REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PROFESSIONAL SERVICES GRANT WRITING ASSISTANCE FOR THE HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM CYCLE 9 PROJECT NO. SEB-18-005 Issued by: City of Stockton Public Works Department 22 E. Weber Avenue, Room 301 Stockton, CA 95202 Date Issued: May 9, 2018 Proposals Due: May 30, 2018, at 4:00 p.m.
1.0 INTRODUCTION The City of Stockton is requesting proposals from qualified firms to provide grant writing assistance for Cycle 9 of the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program. In addition, the City may need assistance with other State and Federal grant programs as needed. Stockton is located in the Central San Joaquin Valley approximately 45 miles south of Sacramento. Stockton has a population of approximately 307,000. The City wishes to establish a list of three (3) to (5) firms to provide professional grant writing assistance for grant calls for projects in 2018. 2.0 BACKGROUND The Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) is a core federal-aid program to States for the purpose of achieving a significant reduction in fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads. The program was is about to call for projects on its ninth funding cycle. The goals of the program include: Increasing safety in areas with a history of crashes or injury Use on projects that can be designed and constructed expeditiously Addresses projects with specific problems and clear countermeasures to correct the problem 3.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION The City of Stockton is aggressive in the pursuit and delivery of grant-funded projects. The City is currently seeking assistance with the upcoming call for projects for HSIP Cycle 9. In addition, other state and federal grant writing assistance may be needed. The City would like to establish a pre-qualified list of 3-5 firms who can assist the City with HSIP Cycle 9 and other federal and state grant programs as needed. Consultants are encouraged to submit proposals reflecting strengths and success in HSIP. Further, consultants are encouraged to submit qualifications for other state and federal grant programs that may have calls for projects in 2018. Consultants should indicate capacity for key staff and total number of applications that can be successfully completed. 4.0 SCOPE OF WORK Each Consultant shall prepare a detailed scope of services based on the information presented in this RFP and other available information. Consultants are encouraged to include items that are felt necessary for this project. Consultants are encouraged to recommend potential projects and offer assistance in preparing grants. The City is seeking full-service assistance in the preparation of HSIP Cycle 9 project applications. The City will provide a project manager who will provide oversight and guidance for each project assigned to a consultant. Consultants shall provide a project approach that will lead to success in securing funding for HSIP Cycle 9. At a minimum, consultants should indicate their firm s experience with writing HSIP grants, but other grant writing experience can also be listed as experience. REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PAGE 2 OF 8
4.1 Data Gathering Consultants are expected to collect all data necessary for the HSIP grant program such as traffic counts, bicycle and pedestrian counts, crash data, and any other information needed. The City will provide information as it exists in our files. 4.2 Coordination/Meetings Consultant will coordinate throughout the project with the City s Project Manager. The consultant will be expected to hold meetings as necessary and obtain all data and information necessary to prepare the grant application. 5.0 PROJECT GENERAL INFORMATION 5.1 Proposal Submissions Proposals shall be submitted no later than 4:00 PM, on May 30, 2018 to: Wes Johnson CITY OF STOCKTON 22 E. WEBER AVENUE, ROOM 301 STOCKTON, CA 95202 The proposal should be firmly sealed in an envelope which will clearly be marked on the outside with HSIP CYCLE 9 GRANT WRITING ASSISTANCE. Late Proposals will not be accepted. 5.2 Acceptance or Rejection of Proposal The City reserves the right to negotiate an agreement with the firm(s) submitting the highest-ranking proposals. Also, the City reserves the right to reject any and all proposals or to waive any irregularity in a proposal if it is deemed to be in the best interest of the City. Failure to submit all requested information could be grounds to reject the proposal. 5.3 Proposal Questions and Requests for Clarification Any question or request for clarification shall be submitted in writing to: Wes.Johnson@stocktonca.gov REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PAGE 3 OF 8
Requests for clarification shall be submitted at least seven (7) business days prior to the proposal due date. If a response warrants a clarification to the RFP, such clarification will be posted on bid flash at least two days prior to the proposal due date. It is the proposer s responsibility to check the website for any addendums or responses to questions. The website address is as follows: www.stocktonca.gov/pwbid 5.4 Causes for Disqualification Any of the following may be considered cause to disqualify a proposal: A. Evidence of collusion among proponents B. Any attempt to improperly influence any member of the evaluation panel C. Any attempt to communicate in any manner with a City of Stockton elected official during the solicitation process will, and shall be, just cause for disqualification/rejection of proponent s response/proponent s bid submittal and considered non-responsive. D. A proponent s default or breach of contract in previous work that resulted in termination of that agreement and/or E. Existence of any lawsuit, unresolved contractual claim, or dispute between proponent and the City. F. No person, firm, or corporation shall be allowed to make or file or be interested in more than one bid for the same supplies, services, or both; provided, however, that subcontract bids to the principal bidders are excluded from the requirements of this section: Section 3.68.120 of the Municipal Code. 5.5 Licensing Requirements Any professional certifications or licenses that may be required are the sole cost and responsibility of the proponent. A City of Stockton business license is required. Please contact the City of Stockton Business License Customer Service at (209) 937-8313. 5.6 Insurance Requirements The proponent must obtain and maintain the required insurance. Proponent should review Attachment B, Instructions to Proponents for information regarding insurance, indemnification, prevailing wages, etc. Failure to comply with the Instructions to Proponents may be grounds for rejection. 5.7 Department of Industrial Relations Please refer to Attachment B, Instructions to Proponents, for registration requirements with the Department of Industrial Relations. REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PAGE 4 OF 8
