Required_Reading_-_Urbana_Formal_RFQ_Strategic_Goal_Setting_Facilitator_20260825-1.pdf

Request for Qualifications:

Mayor and City Council Strategic Goal Setting Facilitation Services

(Solicitation #________)

City of Urbana

400 S Vine St

Urbana, IL 61801

Issue Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Responses Due: Friday, September 11, 2026, 5p.m. CT

Submittal Instructions

Submission: Responses should be submitted electronically via the City of Urbana’s procurement portal at https://www.urbanail.gov/executive-department/page/bids-and-rfps.

Submission Requirements: Responses should be concise and include a response to the Scope of Work, qualifications and experience, identification of the primary facilitator and project team, examples of similar work, at least three references, a total not-to-exceed cost, and confirmation of availability for all four required meeting dates.

Communications: Once the RFQ is issued, substantive questions or changes may be addressed through an addendum. The City may request clarification of a response after submission.

Response Validity: Responses shall remain valid for 90 days following the response due date unless otherwise agreed to by the City.

Assumption of Risks: The City is not responsible for costs incurred by a respondent in preparing or submitting a response. Responses become the property of the City. The City reserves the right to reject any or all responses, request additional information, negotiate the scope or cost of services, and select the respondent determined to be in the best interest of the City.

General Information

Summary Information

The City of Urbana is seeking proposals from qualified facilitators or consulting firms to facilitate a strategic goal setting process for the Mayor and City Council. The purpose of the engagement is to establish a focused set of strategic goals that will guide City priorities, policy direction, resource allocation, and organizational work over the next several years.

The process should build upon the City's previous strategic goals while incorporating current City plans and studies, community priorities, organizational capacity, financial realities, and emerging opportunities and challenges. The City is seeking a facilitator who can create a productive and collaborative environment, identify areas of consensus, and translate discussion into a clear and actionable set of strategic goals.

General Requirements

• The project team, including the primary facilitator and any key personnel, shall have relevant experience with similar work and shall be competent to perform the services required under this

RFQ.

• The selected respondent shall maintain the neutrality necessary to facilitate discussion among elected officials and City leadership and appropriately manage differing perspectives.

• The selected respondent shall review relevant City plans, studies, financial information, and strategic documents provided by the City and synthesize major themes for use during the strategic goal setting process.

• The selected respondent must be available for all four scheduled evening sessions.

Selection Process and Agreement

City staff will evaluate responses based on responsiveness to this RFQ, the proposed approach, relevant municipal and strategic planning experience, qualifications of the facilitator and assigned staff, experience working with elected officials and executive leadership, ability to facilitate consensus while maintaining neutrality, references, availability, and overall cost and value to the City. Interviews may be conducted with one or more respondents. The City reserves the right to pursue a contract as deemed most favorable to the project and to reject any or all submittals.

1. Purpose

The City of Urbana is seeking responses from qualified facilitators or consulting firms to facilitate a strategic goal setting process for the Mayor and City Council.

The purpose of this engagement is to assist the Mayor and City Council in establishing a focused set of strategic goals that will guide City priorities, policy direction, resource allocation, and organizational work over the next several years.

The City is seeking a facilitator who can create a productive and collaborative environment for elected officials and City leadership, help participants identify areas of consensus, and translate discussion into a clear and actionable set of strategic goals.

The process should build upon the City's previous strategic goals while also incorporating current City plans, studies, community priorities, organizational capacity, and emerging opportunities and challenges.

This process is not intended to replace or duplicate existing City planning efforts, develop a comprehensive plan, or produce a detailed list of departmental projects or operational activities.

Rather, the process is intended to establish a limited number of overarching strategic goals that provide direction for City policy, budgeting, resource allocation, and organizational work.

2. Project Objectives

• Review accomplishments, progress, and outstanding work associated with the City's previous strategic goals.

• Provide the Mayor and City Council with a better understanding of City departmental responsibilities, current initiatives, organizational capacity, and resource limitations.

• Identify major issues, opportunities, and priorities facing Urbana over the next three years.

• Connect strategic goal setting to existing City adopted plans, studies, and major initiatives.

• Facilitate meaningful discussion among the Mayor and City Council regarding shared priorities and desired outcomes.

• Establish a manageable number of clear strategic goals rather than an extensive list of individual projects or initiatives.

• Identify measurable outcomes or indicators that can be used to evaluate progress.

• Develop final strategic goals that can subsequently guide departmental work plans, budget development, capital planning, and organizational performance reporting, and future policy discussions.

3. Existing Plans and Studies

The City does not intend for this process to duplicate planning work that has already been completed.

The selected facilitator should review relevant City plans and studies and use them to help inform the strategic goal setting discussions. The selected facilitator should synthesize major themes from these documents rather than requiring the Mayor and City Council to independently review every plan in detail.

Documents are expected to include, but are not necessarily limited to:

• Imagine Urbana Comprehensive Plan

• Downtown Public Realm Study

• City Capital Improvement Plan

• City Facilities Plan

• Current and previous Mayor and City Council Strategic Goals

• Annual City Budget and relevant long term financial information

• Relevant housing, neighborhood, corridor, transportation, and economic development plans and studies

• Other significant City plans or initiatives identified by City staff

The City will work with the selected facilitator to identify the most relevant documents prior to the first session.

The facilitator should synthesize major themes from these documents rather than requiring the Mayor and City Council to independently review every plan in detail. The goal is to help elected officials understand how existing plans, community priorities, previous commitments, financial realities, and organizational capacity should inform the City's broader strategic direction.

4. City Expectations

The City expects the selected facilitator to serve as a neutral third party throughout the process. The facilitator will be responsible for designing and managing the process, encouraging participation from all members of the Mayor and City Council, identifying areas of agreement and differing perspectives, and helping participants move from broad discussion toward a focused set of strategic goals. The facilitator should not advocate for a particular policy outcomes or strategic priorities.

5. Scope of Services

Preparation

Meet with the Mayor, City Administrator, and appropriate staff prior to the first session to discuss expectations, desired outcomes, current strategic goals, organizational considerations, and the overall facilitation approach.

Review relevant City plans, studies, strategic documents, financial information, and other background materials.

Work with the City Administrator to develop agendas, exercises, discussion questions, and materials for each session.

Identify major themes, opportunities, challenges, and potential areas of strategic focus based upon the background review.

The facilitator should use the pre-session review and preparation process to minimize informational presentations during the four sessions and maximize time for discussion, deliberation, and strategic goal development.

Session One

Wednesday, October 7, 2026 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The first session will include the Mayor, City Council, City Administrator, and City leadership staff.

The session should establish a common foundation for the strategic planning process and include:

• Review of the City's previous strategic goals.

• Discussion of accomplishments and significant progress made under those goals.

• Identification of goals or initiatives that remain underway or unresolved.

• Overview of major City initiatives, projects, plans, and studies.

• Department leadership discussion of departmental responsibilities and current priorities.

• Discussion of organizational capacity, staffing, financial, operational, or other constraints that should be considered when establishing new goals.

• Identification of major issues and opportunities that may warrant further discussion by the Mayor and City Council.

The facilitator should structure the session to provide necessary background and context while preserving sufficient time for meaningful discussion among the Mayor and City Council.

The intent of this session is informational and foundational. Staff should help provide context and professional expertise without determining the policy priorities ultimately selected by the Mayor and City Council.

Session Two

Wednesday, October 21, 2026 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The second session will focus on development of potential strategic priorities by the Mayor and City Council.

The facilitator should guide discussion around:

• The desired direction of the City over the next three years and the outcomes the Mayor and City Council hope to achieve during that period.

• Major community and organizational priorities.

• Themes identified through existing City plans and studies.

• Areas of agreement and differing perspectives among elected officials.

• Potential strategic goal areas.

• Desired community outcomes.

The facilitator should begin narrowing the discussion toward a manageable number of strategic priorities.

Session Three

Wednesday, November 4, 2026 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The third session will continue development and refinement of the strategic goals.

The facilitator should assist the Mayor and City Council with:

• Refining proposed strategic goals.

• Establishing clear language and intent for each goal.

• Distinguishing strategic goals from individual projects or operational activities.

• Identifying desired outcomes associated with each goal.

• Considering organizational capacity and resource implications.

• Identifying areas where additional clarification or consensus is needed.

Following this session, the facilitator should synthesize the discussion and prepare a draft strategic goals framework for review by the Mayor, City Council, and appropriate staff prior to the final meeting.

Session Four

Wednesday, November 18, 2026 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The final session will focus on reaching consensus and finalizing the Mayor and City Council Strategic Goals.

The facilitator should guide the Mayor and City Council through:

• Review of the draft strategic goals.

• Final revisions and clarification.

• Confirmation of desired outcomes.

• Identification of potential performance indicators or measures of progress.

• Final consensus on the strategic goals and overall framework.

The final framework should reflect the direction established by the Mayor and City council and provide a practical foundation for subsequent implementation by City administration.

6. Deliverables

• Preparation and facilitation of all four strategic planning sessions.

• Meeting agendas and appropriate facilitation materials.

• A concise synthesis of relevant City plans and studies to inform the process.

• Summary of major themes identified during the sessions.

• Draft strategic goals following the third session.

• Final Mayor and City Council Strategic Goals document following the fourth session.

• Recommended measurable outcomes or performance indicators associated with each strategic goal.

• Recommendations for how the City can periodically review and report progress toward the strategic goals.

The final product should be concise, accessible to the public, and structured so City administration can translate the goals into departmental work plans, budget priorities, capital planning, initiatives, and performance measures. The City anticipates a manageable number of strategic goals, with a clear statement of intent, desired outcomes, and potential measures of progress for each goal.

7. Desired Facilitator Qualifications

The City prefers a facilitator with demonstrated experience in:

• Strategic planning and goal setting.

• Facilitation involving elected officials and executive leadership.

• Local government or other public sector organizations.

• Consensus building and managing differing perspectives.

• Translating broad policy discussions into clear and actionable strategic goals.

• Understanding municipal operations, budgeting, organizational capacity, and public accountability.

Experience facilitating strategic planning processes for Illinois municipalities or comparable local governments is preferred but not required.

8. RFQ Response Requirements

Interested facilitators or firms should provide a concise response containing:

• Description of the proposed approach to the engagement.

• Qualifications and relevant experience.

• Examples of similar strategic planning or local government facilitation engagements.

• Identification and qualifications of the individual who will serve as the primary facilitator.

• Confirmation of availability for all four meeting dates.

• Description of preparation and follow up work included in the engagement.

• Total not-to-exceed cost for the engagement, including all professional fees, preparation, travel, materials, and other expenses.

• At least three professional references for similar work.

9. Evaluation

Responses may be evaluated based upon:

• Relevant municipal and strategic planning experience.

• Experience working with elected officials and executive leadership.

• Quality and practicality of the proposed facilitation approach.

• Understanding of the City's desired outcomes.

• Ability to facilitate consensus while maintaining neutrality.

• Availability for the required schedule.

• Quality of previous comparable work.

• References.

• Overall cost and value to the City.

The City reserves the right to consider factors other than price in selecting the facilitator that best meets the City's needs and is determined to be in the best interest of the City.

10. Project Schedule

The selected facilitator must be available for the following sessions:

Wednesday, October 7, 2026: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, October 21, 2026: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, November 4, 2026: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, November 18, 2026: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Additional preparation meetings with the Mayor, City Administrator, and appropriate staff will be scheduled prior to the first session.

11. City Contact

Questions regarding this RFQ and responses should be directed to the City of Urbana at the contact information identified in the formal solicitation.

The City of Urbana reserves the right to reject any or all quotes, request additional information, negotiate the scope or cost of services, and select the facilitator determined to be in the best interest of the City.

Tentative Selection Process

Responses will be reviewed based on the proposed approach, project management, relevant project experience, qualifications of the facilitator and assigned staff, readiness, availability, references, and overall cost and value. The City may request additional information or conduct interviews as needed.

Following review and any interviews, the City intends to select the respondent whose qualifications, proposed approach, experience, availability, and overall value are determined to be in the best interest of the City and will pursue an agreement with the preferred respondent.

General Timeline

RFQ Issue Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2026

RFQ Close: Friday, September 11, 2026, 5:00 p.m.

Initial Review: Monday, September 14, 2026

Interviews, if needed: Week of Monday, September 14, 2026

Selection and Contract Negotiation: Week of Monday, September 21, 2026

Session One: Wednesday, October 7, 2026, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Session Two: Wednesday, October 21, 2026, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Session Three: Wednesday, November 4, 2026, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Session Four: Wednesday, November 18, 2026, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.