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Request for Proposal – Communications and Engagement Consultant 1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP): Communications and Engagement Consultant Issue Date October 6, 2022 Response Due Date November 4, 2022 Project Duration 12 months (commencing on the contract execution date) Proposal Packet Available at codywy.gov/bids.aspx INTRODUCTION Invitation to Respond The City of Cody is seeking proposals from marketing, public relations, and/ or communications professionals to provide a comprehensive communications engagement program and assist the City with informing stakeholders of municipal work in an effective, timely, and concise manner. Candidates should possess the capability and experience to provide comprehensive, strategic, and innovative services. The intended result is to increase communications, citizen awareness, and civic engagement for City programs, projects, issues, meetings, and events. Contact with the City All communications regarding this RFP must be addressed and submitted in writing to: ATTN: LESLIE BRUMAGE, FINANCE OFFICER PO BOX 2200 CODY WY 82414-2200 [EMAIL REDACTED] Letter of Intent Consultants wishing to submit proposals are encouraged to provide a written letter of intent to submit a proposal. An email attachment sent to [EMAIL REDACTED] is acceptable. The letter must identify the name, address, phone number, contact name, and email address for the representative who will serve as the key contact for all correspondence relating to this RFP. A letter of intent is necessary for the City to provide interested consultants with a list of any questions received and the City’s responses to those questions. Those who provide a letter of intent will also be notified of any addenda that are issued. If a letter of intent is not submitted, it will be the consultant’s responsibility to check with the City for any updates or answers to questions. ---PAGE BREAK--- Request for Proposal – Communications and Engagement Consultant 2 Questions About the RFP Consultants have an opportunity to submit written questions prior to the submission deadline. The City will respond as completely as possible to each question. Questions must be received by the City no later than the due date specified in the Schedule of RFP Activities. Questions must be submitted in writing and emailed to [EMAIL REDACTED]. Schedule of RFP Activities The following table presents the planned schedule for major activities associated with the RFP distribution, submission of proposals, evaluation, and award process. The City reserves the right to change the schedule of activities, including the dates and times. Consultants that have submitted a letter of intent will be notified in writing of any changes to the Schedule of RFP Activities. Activity Date Instructions RFP Release RFP Questions Due Response Due 10/6/2022 10/21/2022 11/4/2022 Proposal Presentations 11/16/2022 – 11/18/2022 Selection Notification Award of Contract Execution of Contract By 4:00 PM MST Anticipated dates Anticipated date Anticipated date No later than Delivery of the Written Communications and Engagement Plan 11/21/2022 12/6/2022 1/3/2023 3/1/2023 Amendment or Withdrawal of RFP The City of Cody reserves the right to amend any aspect of this RFP by formal written addendum prior to the proposal deadline or to withdraw this RFP for any reason at any time during the proposal period. Changes made to the RFP as a result of the response(s) to the questions submitted by consultants—or for any other reason—will be distributed in writing via email to each consultant that has submitted a letter of intent. City Background Incorporated in 1901, Cody, Wyoming is located 52 miles from Yellowstone National Park’s east entrance. The City of Cody serves as the county seat for Park County and maintains a population of approximately 10,000. As a tourist destination, Cody receives thousands of visitors to the community each year. Organizational Structure The City of Cody employs approximately 120 full-time and regular part-time employees. The City of Cody's fiscal year begins July 1 and ends June 30. More detailed information about the municipal government, departments, and services can be viewed on the City’s website at codywy.gov and in Attachment B Organization Chart. ---PAGE BREAK--- Request for Proposal – Communications and Engagement Consultant 3 Current Methods of Public Communication The City of Cody provides information through various networks and methods to reach a wide and varied demographic. Messages focus on: City services; dissemination of financial information; meeting notices and public hearings; upcoming and past Council agendas and minutes; and required legal notices.These messages are conveyed using: the City’s website and Facebook pages; print advertising in the Cody Enterprise; participation in the local radio station’s talk program, Speak Your Piece; electronic newsletters and Mayor’s videos; and utility bill message attachments. Regular meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday of each month and are streamed live on the City's website and two local public access cable television channels. In recent years, several departments have become active in communications through the development of the City’s municipal dashboard, Clearly Cody, which is accessible through