Deadline Extended – Arts and Cultural Planning, Training, and Research Services RFI due June 6, 2017
The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) has extended the deadline for submittal of responses to their Arts and Cultural Planning, Training, and Research Services Request for Information (RFI) until Tuesday, June 6, 2017 by 5:00 pm ET.
MAPC is seeking information from individuals and firms with experience in the following areas of practice:
a. Cultural Planning
b. Creative Placemaking
c. Creative Community Engagement
d. Socially Engaged, Social Practice, and Civic Practice Art
e. Arts and Cultural Policy
f. Arts and Cultural Data Collection, Analysis, and Visualization
In addition, MAPC is seeking information from individuals and firms with professional expertise in the following:
g. Trainings to Municipal Audiences on any of the topics outlined above
h. Project Evaluation on any of the topics outlined above
i. Case Study Research and Development on any of the topics outlined above
Interested parties are invited to respond to this Request for Information (RFI). Information that any respondent submits will be considered as voluntarily offered and with the understanding that this RFI is for information gathering purposes only. This information shall serve to assist MAPC to better understand the state of the practice in arts and cultural planning, placemaking, engagement, policy, data analysis, training, evaluation, and case study development.
FAQ
Q: What is an RFI?
A: An RFI is a document that government agencies release as a precursor to a full RFP. The goal of an RFI is to get a sense of the qualifications of different firms or organizations that may be interested in offering their services to our agency. MAPC will review RFI responses to determine how it may structure future Request for Proposals (RFPs) and/or it may enter into direct contracts with agencies. An RFI is not a call for free/extensive research. You could think of it as basically a call for resumes or qualifications of staff and an overview of project experience that touches any of the practice areas outlined.
Q: What is the process and timeline after RFI responses are received?
A: Once RFI responses are received, the Arts & Culture Division will review the information to determine whether we will contract directly with any of the respondents or if we will issue a set of RFPs to procure the services we seek. Regardless of route taken, we are looking to commence work with consultants by late summer/early fall. We also expect that there will be multiple RFP or direct contract opportunities over the next 2-3 years.
Q: Would MAPC be open to team proposals involving a lead consultant and sub-consultants?
A: Yes. We welcome RFI responses that create an opportunity for individuals and firms to consider joining up to offer prospective services. When listing collaborators, please indicate whether you have a history of working together, whether a collaboration of this nature has already been discussed, or if you are only listing prospective collaborators you have not yet made direct contact with about the areas of practice and services outlined in the RFI.
Q: Does MAPC have a preference for having different consultants all under one roof? Is supplying information related to one or two areas less appealing?
One of the reasons we are issuing this RFI is to determine whether there are individuals and/or teams of consultants we will want to work with over the next three years. We anticipate procuring expertise through a series of several RFPs or through direct contracts. We don’t have a preference for having one team that can do it all. That said, the hope of this RFI is to get prospective respondents talking to each other so that if there is synergy and people want to join forces, the RFI will start that connection process. If a respondent supplies information related to just one or two of the practice areas, that’s fine — we want respondents to speak to their strengths. We don’t expect a respondent to have expertise in every single area of practice or topic listed.
Q: What is MAPC’s vision for the trainings? What are expectations regarding format and delivery? Will they be delivered on a regional basis or in individual municipalities?
We are interested in in-person trainings; we are also interested in virtual supports and resource elements. In terms of their delivery, they will be offered at the regional level (at MAPC’s home base or through meetings in the region with an invitation to our member municipalities in those areas) and not at the municipal level on a project by project basis. In terms of how trainings might be structured, we’re open to that and are interested in seeing the types of expertise that respondents have.
Download the “Arts and Cultural Planning, Training, and Research Services” RFI, due 5:00pm ET, Tuesday, June 6, 2017.
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