Accept amended recommendation of the Chief Procurement Officer to award on-call services contracts for capacity building and training, community engagement, and strategic communication services

The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) has identified an ongoing and increasing need for services related to community engagement, outreach, & education; capacity-building & training; and strategic communications. Over the past three years, these types of services have been purchased under contracts with an average annual spend of $1 million. Many of these contracts are either expiring or have limited funds left after FY 2022-23. To streamline efforts for bidding and for City staff, Procurement Services desires to issue a competitive solicitation for new contracts for these same services. Portland Procurement Code 5.33.040, Authority of Chief Procurement Officer, limits CPO’s signature authority, to price agreements for periodic supply of goods and services, to $1 million annually. Price agreements with estimated expenditures exceeding $1 million annually require approval of Portland City Council. An ordinance will allow Procurement Services to issue a solicitation and award one or more contracts for these stated services. Proposed legislation supports City policies and does not change City policies.

No new budget appropriations would be necessary; BPS would be spending budgeted funds already approved for such goods and services. The form of contract resulting from the solicitation would be price agreements, which confirm unit pricing for goods and services if a bureau places an order, but the price agreements alone do not represent an offer to buy. Confidence level in the estimated spend is optimum and is based on spend for such items over the past three years.

BPS’s work is diverse and works with – and serves – a wide range of Portlanders. BPS has consistently had service contracts with many organizations, vendors, and stakeholders. BPS has an ongoing need for these services because the bureau is the custodian of the Comprehensive Plan, which mandates that the bureau work closely with community to develop plans and policies. The bureau regularly conducts public engagement activities and develops strategic communications related to land use planning, climate action, energy, smart cities, digital privacy, and waste collection. To best engage with community and help staff easily contract services that benefit Portlanders, this RFP will streamline the internal processes of working with contractors and community organizations, all in the efforts to learn from our community, build relationships and partnerships, and leverage the expertise of partner organizations and individuals. Procurement Services will seek offers for services related to equity consulting & facilitation, community engagement & outreach, capacity-building & training, and strategic communications more than 50 local contractors already registered in the City’s online solicitation platform, BuySpeed, as well as contractors not already registered in BuySpeed, including minority-owned businesses and contractors registered in the State of Oregon’s Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID). The confidence level in the estimated spend of $3 million is optimum and is based on spend for such services over the past three years. No new budget appropriations would be necessary as bureaus would be spending budgeted funds already approved for such goods and services. The form of contract resulting from the solicitation would be price agreements, which confirm unit pricing for goods and services if a bureau places an order, but the price agreements alone do not represent an offer to buy.