the City’s website. The City of Cody does not currently employ a dedicated Public Information Officer or Communications Officer position. ---PAGE BREAK--- Request for Proposal – Communications and Engagement Consultant 4 Section 1 Purpose and Objectives 1-1 Purpose The City of Cody recognizes the importance of two-way communication with our citizens, visitors, and local businesses particularly as it pertains to providing information, listening to residents, gathering feedback, and leveraging technology in providing relevant, accurate, and timely information. The City of Cody also recognizes that effective communication is a fundamental obligation of a responsive, transparent government as well as an essential component of an engaged, informed community. Through consistent, accurate, and timely communication, the City of Cody desires to increase resident participation in government, enhance community awareness, and instill a high level of public confidence in local leadership. The City of Cody recognizes that having a Communications and Engagement Plan in place that effectively outlines a framework for effective communication will help foster an engaged, informed community. To achieve this goal, the City of Cody intends to obtain the services of a consultant or consulting firm to: conduct a communications and engagement study to establish a written communications plan, outlining appropriate practices and methods for the City of Cody to help ensure that accurate, timely, and coordinated information is being provided to citizens, visitors, and businesses in the community; and assist the City as a whole by performing various communications and engagement activities to inform and engage the internal and external stakeholders of the City of Cody. 1-2 Objectives Accurate and Timely Dissemination of Information: The City believes in their responsibility to share City-related information with residents rather than rely on others to interpret the organization’s actions, issues, and decisions. When residents are well-informed, they can participate more effectively in their government and make the best decisions about issues impacting their lives. Meaningful Communication: The City believes it must take a proactive, coordinated approach to initiate communication and disseminate information rather than simply responding to issues and events as they occur. The City believes in building and maintaining positive relationships and partnerships between local government representatives, residents, businesses, community organizations, and other stakeholders to achieve a high level of community engagement and awareness. Consistent Messaging: The City’s current communications are primarily decentralized among designated staff serving as subject matter experts in various departments. The City believes there must be a commitment to presenting consistent, focused messaging to the community. ---PAGE BREAK--- Request for Proposal – Communications and Engagement Consultant 5 Consistent messaging reinforces and reflects a key principle in emphasizing the concept that the City of Cody’s primary directive is to serve its residents. Open Government: The City believes in providing an open and transparent government for everyone in the community, ensuring that information is shared throughout the community and within the organization, emphasizing two- way informational flow and fostering positive dialogue. Building and Maintaining Relationships: The City believes that true community engagement occurs when relationships are created between local government and individuals (or groups of individuals). Collaboration and the identification of shared values help build relationships. Meeting the Communities Expectations for Communication: For effective communication and community engagement to occur, the City believes it must consistently implement ways to reach community members in the ways they prefer to communicate. ---PAGE BREAK--- Request for Proposal – Communications and Engagement Consultant 6 Section 2 Scope of Services The consultant will be responsible for the development and implementation of a communications and engagement strategy that should include, but is not limited to: marketing, public relations, social media, and image management. Expected services are: 2-1 Communications and Engagement Plan Development • Identify the community’s communication and engagement needs and expectations. • Review, assess, and build upon the City of Cody’s current communications and engagement methods and develop a communication and engagement plan that establishes the necessary tools, mechanisms, methods, and practices to achieve an optimal current and future communicational engagement process. • Facilitate on-site meetings with City Council, Department Heads, and other groups identified by the City of Cody to review and discuss the current and proposed communications and engagement methods, tools, and processes. • Provide periodic status reports that will, at a minimum, provide a “dashboard” view of the project status, including project schedule, work in progress, upcoming work, and project budget. Status reports should also include any other information and details related to project progress. • Provide a comprehensive written final report and plan outlining the Consultant’s methodologies, findings, and conclusions. • Provide a comprehensive written action plan that provides a diverse range of strategies and tactics that the City of Cody should implement to increase communication and engagement with its stakeholders. • Provide a comprehensive written report that describes a mechanism (or mechanisms) for evaluating the success of communications and engagement activities. 