REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. Community Engagement Strategy and Regional Transportation Plan Development Assistance

Transcription

1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Community Engagement Strategy and Regional Transportation Plan Development Assistance The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is seeking proposals from firms or teams of firms experienced in transportation policy, community engagement, multimodal planning, and technical support necessary to support ARC in undertaking certain tasks during calendar year 2018 related to strategic community engagement to support the 2020 update to The Atlanta Region s Plan. The Scope of Services for the work is attached as Exhibit A and provides information regarding the level of effort required, as well as specific tasks to be accomplished. Successful firms or teams of firms should be able to demonstrate experience in providing thorough strategic advice and community engagement services in a broad range of needs related to the federal metropolitan transportation planning process. The assignment of highly qualified and experienced staff to project deliverables and tasks is critical and will be closely evaluated during the proposal review process. Successful firms or teams of firms must be skilled at working with local and state government staffs and elected officials, as well as members of the public. ARC intends to award an initial contract or contracts for work during CY 2018, in which the scope will be directly related to strategic community engagement in support of the 2020 update to The Atlanta Region s Plan. It is anticipated that available funds for the project will be approximately $75,000 in ARC reserves the right to award all or part of the available funds for this project. ARC anticipates that a contract will be award in the second quarter of CY 2018., with the requirements that all work for CY 2018 will be completed by December 31, All references to years in this RFP are to calendar years beginning January 1 and ending December 31, unless otherwise noted. The successful Consultant should be prepared to begin work immediately upon receipt of a Notice to Proceed. ARC may award follow-on work in the 2019 calendar year ranging from $75,000 - $200,000 provided funding is available and Consultant performance in 2018 has been acceptable. Tasks for potential follow-on work in CY 2019 may expand beyond community engagement scope based upon results of agency work in 2018 and direction set by 2019 work program. Interested firms should submit a proposal that addresses the requirements listed below and the Scope of Services in Exhibit A. The Consultant should provide a detailed breakdown of the proposed budget and task breakdown following the general formats provided in Exhibits B and B-1. Proposals must include the following in order to be considered responsive: 1. Name of lead firm and any sub-consultants. 1

2 2. Point of contact (name, title, phone number, mailing address, and address) at lead firm. 3. Qualifications and technical competence of consultant/or sub-consultants in the type of work required. 4. Description of experience on similar projects including a list of at least 3 references within the past 5 years, with current contact information. 5. Listing of key project personnel and their qualifications. 6. Geographic location of the consultant s office performing the work. 7. A detailed description of the technical approach proposed for accomplishment of the work. 8. A proposed schedule and work plan for the accomplishment of the work described in Exhibit A. 9. A proposed project budget in the format of Exhibits B and B A DBE Utilization Plan in the format of Exhibit C. 11. Any other pertinent information. The review of written proposals will be based on the following evaluation criteria, with the relative weights in parentheses: 1. Related experience, qualifications and references of the firm or project team (40%) 2. Technical approach, including the appropriateness and creativity of proposed approach to the work scope (40%) 3. Work plan and schedule (10%) Note: This includes the consultants ability to demonstrate a balanced workload for its staff in order to carry out its responsibilities to ARC in balance with any other contracts the consultant may have. 4. Proposed budget (10%) If your firm does not wish to propose for this work, please notify ARC as soon as possible. A negative response will not prejudice consideration of your firm in competition for future ARC contracts. However, failure to respond either positively or negatively will be considered a lack of interest and your firm s name may be deleted from the agency s prospective Consultant file. It is the policy of ARC that Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) (49 CFR Part 26) have the maximum opportunity to participate, either as contractors or as subcontractors, in the performance of Commission contracts to the extent practical and consistent with the efficient performance of the contract. ARC s current DBE goal is 15.64%. The successful proposal should meet this minimum budget allocation goal. Information regarding ARC s DBE Program can be found at Additional information should not be required to respond to this RFP. However, technical questions should be submitted in writing to Melissa Roberts no later than 4:00 pm on Friday, March 23, Written questions should be mailed to the address provided above or submitted by to mroberts@atlantaregional.org. All questions received, and responses to those questions, will be posted on the ARC website no later than 4:00 pm on Wednesday, March 28,

