Request for Proposals THE BROOKLYN NAVY YARD DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION NOVEMBER 15, 2016 1
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) is currently accepting proposals for a consultant (Consultant) to provide small business training and business education tailored to seasoned manufacturing and industrial businesses operating at the Brooklyn Navy Yard (Yard). The Consultant will work with BNYDC to design and implement a cohort training program for approximately 10-12 Yard businesses. The cohort training will be delivered in spring of 2017. An additional cohort training program for the spring of 2018 may be added to the contract at the completion of the 2017 program. The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to solicit proposals from various candidate organizations/consultants, conduct a fair and extensive evaluation based on the criteria listed herein, and select the candidate who best represents BNYDC s vision and direction. The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation controls 300 acres on the Brooklyn Waterfront under a 99-year lease with the City of New York. The Brooklyn Navy Yard (the Yard) was one of five original Navy shipyards incorporated in 1801 and was one of the country s longest-serving and largest industrial facilities when it closed in 1966. Now under the management of BNYDC, a mission driven not-for-profit focused on creating high quality jobs in the industrial and manufacturing sector, the Yard is going through its largest expansion in 70 years and is considered a national model for urban sustainable industrial parks. The Brooklyn Navy Yard is home to 330 businesses with 7,000 employees. With its largest expansion well underway (adding two million square feet and more than doubling jobs), BNYDC expects this growth will be a significant driver of the success of 21 st Century manufacturing in New York City. To ensure that the local community benefits from the Yard s economic development initiatives and success, BNYDC provides community programs and employment services for local residents, matches job seekers to opportunities with Yard businesses, and strengthens its bonds with the surrrounding communities. Annually, its on-site Employment Center places about 300 local residents in jobs and over 200 students in internships. PROPOSAL GUIDELINES This Request for Proposals represents the requirements for an open and competitive process. Proposals will be accepted until 5pm EST December 8, 2016. Any proposals received after this date and time will not be considered. All proposals must be signed by an official agent or representative of the company submitting the proposal. If the organization submitting a proposal must outsource or contract any work to meet the requirements contained herein, this must be clearly stated in the proposal. Additionally, all costs included in proposals must include any outsourced or contracted work. Any proposals which call for outsourcing or contracting work must include a name and description of the organizations being contracted. All costs must be itemized to include an explanation of all fees and costs. Contract terms and conditions will be negotiated upon selection of the winning bidder for this RFP using BNYDC s standard consulting contract form. All contractual terms and conditions will be subject to review by BNYDC legal department and will include scope, budget, schedule, and other necessary items pertaining to the project. ABOUT THE BUSINESS GROWTH & LEADERSHIP COHORT PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The Business Growth & Leadership Cohort is a Yard-based executive training program that offers direct assistance to develop and implement a high impact business growth plan. Our objective is to provide tailored, deliverable driven resources that assist with business profitability. This initiative targets Yard business owners focused on scaling production, increasing market share, increasing B2B sales, and/or growing their workforce considerably in the 12-16 months following their cohort participation. 2
We will accept 10 12 Yard businesses into the cohort, aggressively recruiting from our MWBE population, which represents 35% of our total tenant base. The key components of the Business Growth & Leadership Cohort will include: An approximately three-month program consisting of group topic-based sessions and 2-4 additional private consulting sessions (BNYDC envisions one group session per week for a period of 12 weeks, but understands that this may evolve with development of the curriculum) Post cohort implementation support: o Smaller, more intimate meet-ups at regular intervals after graduation fostering peer-to-peer learning and facilitated issue processing sessions, to advance the growth plan and addressing implementation challenges o Additional post-graduation implementation support from mentors and our instructor team. By the end of the BGL program, each business will walk away with a Plan for Growth tailored to each businesses specific business objectives and focused on increasing B2B sales and market share. BNYDC s primary role in the project is as landlord. However, BNYDC will also play an important role as a partner and resource to the community of businesses operating at the Yard. BNYDC s partner involvement may include participating on an advisory committee along with other industry leaders who will serve as technical advisors and thought leaders to BNY businesses. SCOPE OF ENGAGEMENT BNYDC seeks a Consultant to partner with BNYDC to: Develop content for the business training sessions exclusively for BNY businesses, that culminates in the creation of a Growth Plan Deliver each session directly or in partnership with sub-contractors Provide follow-up support to each business as they begin to implement their growth plan BNYDC is focused on measuring outcomes associated with the work. To that end, BNYDC has developed a set of metrics that will measure service delivery and outcomes. BNYDC seeks a Consultant who can provide support with measuring the impact of the curriculum and one-on-one advisory by focusing on the metrics described below (note: these metrics will be further developed in partnership with the Consultant): # of businesses that receive either loan or new equity investment % increased revenue from sales $ wages earned at jobs created or maintained # of full-time jobs created or maintained We are expecting impactful business changes as a result of participation in our cohort. The chosen Consultant will develop materials geared towards: businesses with fewer than 20 employees manufacturing sectors scaling a business accessing new markets and B2B sales BNYDC seeks a Consultant to assist in the development of a customized business education curriculum: Program design: The Consultant will design and advise on business growth plans and curriculum development. We expect to leverage the Consultant s small business education background and resource network to supplement instruction to include engaging speakers and interactive curriculum content that resonates with our Yard business population. In particular, the Consultant should provide feedback that can maximize the impact of each growth 3
