Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutRFP - 8425 ROAD TO 2020 CLIMATE ACTION PLAN COMMUNICATIONS & ENGAGEMENT SERVICES8425 Road to 2020 Climate Action Plan Communications & Engagement Services Addendum 1 Questions & Answers Page 1 of 7 ADDENDUM NO. 1 SPECIFICATIONS AND CONTRACT DOCUMENTS Description of RFP 8425: Road to 2020 Climate Action Plan Communications & Engagement Services OPENING DATE: 3:00 PM (Our Clock) November 23, 2016 To all prospective bidders under the specifications and contract documents described above, the following changes/additions are hereby made and detailed in the following sections of this addendum: Exhibit 1 – Questions & Answers Please contact Ed Bonnette, CPPB, CPM, Senior Buyer at (970) 416-2247 with any questions regarding this addendum. RECEIPT OF THIS ADDENDUM MUST BE ACKNOWLEDGED BY A WRITTEN STATEMENT ENCLOSED WITH THE BID/QUOTE STATING THAT THIS ADDENDUM HAS BEEN RECEIVED. Financial Services Purchasing Division 215 N. Mason St. 2nd Floor PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6775 970.221.6707 fcgov.com/purchasing 8425 Road to 2020 Climate Action Plan Communications & Engagement Services Addendum 1 Questions & Answers Page 2 of 7 1) What were the results of Phase 1, who did you work with, and why did you decide to bid it in two phases? Answer: Phase I of the project focused on communicating the existence of the Climate Action Plan Framework and to get feedback on potential actions that staff and the community identified to reach the community’s goals (20 percent by 2020, etc.) Much of the work was completed in-house with some assistance from a marketing firm on specific materials. In other words, the first process was not bid. The two phases of this RFP would be to 1. Conduct an audit of existing outreach programs, determine strengths/opportunities and develop a strategic plan and 2. Recommend specific marketing tactics/creation of the communications toolkit based on the strategic plan. 2) How much of the work from Phase 1 will be included in this project? Answer: All work from Phase 1 will help inform the strategic review of the work the City has done to date on marketing campaigns and where the City should go next. 3) When is the brand supposed to be completed? Answer: The brand should be completed in time for a City Council Work Session in February 2017. 4) Is the Utilities customer segmentation study available for review? Answer: Yes. It is posted along with this response. 5) It says in the RFP that the budget of submitted proposals is not to exceed $92,000. Is that for two years, or is that per year? Does that include any advertising buys (traditional and social media) or are there additional dollars for that? Answer: That is what has been budgeted for this two-year period. Additional funding is likely to be available for implementation, e.g., advertising buys, etc. 6) For the execution of the plan, what percentage will the internal team execute vs. the selected communications partner? Answer: That will be determined after the strategic plan is produced. It is likely staff will be fully engaged implementation of the plan with assistance from the consultant. 8425 Road to 2020 Climate Action Plan Communications & Engagement Services Addendum 1 Questions & Answers Page 3 of 7 7) Will all members (90) of the messaging and engagement team be involved in the approval process for items developed by the selected communications partner? Answer: While there are 90 members (70 staff and 20 community members) contributing to the overall Road to 2020 efforts, the Messaging and Engagement team is just one of the 11 teams. While the 10 members of the Messaging and Engagement team for the Road to 2020 will be engaged in discussions about marketing and communications, the contract will be managed by the Messaging and Engagement co-leads, which is three people. Other teams may be providing input to this process based upon program participation and behavior change adoption. 8) On page 2 of the RFP, it says that every consulting firm participating in the proposal should provide an overview of the organization’s philosophy and approach to sustainability in no more than two pages. Three questions: a. Do these two pages count toward the page limit (10 pages)? b. Is this the same as, or in addition to, the Sustainability Section listed under #1 Methods and Approach on page 7? c. Does the Vendor Statement on page 9 of the RFP count toward the page limit? Answer: Please put your response to Sustainability as a sub-heading (1.a) under your response to Methods and Approach. Most firms can respond to this in one page or less. Yes, they are the same request, it’s in there twice as it’s important to the City that we work with sustainability-minded firms and we want to make sure it is not overlooked. Yes, it does count toward your 10-page limit. The Vendor Statement will not count toward your 10-page limit. 