Community Outreach and Marketing

The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh’s (URA) Housing Opportunity Fund (HOF) requests proposals from a variety of community groups and firms (the Applicant) to provide community outreach and marketing services for the HOF.

The HOF Department plans to approve one or more applicants to be part of an approved list of firms to perform community outreach and marketing services. Selected applicants will be eligible for selection by the HOF to perform services as needed. Each approved applicant will remain on a list/slate of Board approved community outreach and marketing firms from the date approved by the Housing Opportunity Fund Advisory Board and URA Board of Directors through September 30, 2022. During the three-year period, any firm or firms on the approved slate may be requested to bid on specific community outreach services that are currently to-be-determined. The RFQ process may be revisited during this period to invite additional applicants to qualify to provide these services.

Submission Requirements:

Due Date: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. ET
UPDATE 1/3/20 - This RFQ has been re-released to accept qualifcations on a rolling basis.
Delivery: All submissions are to be submitted to HOF@ura.org

The URA is the City of Pittsburgh's (City) economic development agency, committed to creating jobs, expanding the City's tax base, and improving the vitality of businesses and neighborhoods. Incorporated in 1946 as one of the first redevelopment authorities in the United States, the URA achieves this mission by assembling, preparing and conveying sites for major mixed-use developments; and by providing a portfolio of programs that include financing for business location, relocation and expansion, housing construction and rehabilitation, and home purchases and improvements. The URA is committed to equitable development, and incorporates best practices for equity and inclusion into its internal and external policies and activities.

The HOF is a housing trust fund that has been established in the City to support the development and preservation of affordable and accessible housing within the City’s boundaries. The HOF has allocated funding for five (5) programs to carry out this mission in 2018: The Homeowner Assistance Program for owner-occupied home repairs; the Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance Program for first-time homebuyers; the Housing Stabilization Program for at-risk renters; the For-Sale Development Program for the creation or preservation of affordable for-sale housing; and the Rental Gap Program to fund the creation/preservation of affordable rental housing.

Funds appropriated to the HOF are to be invested in accordance with an Annual Allocation Plan (AAP) created by the Advisory Board and approved by City Council and the Governing Board. The URA Board of Directors serves as the HOF’s Governing Board (Governing Board). The HOF’s Advisory Board (Advisory Board) is comprised of seventeen (17) persons appointed by the Mayor to four-year staggered terms.

More information regarding the HOF can be found at www.ura.org/pages/HOF.

The selected applicants will be asked to enter into a contract with the URA to work directly with HOF staff to provide community outreach and marketing services as needed. Some examples of future needs are, but not limited to, attending/leading community meetings, developing a social media presence for the HOF, creating, printing, and supplying marketing materials, planning, promoting, and hosting events, and providing catering and childcare services at events.

The selected applicants must:

· Have a minimum of 3-5 years of performing community outreach and marketing in the City

· Demonstrate significant experience working with the grassroots advocacy and nonprofit organizations within the City

· Demonstrate a track record of working with and for underrepresented and minority communities throughout the City

· Be available to perform assignments within the time frame required in the agreement

· Present a strategy to provide bilingual/translation services to residents throughout the City

Additionally, prior acceptable experience with the URA will be considered.

Each submission should include the following:

1. Title Page - Include the firm’s name, contact person and contact information
   
   
2. Table of Contents
   
   
3. Primary Qualifications - Provide a brief narrative that explains why your firm is well qualified to provide the services for which your firm would like to be considered. Briefly describe similar work your firm or team has completed. In addition, provide a list of communities and community organizations you have partnered with in the past – provide detail as to what the outreach was intended to accomplish, the strategy that was used, and the tangible outcomes that were a result of the outreach.
   
   
4. Firm Profile - Provide a brief profile of your firm, including:
   
   a. Total number of employees
   
   b. Number and names of employees who will be dedicated to the work
   
   c. Comprehensive list of outreach and marketing services available to perform
   
   
5. Biography of Key Personnel - Identify the staff within the organization who will be actively working on this contract. Please include the individuals’ relevant experience and their work location.
   
