CITY OF FEDERAL WAY
DEI REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (“RFP”)

I. PURPOSE OF REQUEST.
The City of Federal Way (“City”) is looking for an experienced consultant (“Consultant”) to help guide the City in embracing and supporting the growing diversity of our community. The City is requesting proposals from qualified firms for the provision of diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) consulting services, in accordance with the Scope of Service of this RFP.

The City intends to award a one-year contract, with up to three (3) additional, one-year renewal options, unless earlier terminated pursuant to the Terms and Conditions of the executed contract.

II. TIME SCHEDULE.
The City will follow the following timetable:
Issue RFP June 14, 2024
Deadline for Submittal of Proposals July 12, 2024, 5:00 pm PST
Interviews Last week of July or 1st week of August
Notify RFP respondents of Selected firm August 9, 2024

III. INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSERS.
A. To be considered for selection, timely proposals shall be sent to:

Mail:
Mr. Keith Niven
Community Development Director or via email at:
City of Federal Way keith.niven@cityoffederalway.com
33325 8th Ave S
Federal Way, WA 98003-6325
(253) 835-2612

B. If submitted on paper, all proposals must be in a sealed envelope and clearly labeled in the lower left-hand corner. The label shall identify the contents as “City of Federal Way DEI Proposal.” If sent by email, the subject line of the email shall read: “City of Federal Way DEI Proposal”.
C. All proposals must be received by the Deadline for Submittal of Proposals detailed in II. Time Schedule, at which time they will be opened and evaluated. Faxed, telephone proposals, and proposals received after 5:00 pm PST on July 12, 2024, will not be accepted.
D. Proposals shall be prepared simply and economically, providing a straight forward,
concise description of provider capabilities to satisfy the requirements of the request. Special bindings, colored displays, promotional materials, etc. are not desired. Emphasis should be on completeness and clarity of content. Use of recycled paper for requests and any printed or photocopied material created pursuant to a contract with the City is desirable whenever practicable. Use of both sides of paper sheets for any submittals to the City is desirable whenever practicable.
E. The Community Development Director, or his representative, will notify all responsive applicants of the status of their proposal by the date identified in Section II Time Schedule.
F. Award of a contract will be made to an experienced consulting team with strong DEI organizational development, leadership, and capacity-building experience based on the criteria listed in Section IV Selection Criteria.
G. All proposals must include the following information:
i. Firm or Person Introduction.
Identify Principal-in-Charge and key staff. Provide additional information such as form of organization, length of time in business, office location(s), number of staff and a general summary of qualifications documenting the strengths of the firm or person, areas of expertise, and licensing of the individuals who will be specifically working on the project and their areas of responsibility.
ii. Project Experience.
List specific experience that is relevant to the services requested by the City of Federal Way. Experience should list the type of work provided. If sub-consultants are proposed, include information on joint work and relevant experience of the sub-consultants.iii. Approach.
A brief, proposed approach to working with City staff to accomplish or significantly advance the items listed in the Scope of Services.
iv. A proposed budget by task based on the 6 items identified in the Scope of Services.
v. Billing Rates.
Current (2024), detailed information on the firm’s billing rates for staff expected to provide services as part of this contract.
vi. Disclosure.
Provide any past, ongoing, or potential conflicts of interest or conflicts ofscheduling that the firm or person may have in performing the anticipated work.vii. References.
Provide client references for similar projects within the past 5 years, that have working experience with the project team. Furnish the name, title, address, email and telephone number of the person(s) at the client reference who is most knowledgeable about the work performed and can comment on the professional qualifications/expertise of the project team.

IV. SELECTION CRITERIA.

Factor Weight Given
1. Firm Qualifications: 10%
2. Project Team Experience: 20%
3. Responsiveness to RFP: 20%
4. Interview: 30%
5. References: 15%
6. Competitiveness of Billing Rates: 5%

Total Criteria Weight 100%

Through the submission of information detailed in Part III (G) of this RFP, firms must demonstrate that they have the resources and capability to provide the materials and services, as described herein. The City is looking for a demonstrated strong track record with planning, implementation and completion of DEI consulting projects.

V. TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
A. The City reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, and to waive minor irregularities in any proposal.
B. The City reserves the right to request clarification of information submitted, and to request additional information from any proposer.
C. The City reserves the right to award any contract to the next most qualified contractor, if the successful contractor does not execute a contract within thirty (30) days after the award of the proposal.
D. Any proposal may be withdrawn up until the date and time set above for opening of the proposals. Any proposal not so timely withdrawn shall constitute an irrevocable offer, for a period of ninety (90) days to sell to the City, the services described in the attached specifications, or until one or more of the proposals have been approved by the City administration, whichever occurs first.
E. The contract resulting from acceptance of a proposal by the City shall be in a form
supplied or approved by the City, and shall reflect the specifications in this RFP. A copy of the contract is available for review and shall include requirements to comply with ADA, Civil Rights Act, and EEO requirements. The City reserves the right to reject any proposed agreement or contract that does not conform to the specifications contained in this RFP, and which is not approved by the City Attorney’s office.
F. The City, as a recipient of federal funding, in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252, 42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-4 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 bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprises as defined at 49 CFR Part 26 will be afforded full opportunity to submit proposals in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, national origin, or sex in consideration for an award.
G. The City shall not be responsible for any costs incurred by the firm in preparing, submitting or presenting its response to the RFP.

VI. QUALIFICATIONS
The following minimum qualifications must be present for a firm to be considered for award of a contract under this RFP:
1. All required licensures, registrations, and certifications to do business in the State of Washington and the City of Federal Way.
2. Experience working with public entities to provide DEI training services.
3. Key personnel assigned to the contract must have more than five years experience in this industry.
4. Experience developing and conducting training and presentations on DEI for different stakeholders including elected officials, managers, and employees.
5. Ability to provide examples of previous DEI trainings that have been successfully developed, implemented, and maintained in comparable organizations of size and scope.
6. Staff, managerial, and fiscal resources to complete all elements of the project.
7. Experience, aptitude, and strategies for developing and implementing cost-effective and impactful training and methods to evaluate its efficacy.

VII. SCOPE OF SERVICES.
The City is seeking proposals for an experienced DEI consultant with strong organizational development, strategic plan development, and capacity-building experience to provide diversity, equity and inclusion services through its Department of Community Development. A specific work plan will be dictated by available consultant resources, available City budget, and City priorities.

1. Working with a staff team, organize and facilitate staff training(s) on defining, supporting, and expressing DEI values and principles through City work. Consultant will include in the training and learning opportunities ways for staff to have productive and thoughtful conversations as an organization and with the greater public and community. The creation of an employee “toolkit” might be included in this task.
2. Provide support to the City’s Diversity Commission, attending monthly in-person Commission meetings. As directed by the City, assist the Commission with implementation of their 1-year strategic objectives. (See https://www.federalwaywa.gov/page/diversity-commission )
3. Assist the City with the creation of a Language Access Plan and help facilitate its implementation.
4. As requested by the City, participate in meetings with stakeholders, community-based organizations, and/or regional partners.

VIII. COMPENSATION.
A. City will reimburse Consultant for hourly staff expenses. For each task entered into as part of Section VI (Scope of Services) of this RFP, Consultant will provide a task budget for City authorization prior to commencing work.
B. Payment by the City for the services will only be made after the services have been performed, an itemized billing statement is submitted in the form specified by the City and approved by the appropriate City representative, which shall specifically set forth the services performed, the name of the person performing such services, and the hourly labor charge rate for such person. Payment shall be made on a monthly basis, thirty (30) days after receipt of such billing statement.

IX. PUBLICATION.
Location of Notice: Dates:
City Website June 14, 2024
Federal Way Mirror June 14, 2024
Puget Sound Business Journal digital June 21, 2024
Seattle Times June 14, 2024
WA Office of Minority & Women’s June 14, 2024
Business Enterprises