9) Part II (page 5): Part 2 of the Key Outcomes section suggests the development of a toolbox that includes visuals, newsletters, etc., but the information in that section also outlines the “identification of marketing tools and materials.” It is unclear as to whether or not the expectation is that all materials and tools are to be developed as part of the 2-year project cycle, or if we are to identify the tools that would be most appropriate as a key component of the communications plan. Typically, the plan would inform the strategy and budget for all recommended activities. However, if the $94,000 is to cover all fees for research, planning, messaging, graphic design and all additional outreach tools (such as web, print, video, ads, etc.) please let me know. E.g. We might recommend a series of videos, but does initial 2-year budget of $94,000 need to be inclusive of producing the videos? I want to make sure that I understand if the bulk of the project is the comprehensive plan and management of the plan, or if the expectation is that the budget must also include the development of the tools that are recommended in the plan. I realize this question is a little confusing, so let me know if I am not making sense. Answer: The two-year budget of the RFP is not expected to cover all costs of implementation, but it is expected to recommend the most effective tools for the most appropriate audiences that could be carried out within the next two years. 8425 Road to 2020 Climate Action Plan Communications & Engagement Services Addendum 1 Questions & Answers Page 4 of 7 10) Part III (page 6): The deliverables include the plan and implementation. Similar to the question above, is the $94,000 budget intended to cover any and all support over the entire two-year period? Or will additional monies be allotted for creative concepting, advertising, events, etc., if such activities are deemed appropriate? Answer: Additional funds may be available. 11) Part V (page 8): The submittal requirements section asks for a list of project personnel resumes for each person assigned to the contract with 3 references for each. Because the entire proposal is not to exceed 10 pages in length, will short bios/qualifications for each person suffice? Answer: Yes. 12) As a communications project for the City of Fort Collins, will Spanish translation of all public facing materials be required? Answer: On some materials, yes. 13) How many pages is "10", i.e.front & back is one page, or one side of each page is one page? Answer: Ten pages total; each side of a page being one of the ten pages. If you have work product examples, please make those either an appendix or a separate document as those don’t count against the 10 pages (but please keep in mind that by limiting the proposal to ten pages max we are telling you we do not wish to be inundated by additional documents either!). 14) In regards to measuring and evaluating the program: a. Has the City measured performance of past marketing &/or outreach campaigns of a similar nature? If so, please provide examples. b. What type of information does the City want to see in a program evaluation? c. Would the EM&V just occur during the pilot phase or does the City want something set-up to evaluate success on a long-term basis? 8425 Road to 2020 Climate Action Plan Communications & Engagement Services Addendum 1 Questions & Answers Page 5 of 7 Answer: a. No, other than social media hits and attendance at events. This is why we’re issuing an RFP. b. A program evaluation would include assessment of such things as what has been effective, what tools are reaching what audiences and where the City has spent its marketing dollars efficiently and effectively. c. Long-term would be ideal but focus is on the near term. A long-term evaluation plan could, for example, be on the list of recommendations for implementation. 15) In regards to the pilot scope of the project: a. What is the City's expectation for this portion of the work? Is the expectation to be on the scale of a few focus groups with each audience segmentation -or- more on the scale of performing "natural experiments" by testing the materials in non-controlled/natural settings with select audience segments? b. What is the intended length the pilot would take place for? c. Does the City want the consultant to pilot each of the quarterly campaigns separately as they get released or during a single pilot period? d. Who is responsible for gathering the participants for the pilot? Answer: a. The City is open to all ideas. b. The length of the pilot would need to be determined. c. The City would look to the consultant to assist with this timing. d. The City would work closely with the consultant on this. 16) Is the budget of $92,000 annual for each year or total for two years? Answer: See #5, above. 17) Are there existing communication vehicles and distribution systems that already reach community members that this campaign can utilize? Answer: Yes, the City has extensive communication systems. 