plan, enhance curriculum and program design, address missed opportunities, areas of strength, and suggest changes that lead to business growth. Project management: The Consultant will work closely with BNYDC to manage deliverables and capture key project metric. This will entail program and development project management, including but not limited to creating and managing a list of work streams, creating and managing an overall work plan, coordinating the parties involved (namely cohort participants, guest speakers, and BNYDC), ensuring decisions are made in a timely manner. Reporting: The Consultant will Provide biweekly reports to BNYDC designee, which include: Detailing participants evaluation forms on topics covered by instructors and guest speakers Tracking participants attendance, assignments and research Assessment of participant business knowledge, pre-program and post program Prepare a pre-program and post-program evaluation form for training components to demonstrate participant progress and overall rating of course Provide a written and oral report to BNYDC at course midpoint and completion to include: o Summary of business growth concept prepared by each participant o Summary of weekly reports and evaluations o Summary of pre-program and post-program evaluation forms Subject to the successful completion of the spring of 2017 cohort program, BNYDC reserves the right (in its sole discretion) to retain the consultant for an additional cohort training program to be delivered in the spring of 2018. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS This is not meant to be a burdensome process. The intent of this solicitation is to determine if your firm has the interest, capability, experience, and resources to undertake this engagement. To respond to this Request for Proposals, please provide the following information: 1. Relevant Firm Experience This should include but not be limited to a list of entities for which similar services have been provided as well as a description of your engagement with these entities and the outcomes achieved. 2. Referrals Provide the name and contact information for three similar clients and engagements. BNYDC will not contact these former clients until after an interview is scheduled. 3. Compensation Provide details on the proposed compensation for the 2017 cohort program. In addition to the 2017 itemized compensation costs, include pricing for a spring of 2018 cohort training program in the event BNYDC requests these additional services from the Consultant. PROPOSAL EVALUATION CRITERIA BNYDC will evaluate all proposals based on the following criteria. To ensure consideration for this Request for Proposal, your proposal should be complete and include all of the following criteria: Overall proposal suitability: proposed solution(s) must meet the scope and needs included herein and be presented in a clear and organized manner Organizational Experience: Bidders will be evaluated on their experience as it pertains to the scope of this project Value and cost: Bidders will be evaluated on the cost of their solution(s) based on the work to be performed in accordance with the scope of this project Project Management expertise and experience: Bidders must provide descriptions and documentation of staff technical expertise and experience 4
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TIMELINE AND DELIVERABLES TIMELINE: Evaluation of proposals will be conducted from December 9, 2016 until December 14, 2016. If additional information or discussions are needed with any respondents during this two week window, the respondent(s) will be notified. The selection of the winning respondent will be made no later than December 15, 2016. Upon notification, the contract negotiation with the winning bidder will begin immediately. Contract negotiations will be completed by December 16, 2016. Notifications to bidders who were not selected will be completed by December 19, 2016. DELIVERABLES: It is expected that the Consultant will complete a work plan and timeline to be submitted to BNYDC for review by December 29, 2017. The program will launch on January 25, 2017. The planning phase will determine the detailed timeline for the remainder of the project. BUDGET All proposals must include proposed costs to complete the tasks described in the project scope. Costs should be stated as one-time or non-recurring costs (NRC). Pricing should be listed for each component of the project scope. NOTE: All costs and fees must be clearly described in each proposal. RFP RESPONSES: All questions should be submitted via email only to: tanifalaje@brooklynnavyyard.org. Emailed questions will be accepted until Monday, 12/05/16 at 5PM. No phone calls please. Proposals should be submitted via email to: tanifalaje@brooklynnavyyard.org All proposals in response to this RFP are due no later than 5pm EST December 8, 2016. Any responses received after that time will be returned. Hard copies or supplemental materials may also be sent via mail or dropped off to: BNYDC Tokunbo Anifalaje Director of Business Engagement 63 Flushing Avenue Unit 300, Building 292 Brooklyn, NY 11205 CONTRACTUAL REQUIREMENTS: 1. Any information which may have been released verbally or in writing prior to the issuance of the RFP shall be deemed preliminary in nature and bind neither BNYDC nor the Proposer. 2. Any firm awarded a contract as a result of this RFP will be required to obtain clearance through the City s Vendor Information Exchange System (VENDEX). Since VENDEX clearance is a pre-requisite to BNYDC s award of a contract, Proposers are urged to submit a completed VENDEX form to the Mayor s Office of Contract Services prior to submitting their response to this RFP. 3. Notice to Vendors: Pursuant to Local Law 34 of 2007, amending the City's Campaign Finance Law, the City is required to establish a computerized database containing the names of any "person" that has "business dealings with the city" as such terms are defined in the Local Law. In order for the City to obtain necessary information to establish the required database, Proposers responding to this solicitation are required to complete the attached Doing Business Data Form and return it with this proposal. (If the responding vendor is a proposed joint venture, the entities that comprise the proposed joint venture must each complete a Data Form.) If the City determines that a vendor has failed to submit a Data Form or has submitted a Data Form that is not complete, the vendor will be notified by the agency and will be given four (4) calendar days from receipt of notification to cure the specified deficiencies and return a complete Data Form to the agency. Failure to do so will result in a determination that the proposal is non-responsive. Receipt of notification is defined as the day notice is e-mailed or faxed (if the vendor has 5
provided an e-mail address or fax number), or no later than five (5) days from the date of mailing or upon delivery, if delivered. Required form attached hereto. 6
ATTACHMENT: Doing Business Data Form 7