3-2 Communications and Engagement Activities • Develop strategies, monitor trends, and initiate ideas for consistent, informative communication from the City to the public regarding issues presented to City Council and the Council’s actions regarding such issues. ---PAGE BREAK--- Request for Proposal – Communications and Engagement Consultant 7 • Arrange for and coordinate media coverage and civic engagement opportunities for issues presented to City Council. The consultant should be available to provide talking points, speeches, and briefings as requested. • Assist in the development of educational materials, news stories, and briefing documents on current issues, as well as long-term concerns. This will include writing technical information in digestible formats. • Provide recommendations for various media content and releases, including —but not limited to—print media, radio, website, and social media. • Advise City Council and the City Administrator on public notices and similar communications intended for the media and the public. • Develop and build content for regular communications, such as: stakeholder meetings and presentations; social media; newsletters; blogs; etc. ---PAGE BREAK--- Request for Proposal – Communications and Engagement Consultant 8 Section 3 Proposal Format and Content 3-1 Proposal Format In order to facilitate the analysis of responses to this RFP, consultants are required to prepare their proposals in accordance with the instructions outlined in this section. Consultants whose proposals deviate from these instructions may be considered unresponsive and may be disqualified at the discretion of the City. 3-2 Proposal Content Proposals should be prepared as simply as possible and provide a concise description of the consultant’s capabilities to satisfy the requirements of the RFP. Emphasis should be concentrated on accuracy, completeness, and clarity of content. All parts, pages, figures, and tables should be numbered and clearly labeled. The proposal should be organized into the following sections: Section 1: Cover Letter This section must include a cover letter signed by a person authorized to submit the proposal and bind the consultant to contract obligations. The cover letter shall include the consultant's name, firm name (if applicable), address, telephone number, email address, and website; the same information will be required for the consultant’s designated point of contact for the proposal (if applicable). The cover letter must contain a statement indicating that the proposal is valid for ninety (90) days following the response due date listed in the Schedule of RFP Activities. Section 2: Narrative of Consultant’s Qualifications and Relevant Experience This section must describe the consultant’s qualifications to perform the scope of work, including a brief history about the consultant, headquarters location(s), length of time in business providing relevant services, special expertise, and resources that the consultant can bring to the project. Section 3: Key Personnel This section must include the names, qualifications, education, and experience of the staff that the consultant plans to assign to the project and the role that each individual will play in providing services, including specifically identifying the consultant’s principal-in-charge and project manager. If the Consultant operates from more than one location, the proposal shall specify the office to which this project will be assigned. The proposal shall also identify all sub-consultants that the firm proposes to engage, including their specific role and qualifications. Section 4: Scope of Services This section must include: a comprehensive description of the approach to accomplishing the Scope of Services and clearly demonstrate an understanding of the City’s requirements, tasks to be done, and objectives to be accomplished; ---PAGE BREAK--- Request for Proposal – Communications and Engagement Consultant 9 and information on any additional tasks the consultant believes is necessary to complete the Scope of Services. Section 5: Detailed Cost Proposal This section must include a detailed cost proposal that shall include all tasks required to perform the Scope of Services. The cost proposal shall indicate how the City will be charged for services unit, hourly, flat rate, etc.) for the term of the Contract. Costs should include all services and materials, if any, needed to perform the Scope of Services. The cost proposal must be separated into two sections, each with its own cost proposal: Communications and Engagement Plan Development and Communication and Engagement Activities. In addition, the consultant shall also submit compensation rates for any additional services that the consultant recommends outside the Scope of Services. Section 6: References This section shall contain a list of three to five organizations to serve as references, for which the consultant has completed a project similar to what is described in this RFP within the last five years. For each