18) Is there a separate media budget for the actual execution/placement of the media campaign (such as video production costs or bus or shelter ads) or is that expected to be included in the $92,000 budget? Answer: There is likely to be additional funding available to support implementation of tactics. 8425 Road to 2020 Climate Action Plan Communications & Engagement Services Addendum 1 Questions & Answers Page 6 of 7 19) Can we have access to the findings from Phase I of the CAP Engagement Plan? And/or the Utilities Customer Segmentation study? Answer: Yes, see response to question #4. 20) Do you have an initial idea or prioritization of where you’d like to see improvement/reductions in climate change actions in the first two years? Answer: About half of the emissions reductions will need to come from energy efficiency, largely electrical usage in buildings. These actions are currently being refined and will be shared with City Council at the February 2017 Work Session. However, the purpose of the campaign(s) isn’t just to reduce emissions but to educate the community about actions that can be taken and engage the community in taking some action. 21) As stated in the RFP, this work is “Phase II.” Did the City work with a consulting firm for Phase I? If so, can you tell us which firm? Answer: Partially. A-Train Marketing in Fort Collins assisted with some branding and early marketing materials. 22) Are resumes included toward the 10 page, page count, or can they go into an appendix? Answer: Brief bios are acceptable in lieu of full-blown resumes. Seeing references for related work (and preferably for other public agencies similar to ours) is of more interest and more relevant to us. Yes, they count toward the 10-page limit, so better to be brief. 23) Is a graphical cover acceptable to provide? And, will this be counted toward the page count? Answer: If you mean a graphically designed cover page, no, the cover will not count against your 10-page limit. 24) Is a cover letter/transmittal letter acceptable to provide? And, will this be counted toward the page count? Answer: A one-page “executive summary” as one of your 10 pages is preferred. Don’t bother with a table of contents, if you lay out your proposal per the format requested we will know where the components are located. We will not count the cover or the Vendor Statement against your 10-page limit. 8425 Road to 2020 Climate Action Plan Communications & Engagement Services Addendum 1 Questions & Answers Page 7 of 7 25) Are you expecting delivery of the Strategy Plan and supporting Communications Plan simultaneously, or will the Communications Plan be developed based on feedback provided from the Strategy Plan? Answer: The Communications Plan would be developed based on the Strategic Plan. 26) What is the preferred delivery method of the Strategy Plan – Microsoft Word or PowerPoint presentation? Answer: A Word document is probably preferable so it can be easily modified/updated. 27) To what extent do you envision the selected vendor for this project collaborating with the vendor handling branding for the Road to 2020 Climate Action Plan for sake of developing the Communications Plan? Answer: City staff is developing the branding. The collaboration with City staff will be significant. 28) Can you provide further information on the scope associated with leading coordination efforts for the Innovation Summit? Answer: The scope of this summit will be a key aspect of collaboration between the City and the Consultant. The initial vision is that the summit will bring together a small group of local, regional, and national leaders over a two-day period to (1) get grounded in the City of Fort Collins and our community; (2) understand the City’s key strategies, (3) begin brainstorming and problem-solving around social and financial innovations needed to achieve the Road to 2020 goals, and (4) identify a strategic pathway forward to solve/approach these innovations. For more background, the City has identified four areas of innovation that will be needed to achieve the Road to 2020 and beyond – financial, social, technology, and policy. In 2017, we will focus on financial and social innovation first (as we have other efforts underway in the technology sector and our community’s comprehensive plan will kick off in 2017 – addressing the policy section). The consultant for the Climate Economy Action Plan will help to coordinate the financial section of the Innovation Summit, and the selected firm for this RFP will lead the overall coordination and the focus on social innovation. 29) Do you require our insurance documentation at the time of our proposal’s submission? Answer: No. We will require that at time of contract signing with the awarded firms. FYI, the City uses DocuSign to route contracts for signature electronically; insurance certificates are uploaded by the party that signs on behalf of the vendor at the time they sign the contract.