3 ARC must receive five (5) hard copies and one (1) copy in digital format, either in Microsoft Word or PDF format, no later than 4:00 pm ET on Tuesday, April 10, Proposals shall not exceed a total of 20 single sided pages (8.5 x 11 ), or 10 double sided pages, inclusive of resumes and firm experience. Covers, end sheets, budget exhibits, DBE documentation, and an introductory letter shall not count against this maximum. Font size shall be a minimum of 10 point in all cases. Proposals must be submitted to the following address: Atlanta Regional Commission ATTN: Melissa Roberts 229 Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 100 Atlanta, Georgia If interviews are necessary, the short-listed firms will be invited to participate in an interview process with an evaluation committee. ARC will confirm a specific interview date and time with short-listed firms by April 18, 2018 (tentative), with the interviews to be held during the week of April 30, 2018 (tentative). ARC reserves the right to award this contract based on initial proposals received without formal interviews and to award all or part of this project to one or more firms. 3

4 EXHIBIT A SCOPE OF SERVICES I. General: The work to be accomplished by the Consultant is in support of the following ARC work program component: Cost Center 806BSR - Long Range Planning II. Background and Objectives The Consultant shall perform all the necessary services provided under this contract within the Atlanta Metropolitan Transportation Planning Area. This planning area includes all or parts of the following twenty counties: Barrow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Pike, Rockdale, Spalding, and Walton. In addition, Bartow County is currently part of the air quality nonattainment area. Any work activities related to the air quality planning responsibilities of the MPO will need to consider the issues and needs in that area as well. ARC completed and adopted an update to the region s comprehensive plan (The Atlanta Region s Plan) in February The plan integrates the agency s transportation, community development, air quality, water supply, aging services, workforce, arts and culture, and economic competitiveness work into an interdisciplinary and comprehensive vision. The next federally mandated update to the transportation element of the plan is due in early ARC has identified a need for consultant assistance to develop an overall strategic engagement strategy and develop a message as well as light collateral materials to support this plan update. This engagement strategy must be forward thinking and designed to be an on-going, continuous effort of the agency, considering a wide-range of the regional population, with attention also given to the impact of the public engagement activities on the plan development. Additionally, ARC seeks assistance developing a strategy to deploy targeted engagement activities promoting the use of the Futures Scenario tool developed in 2017 (scenarios.atlantaregional.com) in order to conduct a robust regional dialogue around planning to account for rapidly changing future trends. The transportation element of The Regional Plan is the principal focus of the services rendered under this contract. However, for the Consultants to be successful and produce deliverables meeting ARC expectations, the ability to work in an interdisciplinary fashion is of critical importance. The selected Consultants must have a sound working knowledge on a wide array of regional issues and the agency s overall work program, combined with the ability to holistically consider the interplay with the transportation system. Consultants are advised to ensure that composition of their proposed project team represent a broad cross section of subject matter experts familiar with the role transportation plays in supporting an economically vibrant and environmentally sustainable region with a high quality of life for all its citizens. It is highly advisable to highlight team members with creative, communications, and public engagement skillsets. 4

5 On all tasks, the lead Consultant will be expected to participate in regular monthly Project Management Team meetings to update ARC staff and other stakeholders as appropriate on the status of the various work tasks. In addition, the Consultant and the ARC Project Manager will coordinate ongoing activities through phone calls, s and/or meetings on a frequent and regular basis. III. Work Tasks: Specific deliverables which must be provided are identified, but Consultants may propose additional ones which will contribute to the next update of the next Atlanta Region s Plan. Task 1: Develop a Stakeholder Engagement Plan for the 2020 update to the transportation element of The Atlanta Region s Plan. ARC s community engagement efforts, guided by the Regional Transportation Community Engagement Plan, are inclusive of a series of ongoing activities that promote listening and dialogue, build connections with a range of partners, thus contributing to a continuous engagement model that strives to be broad and inclusive of regional citizenry. In this way, ARC s community engagement strategy is built upon a continuous effort to incorporate public involvement into every effort of the regional transportation planning process. In order to collect useful input for the development of the transportation element of The Atlanta Region s Plan 2020 update, as well as create a meaningful experience for participants and support ongoing and comprehensive community engagement efforts for the overall planning process, the community engagement strategy for the 2020 update to The Atlanta Region s Plan must include the following: a. Overall schedule and outline through transportation plan adoption scheduled for 2020 b. Specified target audiences, including environmental justice communities, regional leaders, and the general public c. Strategies to incorporate input from ARC s Civic Dinners project d. Strategies to deploy ARC s Future scenarios game tool and incorporate ensuing public input e. Key outreach messaging points updated plans, consistent plans, relevant and approachable plans f. Recommendations for tried and true tactics as well as new tools g. Recommendations for outreach to traditionally under-served audiences (more thorough than item above) h. Recommendations for how this engagement strategy fits into an ongoing community engagement model for transportation planning at ARC The 2020 TARP Stakeholder Engagement Plan should indicate how ARC will: Involve public in setting and monitoring expectations for the transportation plan development process Partner with other organizations and agencies to maximize participation, with an emphasis on groups that are typically underrepresented in planning processes 5