5.8 Product Ownership Any documents resulting from the performance of work in the contract will become property of the City. This includes all work performed by sub-consultants. 6.0 REQUIRED PROPOSAL CONTENT The proposal shall contain the following, at a minimum: Cover Letter Table of Contents Executive Summary Project Team Project Understanding Detailed Work Plan Examples of experience with similar types of work References Schedule Cost Proposal The body of the technical proposal shall not exceed 10 pages with a minimum font size of 10. Proponent shall submit 5 bound sets of the proposal. The maximum allowable length is exclusive of any folder, cover, or section dividers. Proposals shall be no more than 20 pages, including resumes and the cover letter. One electronic copy in PDF form shall also be emailed to Wes.Johnson@stocktongov.com 6.1 Cover Letter The letter shall be signed by an official with the authority to negotiate and contractually bind the firm with the City of Stockton. Provide name, title, address, email, and telephone number for this officer. Describe any subcontract arrangements or licensing agreements. Include any potential conflict of interest. 6.2 Table of Contents The proposal should include a table of contents. 6.3 Executive Summary The Executive Summary shall include a summary of the proposal, emphasizing the approach to be taken and including a work plan, schedule, and description of the capabilities of the Consultant and sub-consultants. The summary should convey an understanding of the purpose of the project and the services required for performance. REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PAGE 5 OF 8
6.4 Project Team Describe your team organization including the qualifications of the prime consultant and any sub-consultants. Provide an organizational chart of the proposed team structure. The following should be addressed: Demonstrate the firm s experience in each of the areas of expertise needed to successfully complete the project. This should include a description of prior experience in working with public agencies in grant writing and success rates for grants written. Ability for project team to perform the proposed work within the time limits of the grant program, considering their current and projected workload/assignments. Ability to provide quality control of all deliverables and be responsive to all issues in a timely manner. Provide project team resumes 6.5 Project Understanding Describe your understanding of the HSIP program and what is required for a successful application. 6.6 Detailed Work Plan Provide a proposed work plan for preparation of a grant application within the HSIP Cycle 9 program. Describe the proposed approach your firm would take and the activities to be accomplished. Describe how the team will complete each task. Alternative approaches to the project can be submitted if a rationale is given for the suggested changes. Information on software which will be used to prepare all working documents and final documents shall be provided to the City. 6.7 Examples of Experience with Similar Types of Work Provide examples of successful grant applications your firm has completed for public agencies in the HSIP program. In addition, please include successful grant applications you have prepared for other state and federal programs. Projects in this section should be those that the proposed project team was involved with. 6.8 References Provide three client references for which the proposed team has completed similar work. Provide agency name, contact information, and description of related work that was provided to the client. REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PAGE 6 OF 8
6.9 Schedule Consultants should provide estimated time frames for preparing and submitting grant applications for HSIP cycle 9. 6.10 Cost Proposal Proponent shall submit a cost proposal. Identify all key members, including subconsultants, in a work chart, including their name, hours per task, hourly rate, total hours, direct labor, overhead, and percentage of work by task. Cost proposal shall indicate the estimated cost to prepare one HSIP cycle 9 grant application. 7.0 PROPOSAL EVALUATION The City of Stockton will follow the consultant selection schedule below, but reserves the right to modify the schedule in any manner necessary the serve the best interests of the City. Dates are tentative. All dates are 2018. Event Date Post Request for Proposals May 9, 2018 Written Questions submitted by May 23, 2018 Response to Written Questions May 29, 2018 Proposals due May 30, 2018, at 4:00 PM 7.1 Proposal Evaluation The selection committee will evaluate all proposals. This is a qualification and cost-based selection, so ranking will be in accordance with the attached Evaluation Scoring Worksheet (See Attachment B). Cost will be a factor in evaluation, but selection is predominately qualifications-based. The City intends to establish contracts with three to five firms to provide HSIP Cycle 9 grant writing assistance based on the strengths and success rates of each firm in the HSIP program. 7.2 Negotiations City staff will begin negotiations with one or more of the firms from the vendor pool list. Grant writing projects will be assigned to firms based on the City s evaluation of best fit and the firm s ability to successfully complete the grant application on the needed timeline. REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PAGE 7 OF 8
Cost for each project will be negotiated based on the difficulty and time commitment required by the proposed project. Each firm selected to prepare grant proposals will be expected to enter into a purchase order agreement with the City. Proponents should direct their attention to Attachment A, Instructions to Proposers for the most current insurance and indemnification language. It is expected that the successful proposer will accept these terms without modification. The City reserves the right to assign work as it sees fit based on the number of grant applications to be prepared and the strengths of firm based on the City s evaluation. ATTACHMENTS: Attachment A Instructions to Proposers Attachment B Evaluation Scoring Sheet REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PAGE 8 OF 8