of the references, the proposal shall include; the name of the client and project; name, title, telephone number, and email address of the project manager at the client organization; a brief description of the scope of work and deliverables; and date and duration of the project. Section 7: Proposed Project Schedule This section shall contain a proposed project schedule for the Communications and Engagement Plan Development portion of the Scope of Services. This schedule shall include timelines and milestones. Section 8: Conflicts of Interest Statement The section shall contain a written statement describing any existing or potential conflicts of interest that may arise from the consultant’s work on this project, including any work performed within the past three years or being currently performed (whether compensated or not) on behalf of any Council member (or other elected or appointed official). For any such work performed, the consultant shall indicate the scope of the work and the time frame. The City shall make the final decision as to whether any conflict exists. Section 9: Required Attachment A signed Certification and Acknowledgment of Terms and Conditions form (Attachment Section 10: Optional Supplemental Information The consultant may include any additional materials or brochures that would be helpful to the City in the evaluation of the proposal. ---PAGE BREAK--- Request for Proposal – Communications and Engagement Consultant 10 Section 4 Proposal Submission 4-1 Delivery of Proposal Each proposal package must be received by the date and time specified in the Schedule of RFP Activities. Late or incomplete proposals will not be considered. To facilitate the evaluation of proposals, one printed original and one electronic PDF version of the full proposal shall be submitted to the Finance Officer by the due date listed in the Schedule of RFP Activities. The printed original shall be clearly marked: City of Cody Communications and Engagement Consultant Proposal 2022. The electronic PDF version of the proposal shall be identified with the email subject line of: City of Cody Communications and Engagement Consultant Proposal 2022. Proposals shall be submitted to: Printed Version: ATTN: LESLIE BRUMAGE, FINANCE OFFICER 1338 RUMSEY AVE CODY WY 82414-3713 Electronic PDF Version: [EMAIL REDACTED] The City recommends consultants to verify actual delivery of proposals directly to the Finance Officer prior to the established deadline. A proposal received by the City after the established deadline will not be considered. 4-2 Proposal Costs Consultants responding to this RFP do so entirely at their own expense. There is no expressed or implied obligation by the City to reimburse any individual or firm for any costs incurred in preparing or submitting proposals or providing additional information when requested by the City. 4-3 Acceptance Submission of any proposal indicates the Consultant’s acceptance of the terms conditions contained in the RFP unless clearly and specifically noted otherwise in the proposal. ---PAGE BREAK--- Request for Proposal – Communications and Engagement Consultant 11 Section 5 Evaluation of Proposals 5-1 Initial Evaluation An evaluation committee will consider how well each proposal meets the needs of the City as described in the consultant's response. It is important that the responses be clear and complete so that the evaluators can adequately understand all aspects of the proposal. Following a review of the written proposals and follow up questions (if needed), the evaluation committee will make a recommendation to the City Administrator and City Council. The City shall be the sole and exclusive judge of quality and compliance with proposal specification in any of the matters pertaining to this RFP. 5-2 Presentation of Proposals Selected consultants will be asked to attend a City Council work session either in person or via web-based video conference to present their proposal and answer any questions. The City will not be liable for any costs incurred by the consultant in connection with such interviews/presentations travel, accommodations, etc.) 5-3 Requests for Additional Information The City reserves the right to seek supplemental information from any consultant at any time between the dates of proposal submission and the RFP award date. 5-4 Rejection The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received for any reason. Proposals lacking required information will not be considered. Furthermore, the City shall have the right to waive any informality or technical defect in proposals received when in the best interest of the City. ---PAGE BREAK--- Request for Proposal – Communications and Engagement Consultant 12 Section 6 Award of Contract 6-1 Award of Contract The contract award is contingent upon funding approval from the City Council. In the event the selected consultant does not execute an agreement by the Execution of Contract date listed in the Schedule of RFP activities, the City may select another qualified consultant or call for new proposals. The City reserves the right to award a contract in any manner it deems to be in the best interest of the City, including awarding one or both tasks under the Scope of Service, and make the selection based on its sole discretion, notwithstanding the criteria set forth herein, including negotiating with one or more of the consultants for the same services. 