6 Implement a community engagement strategy that incorporates a complementary mix of smaller, community-based forums, large-scale public forums and online opportunities for engagement Encourage participants to remain involved in the full continuum of The Atlanta Region s Plan public input opportunities Ensure that online content is easy to understand, regularly updated and readily available Be accountable to participants by reporting back to them at regular intervals, and provide a means for all interested individuals to track The Atlanta Region s Plan progress Be highly visible in efforts to engage the public to participate and in sharing the results of the project with planners, policymakers and elected officials Conduct ongoing, continuous engagement efforts throughout the continuum of the regional transportation planning process Deliverables: A 2020 TARP Stakeholder Engagement Strategy (for transportation plan element), inclusive of all elements indicated above Key message points developed to support the strategies listed above Social media messages, including digital design of visual elements to support these messages Graphical, digital marketing pieces designed to support the engagement strategy, including social media messages, simple, yet key high-level marketing pieces based upon previous ARC design elements created to support TARP Task 2: Develop outreach strategy and assist with launch of ARC Future Scenario game. ARC developed a Future Scenario gaming tool (scenarios.atlantaregional.com) to assist in generating awareness about future trends and challenges facing the Atlanta region. The consultant shall assist ARC staff with the planning and development of messaging for a mix of outreach activities in various areas of the MPO region, including in-person and onlineengagement based on this tool. This outreach strategy must include: Detailed plans for conducting a minimum of four activities in the MPO region, including conversation/facilitation guides to assist with using the online tool in person A marketing/messaging strategy for promoting the online tool A strategy for how to incorporate results from this tool into the development of the RTP as well as into the ongoing regional transportation planning process The consultant must also identify any elements of the tool which may need to be refined, including technical issues which may require minor coding changes (at a later date, outside the scope of this contract), as well as recommendations for ways to simplify text and copy where possible. This tool was created using a.net application and ARC has access to the source files. Deliverables: Plans for 4-8 sub-regional activities (according to the mix of criteria listed above) Posters, graphics, design of materials for outreach activities as necessary, including digital marketing 6

7 An outreach and engagement strategy for the ARC Future Scenario tool, according to the criteria listed above Recommendations for how to incorporate results from this tool directly into ARC RTP plan development, as well as ongoing planning activities conducted by ARC 7

8 EXHIBIT B Proposed Project Budget 1. Direct Labor Estimated Hours Rate/Hour Total Est. Cost (List by position all professional personnel participating in project) Total Direct Labor 2. Overhead Cost (OMB circulators A-87 and A-122) (Overhead percentage rate) X (Total Direct Labor) Total Overhead 3. Other Direct Costs (List other items and basis for computing cost for each. Examples include computer services, equipment, etc.) Total Other Direct Costs 4. Subcontracts (For each subcontract, identify purpose and rate) Total Subcontracts 5. Travel a. Travel by common carrier from/to the ARC offices. (List number of trips and Economy class airfare, plus taxi and shuttle fares, etc.) b. Travel by private automobile within ARC area. (List # of days x rate) Total Travel 6. Profit (Percentage rate X basis) Total Profit TOTAL PROPOSED BUDGET (all costs and profit) 8

