CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approve the award of RFP 20-012, Strategic Planning Consultant Services, to Shockey Consulting for an amount not to exceed $124,520
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DEPARTMENT: City Clerk’s Office
SUBMITTED BY: Pam Gallahue, PhD, Director-City Clerk; Linda LaCloche, Communications Manager; and Marcie Schatz, Deputy City Manager
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
In 2015, the Naperville City Council and the Director’s Leadership Team (DLT) developed four ends policies (Public Safety, High Performing Government, Economic Development, Financial Stability) to not only help define what the City wants to be, but also to guide staff on how to get there. Goals and objectives were developed and linked to the ends policies. In 2018, the goals were refined and updated. Many have been successfully completed; however, for others, their relevancy continued to be evaluated.
In December 2019, the City Clerk’s Office issued RFP 20-012, Strategic Planning Consultant Services, to contract with an experienced and qualified consulting firm to guide the City Council, DLT, community members, and other stakeholders in the execution of a comprehensive visioning process, facilitation of community engagement exercises, and development of an updated strategic plan.
DISCUSSION:
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Advertisement Date: |
12/11/2019 |
Notices Sent: |
70 |
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Opening Date: |
01/17/2020 |
Planholders: |
25 |
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Proposals Received: |
8 |
Proposals were received from the following vendors:
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Managing Results, LLC |
DCC Marketing, LLC |
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The Novak Consulting Group |
Management Partners |
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Planning Next |
Future IQ |
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Shockey Consulting |
Crowe, LLP |
In early 2020, a selection team comprised of staff from Communications, the City Clerk’s Office, the City Manager’s Office and Councilwomen Brodhead and Gustin reviewed and evaluated proposals, which were scored based upon the criteria set forth in the RFP:
1. Capability, Capacity and Qualifications of the Firm (40%)
2. Suitability and Quality of the Approach/Methodology (35%)
3. Milestones and Deliverables (25%)
In February 2020, after review and scoring of proposals, the selection committee invited the top four vendors, Shockey Consulting, Management Partners, Planning Next, and The Novak Consulting Group to attend interviews. Following completion of interviews, the selection committee rescored the vendors. The vendor with the highest qualification score, Shockey Consulting, is recommended for award. The table below provides a summary of the final qualification scores:
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Vendor |
Qualification Score |
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Shockey Consulting |
94.30 |
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Planning Next |
92.25 |
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The Novak Consulting Group |
62.75 |
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Management Partners |
52.90 |
The evaluation team appreciates that Shockey Consulting (Shockey) has proven experience partnering with other entities similar to the size of Naperville. Shockey is skilled in transgenerational thinking and presented an approach that focuses on inviting a diverse cross-section of citizens to the conversation. The goal is to encourage participation and an inclusiveness that accurately represents Naperville currently and in the future.
The original goal was to begin the community engagement process in the spring of 2020. However, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City halted all in-person activities and began to learn to operate in a remote environment. Staff remained in contact with Shockey throughout 2020 and discussed how to adjust the plan, timeline, and engagement process due to COVID-19. Because many municipalities across the country were facing the same challenges, Shockey was in a position to offer lessons learned from their other client engagements.
Now, nearly one year later, it is time to begin the strategic planning process. Chief among the reasons to start in January is that new councilmembers will be seated in May. Shockey will perform the discovery and initial community engagement phases in early 2021. Once the new Council is in place, Shockey will facilitate planning sessions with staff and councilmembers and will use responses from the community as a template for discussion.
Having a current, up-to-date work plan gives staff and the Council a common direction and will allow both to be proactive, prioritize requests to avoid work overload, and appropriately allocate resources. With a new Council make-up, it will be critical to have a vetted and approved work plan.
The evaluation team felt the Shockey staff understood Naperville, the timing of the engagement, and the desired end result. Pricing was considered as part of the evaluation of Section 2, Suitability and Quality of the Methodology. The proposed pricing from Shockey was comparable to other vendor's pricing for the time, effort, and collaboration provided by other top-ranking firms. The anticipated completion date of the project is October 2021, however COVID 19 restrictions may delay progress as was experienced in 2020.
FISCAL IMPACT:
CIP: N/A
Consultant services for citywide strategic planning are expensed to the Other Professional Services account listed below. A total of $125,000 is tentatively budgeted for strategic initiative and community outreach in 2021, pending Council approval.
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Account Number |
Fund Description |
Total Budget Amount |
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11101100-531309 |
General Fund |
$125,000 |