
- Interviews with top candidates: Week of August 26
- Selection of preferred candidate(s): September 3
- Negotiation and finalization of professional services agreement(s): By September 10
PROJECT DETAIL
Meeting facilitation services would be needed for Commission meetings, which will usually occur once a month, and to assist with about six public outreach sessions. The meeting facilitator would:
- Facilitate meetings to help Commission with its work
- Be aware of the Commission's mission and timeframe
- Ensure that meetings run smoothly and the process is fair, respectful, and transparent
- Advise City staff on creating specific agendas for Commission events
- Develop materials and exercises as needed to support agenda
- Keep meetings on track, consistent with agendas and schedules as much as possible
- Use techniques that encourage collaboration and mutual understanding and that recognize different communication styles
- Provide for public input in a welcoming and predictable manner
- Present project information at one or two City Council meetings
- Coordinate with City staff.
Community engagement services would be performed in close coordination with City staff and may include design, development, assistance, and/or implementation for at least some of the following tools (and perhaps additional ones), with the goal being to achieve broad public understanding and input:
- Outreach plan (identifying community engagement approach and timeline)
- Assistance with announcements and press releases
- Public open house events
- Virtual open houses or other online events
- Videotaping of meetings and events (which, alternatively, could be provided by a separate firm)
- Graphic displays to convey information
- Brochures, flyers, or other handouts
- Online information and input opportunities
- Town hall-type events (perhaps with portable audio system)
- "Pop-up" meetings
- Surveys
- Visualization exercises
- Community-building exercises
- Round table discussions
- Outreach to different demographic groups
- Tracking public input and organizing the results in an easy-to-understand manner
- Anything else that helps the community understand the complexity of issues and participate in dialogue and other input
- Reproducible summary of community engagement activities that occurred during the project
City Staffing
The City's Development Services Department has provided initial public information and intake of Commission applications from local residents. (For more details on this phase, see: https://www.citizenshousingcommission.org/.) The Department will continue to provide project support but needs additional assistance and expertise.
City staff support is expected to include: coordinating the overall process (consistent with the Council's resolution for a housing commission); managing consultant services; pulling together housing data; setting up meetings in various locations; providing agendas; making or arranging presentations for the Housing Commission; arranging for and attending all Commission meetings and events; providing reports; distributing press releases; communicating updates to the City Council and public; overseeing the City's project website; responding to citizen questions; printing out necessary materials; organizing Commission recommendations into an appropriate format; and handling any needed follow-up.
BACKGROUND
Prior Housing Initiative
The City began a process in 2017 to develop a housing strategy for increasing the supply of affordable housing and meeting other housing needs. However, concerns about the process and related issues were raised. In response to these concerns, the project was temporarily halted and the City Council approved a new process to be undertaken with significantly more public input.
Housing Commission
The Edmonds' Citizens Housing Commission will consist of 15 members and eight alternates, all of whom must be City residents. Each of the seven City Council members will select two commissioners and one alternate from her/his assigned district. The Mayor will select one commissioner and one alternate at-large. Selections are expected this summer. Two City Council members may serve on the Commission as non-voting liaisons.
SUBMITTALS
One unbound original, three bound copies, and one electronic copy (preferably on a flash drive) of the SOQ shall be submitted to the City of Edmonds, Development Services Department, 121- 5th Ave North, Edmonds, WA 98020-3145. The deadline for SOQs for this project is August 15, 2019, by 4:00 PM. Respondents assume the risk of the method of dispatch chosen. The City assumes no responsibility for delays caused by any delivery service. Postmarking by the due date will not substitute for actual receipt of qualifications. SOQs shall be limited to single- space, typewritten pages, (minimum 11- point font) and be no more than 16 pages total and bound in a single volume. A page is defined as one side of an 8 ½ by 11- inch page. The following format and content shall be adhered to by each firm and presented in the following order:
- Cover letter/ executive summary (max. 2 pages): Show the address, email, and telephone number of the respondent's office from which the project will be managed. Identify whether the SOQ is for: (1) meeting facilitation only; (2) other community engagement only; or (3) a combination of meeting facilitation and other community engagement. Summarize key information you want the City to know about your qualifications or approach.
SOQ:
- Your focus: Repeat whether you propose to assist with: (1) meeting facilitation only; (2) other community engagement only; or (3) a combination of meeting facilitation and community engagement.
- Description of project team: Identify the proposed role/responsibilities for each member of your team. Provide a brief biography for each person to include the person's qualifications and her/his specific involvement on similar or relevant projects. (Note: It is perfectly reasonable, especially if you are proposing only to be the meeting facilitator, that your "team" may be very small.)
- Approach: Describe your approach to this project and key factors to be considered. Explain any special values, contributions, or expertise that your team would add. If your SOQ includes community engagement, indicate which aspects of community engagement you are prepared to provide. Identify elements of a proposed work plan and how you would carry it out.
- References/Past Performance: Provide reference information for at least three (3) projects, with similarities to this project, in which the responding firm has participated. (Note: the term "similarities to this project" does not necessarily include housing experience but does include community and/or public sector experience.) For each reference, include the project name, approximate date of involvement, services your firm provided on the project, and the reference's contact name and phone number. (City staff may contact references during the selection process.)
- Optional Information. You may add excerpts from prior project work to help illustrate your approach. If such examples are compiled in one section and do not exceed 6 pages, they are not subject to the 16-page limit that otherwise applies to the SOQ. However, inclusion of excerpts at this stage is not necessary from the City's perspective.
Criteria
The City's Evaluation Team will use the following criteria to initially evaluate each SOQ:
Criteria — Points
Project Approach — 0-35
Qualification / Experience of Project Manager — 0-15
Qualifications / Experience of Project Team — 0-15
Clarity and responsiveness to RFQ — 0-15
Related Experience on Similar Projects — 0-10
References / Past Performance — 0-10
Maximum Points — 100
SELECTION PROCESS
The SOQ will be the basis from which interested firms will be selected. At the City's option, following the City staff evaluation of the SOQs received, selected firms may be invited to make oral presentations before the City's Evaluation Panel. The City's representative will provide additional details outlining the preferred content of the presentation to each firm or team that is invited to participate. Upon completion of the evaluation, the City's Evaluation Panel will determine the most qualified firm based on all materials and information presented.
FINAL SCOPE OF WORK
The final scope(s) of work for this project will be developed with the top candidate for meeting facilitation and for community engagement (or for a combination thereof), taking into account the available budget and priorities.
QUESTIONS AND UPDATES
Any firm wishing to be on an email list for RFQ updates should indicate that interest and provide its contact information to: diane.cunningham@edmondswa.gov. Also, any questions must be submitted by email to the City's administrative specialist for this project at the same email address as above. Substantive responses to any question will be provided to all consulting firms on the email list just described.
REMINDERS
General
Any firm failing to submit information in accordance with the procedures set forth in the RFQ may be subject to disqualification. The City reserves the right to change the qualifications schedule or issue amendments to the RFQ at any time. The City reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to waive material irregularities contained in the SOQs. The City reserves the right to reject any and all SOQs at any time, without penalty. The City reserves the right to refrain from contracting with any respondent. Firms eliminated from further consideration will be notified electronically by the City as soon as practical.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Information
The City of Edmonds in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), commits to nondiscrimination on the basis of disability, in all of its programs and activities. This material can be made available in an alternate format by emailing Diane Cunningham at diane.cunningham@edmondswa.gov or by calling (425)771-0220.
Title VI Statement
The City of Edmonds, in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252, 42
U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-4 and Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Department of Transportation, Subtitle A, Office of the Secretary, Part 21, Nondiscrimination in Federally- assisted programs of the Department of Transportation issued pursuant to such Act, hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprises as defined at 49 CFR Part 26 will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, national origin, or sex in consideration for an award.