9 EXHIBIT B-1 Proposed Project Budget by Task Task Amount Task 1 Develop a 2020 RTP TARP Stakeholder Engagement Plan Task 2 Develop outreach strategy and assist with launch of ARC Futures Scenario game TOTAL 9

10 EXHIBIT C Title VI and DBE Requirements For Prime Contractors and Sub-grant Recipients TITLE VI ARC, in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252, 42 U.S.C. 2000D to 2000D4, 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 Respondents that it will affirmatively insure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, minority business enterprises shall be afforded full opportunity to submit proposals in response to this invitation and shall not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, sex, handicap, or national origin in consideration for an award. DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (DBE) PARTICIPATION Overall DBE Goal: As part of its DBE Plan, ARC has an established overall goal of percent. Program Intent. ARC has established a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program in accordance with regulations of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 49 CFR Part 26 ("Part 26" or "DBE Regulations"). ARC has received federal financial assistance from the Department of Transportation for this contract opportunity, and as a condition of receiving this assistance, ARC has signed an assurance that it will comply with Part 26. It is the policy of ARC to ensure that DBEs, as defined in Part 26, have an equal opportunity to participate in its DOT-assisted contracting opportunities. It is also ARC s policy: (a) To ensure nondiscrimination in the award and administration of DOT-assisted contracts in the Department's highway, transit, and airport financial assistance programs; (b) To create a level playing field on which DBEs can compete fairly for DOT-assisted contracts; (c) To ensure that the Department's DBE program is narrowly tailored in accordance with applicable law; (d) To ensure that only firms that fully meet this part's eligibility standards are permitted to participate as DBEs; (e) To help remove barriers to the participation of DBEs in DOT-assisted contracts; and (f) To assist the development of firms that can compete successfully in the marketplace outside the DBE program. 10

11 Definitions. Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) as used in this Contract shall have the same meaning as defined in 49 CFR Part 26. A DBE is a firm in which one or more individuals who are women or eligible minorities own and control at least 51% of the firm. Compliance. All Bidders/Proposers, potential contractors, or subcontractors for this Contract are hereby notified that failure to carry out the policy and the DBE obligations, as set forth above, shall constitute a breach of Contract which may result in termination of the Contract or such other remedy as deemed appropriate by ARC. Prompt Payment Requirement. In the event of contract award, the prime contractor agrees to pay each subcontractor under the prime contract for satisfactory performance of its contract no later than 30 days from the receipt of each payment the prime contract receives from ARC. The prime contractor agrees further to return retainage payments to each subcontractor within 10 days after the subcontractors work is satisfactorily completed. Any delay or postponement of payment from the above referenced time frame may occur only for good cause following written approval of ARC. This clause applies to both DBE and non-dbe subcontracts. Any contractor found not to be in compliance with this clause will be considered in breach of contract and any further payments will be withheld until corrective action is taken. If contractor does not take corrective action, contractor may be subject to contract termination. Substitution. The Bidder shall make a good faith effort to replace a DBE Subcontractor that is unable to perform successfully with another DBE Subcontractor. Substitution must be coordinated and approved by ARC. Documentation. The Bidder/Proposer shall establish and maintain records and submit regular reports, as required, which will identify and assess progress in achieving DBE subcontract levels and other DBE affirmative action efforts. Additional information on ARC s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program can be obtained from Brittany Zwald, Contract & Grants Officer, Financial Services Division, Atlanta Regional Commission, 40 Courtland Street, Atlanta, GA 30303, , bzwald@atlantaregional.com. 11

12 DBE UTILIZATION PLAN This plan will be included in a Title VI and DBE Attachment to all USDOT funded ARC bide and proposals. Name of bidder/offeror s firm: Address: City: State: Zip: Name of DBE firm: NAICS Code: Address: City: State: Zip: Telephone: Description of work to be performed by DBE firm: The bidder/offeror is committed to utilizing the above-named DBE firm for the work described above. The estimated dollar value of this work is. The above-named DBE firm affirms that it will perform the portion of the contract for the estimated dollar value as state above. By (Signature) (Title) If the bidder/offeror does not receive award of the prime contract, any and all representations in this DBE Utilization Plan shall be null and void. (submit this page for each DBE subcontractor). PLEASE ATTACH A COPY OF THE OFFICAL DBE CERTIFICATION FORM 12