   
6. References - Provide two (2) references from entities that have worked with your firm on similar projects. Provide only references who have directly worked with one or more members of the firm’s proposed team. Include the reference’s name, title, address, direct telephone number, and email address.
   
   
7. Minority and Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) Narrative - The URA has a long history of diversity and inclusion within all its programs and other activities. The URA encourages the full participation of minority and women business owners and professionals in this effort. The URA requires that all respondents demonstrate a good faith effort to obtain minority and women-owned business participation in work performed in connection with URA projects. In the form of a narrative, state as succinctly as possible your firm’s efforts to provide opportunities for MWBE firms. MWBE participation can be satisfied by:
   
   a. Ownership/partnership of firm;
   
   b. Use of minority or women-owned businesses as vendors for legal, printing, office supplies, travel, etc.; and
   
   c. Subcontracting with organizations owned and controlled by minorities and/or women. If this is to be done, that fact, and the name of the proposed subcontracting organizations, must be clearly identified in the proposal. 
   
   
8. Fees - Describe your proposed fee structure (e.g., hourly, fixed fee per assignment/event, etc.) and include proposed rates and/or an itemized list of services.
   
   
9. Other Information - Please provide any other information which you believe is pertinent to the HOF’s consideration of your firm.

All inquiries related to this RFQ are to be directly emailed to HOF@ura.org.

The submission deadline for this RFQ is Tuesday August 27, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. ET.

UPDATE 1/3/20 - This RFQ has been re-released to accept qualifications on a rolling basis.

The applicant should submit one (1) electronic copy delivered in PDF format via email. All submissions are to be submitted to HOF@ura.org.

· The qualifications review committee (Committee) will consist of the members of the URA’s HOF, Communications, Performance and Compliance and Legal Departments.

· The Committee will check responses against mandatory criteria. Responses not meeting all mandatory criteria will not be considered for review.

· Formal interviews of applicants may be scheduled at the discretion of the Committee.

· During the evaluation process, the URA reserves the right to request additional information or clarifications from the applicants, or to allow corrections of errors or omissions.

· The Committee shall recommend to the Advisory Board and the URA Board of Directors a list of applicants based upon firms’ responses to this RFQ.

· Experience – The applicant’s experience in providing services similar to those within the Scope of Services described herein; the quality of the applicant’s management, reputation and references; the applicant should have at least 3-5 years of experience providing the services specified in its response to organizations like the URA.

· Depth and Breadth of Outreach – The applicant’s ability to reach a variety of populations throughout the City that would benefit from enhanced engagement as it relates to HOF’s activities and events.

· Quality of Submission – The quality of the submission and the degree to which it demonstrates the team members’ full understanding of their ability to perform the services to be rendered; the content of the response should demonstrate the applicant’s full understanding of the Objectives, along with sample materials.

· MWBE Participation – The applicant’s MWBE narrative should indicate whether the applicant is an MWBE and also include an overview of the applicant’s strategy toward MWBE participation, in general.

· The applicant, including any and all team members, must have no conflict of interest with regard to any other work performed by the applicant for the URA or related entity.

· The applicant must adhere to the instructions contained in this RFQ in preparing the submitted proposal.

· The URA requires that all applicants demonstrate a good faith effort to obtain MWBE participation in work performed in connection with URA initiatives. Any questions about MWBE requirements should be directed to MWBE@ura.org.

The URA intends to select one or more applicants to be included on a slate based upon information in the response to the RFQ submitted by the applicants, performance in previous undertakings and other pertinent factors. The selected applicant(s) will be chosen on the basis of the selection criteria listed above.

The URA intends to select one or more applicants to be included on a slate based upon information in the response to the RFQ submitted by the applicants, performance in previous undertakings and other pertinent factors. The selected applicant(s) will be chosen on the basis of the selection criteria listed above.

The URA reserves the right to verify the accuracy of all information submitted.