REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Southeast Tennessee Development District Economic and Transportation Development Plan for the Corridor K Sub-region of Appalachia. INTRODUCTION The Southeast Tennessee Development District invites proposals from qualified consultants to prepare an economic/transportation development plan for the Corridor K Sub-region of Appalachia. Corridor K covers a multi-county area that includes the Appalachian Regional Commission funded highway from Asheville, North Carolina, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to be completed as a part of the ARC’s Appalachian Development Highway System. In preparing a ten-year action plan for economic and community development the consultant must: 1) Define the Corridor K sub-region 2) Identify stakeholders 3) Create county profiles that provide readily available comprehensive data and information including a business inventory and a transportation network inventory, 4) Identify community concerns and goals
5) Identify Regional Impacts
6) Evaluate the county profiles, and inventories in the context of community concerns and goals, and 7) Prepare an action plan with recommended policies that will assist the local leadership in creating jobs, solving transportation issues and preserving the environment. BACKGROUND In order to have an impact on the alignment decisions for the construction of the remaining segments of Corridor K, this strategic planning effort must have a condensed timetable. A 6-8 month period for plan development including at least 2 public meetings for expressing community concerns, at least 2 public meetings for reviewing successful rural development case studies and development options, at least 3 meetings with an Federal/State agency advisory committee, and 3 or more meetings with the Southeast Industrial Development Association (SEIDA). The SEIDA will provide direction for this project under the guidance of the Southeast Tennessee Development District. The Southeast Tennessee Development District provides economic and community development support to counties, cities, and communities.
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SCOPE OF WORK Task One- Define the Corridor K Sub-Region The consultant will lead a workshop with the Federal/State Agency Committee and the SEIDA to determine the recommended boundaries of the Corridor K project. Review and present socio-economic data that will facilitate the discussion during the workshop. The sub-region will have a core area, the sub-region, and an impact zone that is greater than the sub-region. Task Two – Identify the Stakeholders Working with the SEIDA and the Federal/State Agency Committee, the consultant will facilitate the identification of the groups or individuals who are stakeholders for community and economic improvement in the Corridor K area. Once the stakeholders have been identified the consultant will attempt to engage those individuals in a structured economic/transportation development planning process to assess the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and challenges facing the community. Task Three –Create County Profiles For each county in the sub-region the consultant will prepare 2 to 3 fact sheets that provides information on socio-economic and transportation trends. This information will be provided by the Local Development Districts and the state highway departments serving the project areas. The consultant will organize the information and provide key missing data. Consideration should be given to a GIS approach to organizing the data. A focus will be given to a business inventory that notes types of businesses in the area, information regarding sales tax receipts for the county, and trend data. Provide other readily available data on wildlife, the recreation industry, and the environment. Data organization should consider the heavy use of the area during summer months. Traffic counts and other summer business data should be presented for the summer months as well as annually if available. Task Four – Identify Community Concerns and Issues Use 2 or more public forums to obtain community input on the identification of issues that are either a concern or an opportunity for the Corridor K area. Forums should be complimented by a forum that focuses on successful rural economic development projects and models. Examples of linking solutions for transportation to environmental protection should be showcased. This task will produce a series of one page issue papers that briefly describe an issue, the opportunity associated with the issue, and the challenge raised by the issue. The issues will be reviewed and evaluated by the Federal/State agency Committee and the SEIDA.
(2) Task Five- Identify Non-Traditional Regional Impacts from Corridor K Improvements Identify regional impacts from Corridor K highway improvements such as impacts that reduce pollution in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, reduce traffic congestion in Knoxville, improve the movement of military traffic on the designated Strategic Highway Network for the US military, and improve transit time for goods and services to and from Chattanooga, Tennessee to eastern US markets and ports.
Task Six- Evaluate the County Profiles, Inventories and Citizen Input Evaluate the citizen concerns and issues in consultation with the SEIDA and the Federal/State Agency Committee. Analyze the local economy, the transportation network, the regional impacts, and the natural environment. Identify the comparative advantage of the Corridor K sub-region and the potential for business growth and formation. Describe the local community values and provide a framework for the future by stating the community’s vision for this area.
Task Seven- Prepare Action Plans for 2-year Period, 4-Year Period and 10-Year Period Considering the input from citizens, the general public, experts, government agencies, and the three local county governments, plans will be developed by the consultant. The plans will state community goals and objectives and provide a roadmap for action that includes specific recommendations regarding protecting the natural environment, enhancing the job creation of the economy, and improving the transportation infrastructure of Corridor K. The final plans will have recommended policies for government agencies, an investment strategy for the sub-region, drawings and sketches of the vision for the future of the Corridor K impact area and action steps for each partner in this venture. . TIMING AND RESOURCES The Southeast Tennessee Development District requires the consultant to complete this project within 6 to 8 months. Proposals should discuss the organization’s resources and ability to carry out this project during the next 6 to 8 months. It is anticipated during the project period the consultant will spend 95 to 120 consulting days on this project. The proposal will provide a fixed price cost for tasks 1 to 5 and a fixed price cost for tasks 5 and 6. The contract will be awarded for the first 5 tasks with an option to continue the project at the submitted bid price for tasks 6 and 7.
(3) PROPOSAL CONTENTS The contents of the proposal should include the following items: 1. Proposal Summary Provide a short summary of the objectives, approach to, and expected results of the proposed study. Limit description to one-two typewritten pages. 2. Performance Targets Specify the performance targets you are committed to achieving during the planning process itself. 3. Statement of Work Detail the strategy and step-by-step approach to be used to accomplish the specified tasks, achieve the performance targets, and to address issues raised (as well as issues most likely generated during the course of the community meetings) in this RFP. Explain your strategy’s key features and its comparative advantages over other approaches. Identify any likely difficulties anticipated in the completion of this undertaking and describe a plan for surmounting them. If any work in connection with the project is to be performed by any subcontractor, the subcontractor must be identified and its efforts described as a part of the Statement of Work. 4. Project Schedule and Milestones Provide a schedule for planning and implementing this project, and identify the critical milestones that must be achieved to reach results. 5. Key Personnel Profile the persons who will have the most responsibility for shaping this project, implementing it in the field and achieving the performance targets. Focus on their energy, skills and knowledge, and experience. Provide a staffing plan and schedule that describes the estimated time commitment of key personnel needed to implement the project. A multi-disciplinary team approach is encouraged in order to provide expertise in economic development, transportation planning, citizen involvement, environmental issues, the travel industry, and innovative rural development. The selected consultant will be required to commit the services of those persons identified in the proposal. Any change in key personnel is subject to approval by the Southeast Tennessee Development District.
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6. Relevant Prior Experience Describe the two most similar projects undertaken by the applicant’s organization and the extent to which performance goals were stated and achieved. Detail success stories in community planning and economic development. Provide associated organization names, addresses, names of contact persons, and telephone numbers for such reference. 7. Contractual Requirements Identify any special contractual requirements that the applicant wants included in the contract. 8. RFP Comment Comment, if deemed appropriate, on any aspect of the RFP, including alternative proposed approaches. 9. Cost Proposal Specify project costs on the basis of milestones and target accomplishments. (Each proposal submitted must include a separate cost proposal.) Tasks 1 to 5 must have a fixed price bid and tasks 6 to 7 must have a fixed price bid. Additional detailed data may be required for negotiation from the selected consultant. PROJECT BUDGET Any contract awarded for this project will be a FIRM FIXED-PRICE CONTRACT. It is anticipated that local organizations will be able to cover hosting meeting expenses, eliminating the need to consider meeting space costs. While selection will not be based solely on cost it will be an important factor in the consideration of proposals. SELECTION PROCESS If you would like to be considered for this assignment, please send a proposal (one original suitable for copying and two copies) to Joe Guthrie, Southeast Tennessee Development District, PO Box 4757, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37405-0757 (Phone:423667-1011) by September 9, 2005, 5:00 p.m. local time. After proposals are reviewed, finalists may be invited for interviews before a selection committee.
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August 8, 2005