6-2 Contract Form This RFP and the Consultant’s response, including all promises, warranties, commitments, and representations made in the successful proposal will be binding and will become contractual obligations, as well as incorporated in the City’s agreement with the consultant. Any contract(s) awarded as a result of this RFP shall be prepared by the City and in a form acceptable to the City’s attorney. 6-3 Execution of Contract The successful consultant shall enter into a contract with the City of Cody for the performance of the work awarded to them and shall simultaneously provide a W–9 form, insurance certificate, and any other requested documentation prior to the commencement of work. 6-4 Initial Term of Contract The City of Cody intends to enter into a contract with an initial term of twelve (12) months. ---PAGE BREAK--- Request for Proposal – Communications and Engagement Consultant 13 Section 7 General Terms and Conditions 7-1 Tax-Exempt Status Purchases made by the City of Cody are exempt from State Sales and Use taxes. Do not include tax in the proposal cost. The City will furnish a tax exemption certificate upon request. 7-2 Ownership and Public Inspection of Proposals All proposals and related reference information submitted in response to the RFP will become the property of the City and will not be returned. As a public entity, the City is subject to making records available for disclosure under the Wyoming Public Records Act. The City will use discretion as allowed by law with regard to disclosure of proprietary information contained in any response, but cannot guarantee that information will not be made public. 7-3 Errors and Omissions The City of Cody, its departments, its officers, employees, or agents are not responsible for any errors, inaccuracies, or misstatements related to the information or data supplied to consultants. The use of such information or data is intended to be used at the sole discretion and risk of the consultant in the preparation of a proposal pursuant to this RFP. 7-4 Revisions and Addenda The City may, at its sole discretion, issue addenda to this RFP containing responses to questions and requests for information, clarifications, or revisions of the RFP, or any other matters that the City deems appropriate. Addenda will be issued to those consultants who have submitted a letter of intent. 7-5 Authority to Withdraw The City of Cody reserves the right to withdraw this RFP without prior notice. The City makes no representation that any agreement will be awarded to any consultant as a result of having responded to this request. 7-6 Proposals Binding All proposals submitted shall be binding for ninety (90) calendar days following the opening. 7-7 Non-Exclusive Contract Any agreement resulting from this RFP shall be a non-exclusive contract, and the City reserves the right to purchase same or like services from other sources the City deems necessary and appropriate. 7-8 Late Proposals Proposals received by the City after the time specified for receipt will not be considered. Consultants shall assume full responsibility for timely delivery of proposals ---PAGE BREAK--- Request for Proposal – Communications and Engagement Consultant 14 to the location designated. The City of Cody is not responsible for the U.S. Mail or private couriers regarding mail being delivered by the specified time so that a proposal can be considered. 7-9 Professional Liability Insurance The selected Consultant shall be responsible for maintaining during the initial term of the contract and any subsequent renewals, a Professional Liability (E & O) insurance policy with a $1,000,000 per claim limit of liability. 7-10 Attachments to the RFP A. Certifications and Acknowledgement of Terms and Conditions B. Organizational Chart ---PAGE BREAK--- Request for Proposal – Communications and Engagement Consultant 15 ATTACHMENT A CERTIFICATIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS i. The Consultant certifies it can and will provide and make available, at a minimum, all services set forth in the Request for Proposal. ii. If selected, the Consultant agrees to be bound by the requirements delineated in the Request for Proposal and the resulting contract. iii. The Consultant certifies that the person signing the proposal is entitled to represent the Consultant, is empowered to submit the proposal, and is authorized to enter into a contract with the City of Cody. iv. The Consultant certifies that it will not delegate or subcontract its responsibilities under an agreement, other than what is included in the proposal, without the prior written permission of the City of Cody. v. The Consultant warrants that for the term of the contract and any subsequent renewals, no elected or appointed official, or City employee shall receive any fee, percentage, gifts, or other consideration or have any interest—direct or indirect—in the contract. vi. The Consultant certifies that all information provided by it in connection with this proposal is true and accurate. Consultant Name (typed) Name of Official (typed) Title of Official (typed) Signature of Official Date ---PAGE BREAK--- Request for Proposal – Communications and Engagement Consultant 16 ATTACHMENT B Organizational Chart ---PAGE BREAK--- Request for Proposal – Communications and Engagement Consultant 17