Responses are to be submitted on or before 4:00 P.M., July 17, 2009, to the attention of:
Karla Lanktree,
Director of Corporate Services
District of Hope
325 Wallace Street
PO Box 609
Hope, BC, V0X 1L0
www.hope.ca
1. Submission Details
a. Nine (9) copies of the responses are to be in sealed envelopes or packages marked with the Respondent's Name, Title and marked "Economic Development Strategy RFP #ADMIN-2009-02"
b. The District reserves the right to cancel this Request for Proposal for any reason without any liability to any proponent or to waive irregularities at their own discretion.
c. The District reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to accept the proposal deemed most favourable to the interests of the District.
d. The District will not entertain any claims for costs related to the preparation and/or presentation of the proposals.
e. The District is NOT contractually bound to any matters until such time as the District has negotiated a separate contract that is totally independent of the RFP process.
Queries should be submitted in writing to the above contact at:
FAX: (604) 869-2275
E-Mail: klanktree@hope.ca
2. Introduction
The District of Hope is requesting proposals from qualified individuals and/or corporate entities interested in developing a comprehensive economic development strategic plan with short term (1-3 years), medium term (3-5 years) and long term (5 plus years) opportunities for Hope in consultation with Hope's business and community groups.
Hope is a community of approximately 6,200 people. It is located approximately 2 hours east of Vancouver and is generally considered the gateway between the interior of British Columbia and the lower mainland.
The community has experienced minimal to no population growth over the last several years (2001 census of 6,184 and 2006 census of 6,185); however, there is now beginning to be some development in the area.
The objective of this request for proposal is to provide the District with qualified proponents capable of carrying out the work herein defined. The subsequent proponent submission will form the basis for evaluation, interview, and selection.
3. Overall Objectives of the Study
The District of Hope requires a successful proponent to assist the District in developing a local vision and objectives and apply local resources to achieve them by:
a. Conducting a review of the local economy and its current economic base by (1) detailing existing economic assets and liabilities, with specified reference to studies and processes already conducted; and (2) identifying what infrastructure levels are necessary to support these development goals.
b. Developing a base economic scenario assuming no economic development initiative, and setting out a probable financial, program, infrastructure and other consequences on the economy of the municipality.
c. Identifying specific opportunities for economic development which are most likely to show successes and compare these to the base case. Utilize case studies of other communities that have been successful; and where possible, provide examples and strategies.
d. Identifying resources, business assistance, partnerships and policy changes required to implement identified opportunities.
e. Conducting appropriate public consultation processes and community analysis, thus ensuring that a broad and diverse range of opinions and ideas are captured and explored to assist in obtaining broad community support for eventual recommendations and actions. The proponent is requested to describe the method for receiving public input and provide a schedule for its achievement.
f. Developing and articulating goals, objectives and competitive strategies aimed at enhancing the viability of existing business, expanding existing operations, attracting new business.
g. Identifying resources and business assistance to facilitate implementation and identifying initiatives which are already underway within the community that could be partnered with to share funding/expertise/workload, as well as expertise within the community which could be drawn upon.
h. Advising on options and providing a recommendation for an economic model for the provision of economic development services with formalized roles and responsibilities, along with the costs to implement the recommendations.
i. Identifying funding or grant sources to support plan implementation.
j. Developing measurement criteria to assess the future economic development function.
Economic Development Strategy Steering Committee (EDSSC):
The selected proponent will be expected to work with the Committee appointed by Council charged with overseeing the development of an economic development strategy. The Committee will oversee the selected proponent as they develop the economic development strategy options.
The Committee will recommend to Council (1) an economic development strategy and model for the provision of economic development services with formalized roles and responsibilities; and (2) responsibilities and performance criteria for economic development services.
Full instructions included in below link:
