Request for Proposals 213 - Technical Assistance and Commercial Corridor Improvement Grants

The Office of Economic and Workforce Development advances equitable and shared prosperity for San Franciscans by growing sustainable jobs, supporting businesses of all sizes, creating great places to live and work, and helping everyone achieve economic self-sufficiency. OEWD programs are responsible for strengthening San Francisco’s many diverse neighborhoods and commercial corridors, creating a business climate where companies can grow and prosper, and ensuring a continually high quality of life for all San Franciscans.

The Office of Economic and Workforce Development ("OEWD") is issuing this Request for Proposals ("RFP") for grants to support a variety of key economic development activities from the Invest in Neighborhoods (IIN) division. Through this RFP, OEWD has allocated resources to make grants in 4 different program areas, detailed in Section II of the RFP. Unless otherwise indicated in the program descriptions, successful proposals will be funded for a term of three (3) years beginning in fiscal year 2020-2021, with opportunities to renew or extend programming through fiscal year 2025-2026, subject to OEWD approval and funding appropriation.

Any additional information, updates, or changes to the schedule or content of the RFP will be posted at this website. If you are interested in applying, please review this site periodically to check for more information.
 
Key Dates
 
The anticipated* schedule for awarding grants is:
 
PROPOSAL PHASE DATE/TIME
RFP is issued by the City Monday, September 30, 2019
(Reissued October 4, 2019, see below)
Bidders Conference

 

Friday, October 4, 2019
2:00PM-3:30PM
San Francisco Main Library
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
Latino/Hispanic Community Room A/B 
(lower level)
Deadline for submission of written questions Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 5:00PM
Answers to questions posted online Saturday, October 12, 2019
Proposals Due Thursday, October 31, 2019 by 5PM
Committee Review November 2019
Grantee selection and award notification target January 16, 2020
Projects begin July 2020 or later

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

*Each date above is subject to change. Check this website frequently for latest schedule.

 
Bidders Conference
 
To meet equity objectives, increase transparency and accessibility, OEWD will be holding a bidders conference. While attendance is not a prerequisite to apply, interested applicants are encouraged to attend. The Bidders Conference will be an opportunity to determine the eligibility of proposed projects as well as to receive technical assistance on completing the required elements of the proposal packet. Additionally, staff will be on-hand to assist with questions related to navigating the City Supplier (vendor) process. The Bidders Conference will take place:
 
Date:  Friday, October 4, 2019
Time:  2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Location:  San Francisco Main Library
                  100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
                  Latino/Hispanic Community Room A/B (lower level)
                  San Francisco, CA 94102
 
All substantive questions asked and answered at the Bidders Conference will be transcribed and included in the final Q&A log, to be posted to this website under Document Downloads (below). Purely technical questions regarding how to navigate the RFP or fill out application materials will be answered until the proposal submission deadline. 
 
The Bidders Conference will be fully accessible to attendees requiring hearing, vision and mobility accommodations. If you have a specific accommodation request, you are encouraged to contact the Department by Wednesday, October 2 at oewd.procurement@sfgov.org or (415) 701-4848 to provide adequate time to secure resources.
 
 
Questions and Answers
 
Questions may be asked in person at the Bidders Conference or submitted in writing to oewd.procurement@sfgov.org. To ensure full transparency and the opportunity for all applicants to benefit from Departmental guidance, questions should only be submitted via one of these two forums. The answers to all questions asked and answered at the Bidders Conference and submitted via email to oewd.procurement@sfgov.org by the posted deadline will be available for download in the Document Downloads section, below.
 
 
Updates
 
All updates to the RFP will be posted in this section with a date/time stamp indicating when the update occured. Any questions regarding updates should be directed to oewd.procurement@sfgov.org or (415) 701-4848.
 
  • October 12, 2019 at 9:20PM - The Question and Answer (Q&A) log has been uploaded under Document Downloads, below.
     
  • October 11, 2019 at 7:47PM - The RFP schedule has been updated to reflect a new date for posting of the Question and Answer (Q&A) log. The log will be posted on Saturday, October 12, 2019 under Document Downloads, below.
     
  • October 10, 2019 at 4:28PM - In response to a request from the October 4 Bidders Conference, a list of current CDBG-funded Economic Development projects has been posted under Document Downloads, below.
     
  • October 4, 2019 at 5:25PM - The materials distributed at the RFP 213 Bidders Conference (PowerPoint Slides and 12B Equal Benefits Compliance Guide) have been uploaded under Document Downloads, below.
 
  • October 4, 2019 at 12:40PM - An updated version of RFP 213 has been posted, which provides further clarification on the income requirements that apply based on clients served under each program area. In summary:
 
Program Areas 1, 2 and 3:
  • If serving micro-enterprises only, 100% of your clients must be low to moderate income (LMI) individuals.
  • If serving micro-enterprises and small businesses, 51% of the jobs created and retained by your clients must be available or held by low to moderate income (LMI) individuals.
Program Area 4:
  • 51% of the jobs created and retained by your clients must be available or held by low to moderate income (LMI) individuals.

 

These changes are reflected on pages 14, 18, 37 and 66 of the RFP. Revised versions of the Application Templates (Appendices C, D and E) have also been posted below, reflecting the adjustments to the eligibilty requirements.

 
Document Downloads
 

REVISED RFP 213 - Issued October 4, 2019

Appendix A: Sample Agreement for Grant (Form G-100)

Appendix B: Proposal Budget Template

REVISED Appendix C: Application: Request for Proposals 213 - Areas 1 & 2

REVISED Appendix D: Application: Request for Proposals 213 - Area 3

REVISED Appendix E: Application: Request for Proposals 213 - Area 4

Appendix F: Staffing and Board Composition Chart Template

Appendix G: Submission Authorization Form

Appendix H: Supplier Registration Instructions

Appendix I: Individual Development Plan (IDP) Template

Bidders Conference - RFP 213 PowerPoint Slide Deck (October 4, 2019)

Bidders Conference - 12B Equal Benefits Complaince Guide

Bidders Conference Follow-up - List of current CDBG-funded Economic Development Projects

RFP 213 Question and Answer Log (uploaded 10.12.2019)

 

Key Links and Resources:

Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) Forms and Documents

Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) Plans and Progress Reports

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Public Benefit Standards

 

 

Any additional documents will be uploaded in this section, please check back frequently for updates. If you would like to request any of the above documents in an alternative format, please email oewd.procurement@sfgov.org or visit the Office of Economic and Workforce Development at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 5th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103 between 9:00am-5:00pm, Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays.