NIGP 91832: Consulting Services (Not Otherwise Classified)

NIGP 91832 Consulting Services (Not Otherwise Classified), an Item code, encompasses a broad range of specialized advisory and facilitation work that state and local governments purchase when internal expertise is insufficient or unavailable—operational process improvement, federal advocacy, program evaluation, and community engagement are representative of the work currently being solicited under this code. County executive offices, cities, transit authorities, state agencies, school districts, and special-purpose districts all draw on Item-code consulting for discrete, time-bound engagements ranging from task-force facilitation and legislative lobbying to infrastructure planning and brownfield grant management. Recent opportunities span San Mateo County's permit-entitlement process assessment (RFP 2026RFP00593, due August 3, 2026), the City of Gallup's federal lobbying services (RFP 2026202701, due August 6, 2026), the Sacramento County Department of Airports' construction management at risk for a $105 million pedestrian walkway project (RFQ 81676, due April 28, 2023, now dated), and the City of Palo Alto Utilities Department's water system master plan (RFP RFP198186, due August 7, 2026). The code sees activity across multiple states—California (San Mateo, Palo Alto), New Mexico (Gallup), Georgia (multiple TAD redevelopment and airport planning RFQs), Texas (Waco lobbying, Harris County transit planning, Lubbock water treatment plant design), Washington (energy resilience outreach, skilled-nursing-facility replacement), Oregon (EWEB utility markets transition), and Florida (Volusia County fire assessment, Pasco County post-disaster inspection, Apopka annexation study)—with no single geography dominating but consistent activity in medium to large municipalities and regional authorities pursuing multi-phase advisory or facilitation contracts.

Geographic concentration trends toward mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Southwest, and West Coast markets, with particular activity visible in California, Georgia, Texas, and Florida. Representative solicitations reflect the scope's diversity: San Mateo County's Permit Entitlement Blue Ribbon Task Force (RFP, due August 3, 2026) seeks a facilitator to lead a 12-member task force through five-phase operational and process assessment of the Planning and Building Department, with evaluation weighted to Method and Approach (45%), Experience and Organizational Capacity (30%), and Price (25%); the City of Gallup's federal lobbying services (RFP, due August 6, 2026) requires a firm with minimum five years of federal appropriations experience for municipalities to develop annual advocacy strategy and arrange meetings with Congress and federal agencies; Invest Atlanta's TAD Redevelopment Consulting Services (RFQC, due July 20, 2026, in two postings) establishes a pre-qualified vendor pool across six disciplines (Redevelopment Plan Development, Financial Modeling, Community Engagement, Legal Compliance, Market Analysis, GIS Mapping) to support three-year investment plans for seven tax allocation districts; and the City of Palo Alto Utilities Department's Water System Master Plan (RFP, due August 7, 2026) requires a mandatory pre-proposal conference and seeks engineering assessment with 20-year capital improvement projections, hydraulic modeling, and risk/resiliency analysis. Issuing bodies include state departments, county governments, cities, school districts, and regional authorities; evaluation criteria consistently emphasize technical approach and experience over cost, with several procurements restricting participation to SAM-registered vendors or firms with specific regulatory certifications. Set-asides and preferences vary by jurisdiction—San Mateo County applies local-business preference under its Procurement Preference for Local Businesses Ordinance; Invest Atlanta encourages MBE, FBE, and SBE participation; and Washington State Energy Resilience outreach (RFP, due August 13, 2026) restricts eligibility to 501(c)(3) nonprofits and incorporates diverse-business-inclusion scoring bonuses. Contract durations range from one-year engagements with renewal options to multi-year initial terms with task-order or retainer-based billing structures common across the code.