Consulting Services, Economic & Target Industry Analysis

The City of St. Petersburg, Florida, located in Pinellas County, issued a Request for Proposals on April 6, 2026, seeking qualified consulting firms to conduct a comprehensive Target Industry Study and economic analysis. The procurement requires the selected firm to perform an extensive economic and market assessment analyzing conditions, labor market trends, and industry performance at local, regional, state, and national levels, with particular attention to workforce demographics, educational assets, underemployment, location quotients, and emerging innovation-driven sectors. Key deliverables include stakeholder engagement through interviews, focus groups, and surveys with employers, small businesses, educational institutions, healthcare providers, business organizations, and public-sector partners to ensure diverse and equitable perspectives; benchmarking analysis comparing St. Petersburg against peer cities and national best practices; and strategic recommendations regarding retained, refined, and new target industry clusters with an actionable implementation framework for the five existing clusters identified in the 2014 Grow Smarter Initiative. The consultant must possess demonstrated experience conducting economic assessments, labor force analyses, market benchmarking studies, and engaging diverse stakeholders, with proposed project managers requiring a minimum of five years of applicable experience. Evaluation criteria allocate 40 percent weight to qualifications and experience, 35 percent to project approach, 15 percent to cost analysis, and 10 percent to Business Enterprise Program outreach and utilization. The deadline for submitting questions is April 27, 2026, with proposals due by May 21, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. through the OpenGov Procurement portal, and all submissions must be organized as continuous PDF documents including transmittal letters, qualifications documentation, team organization charts, project approach narratives, and detailed cost analyses.

The City of St. Petersburg encourages, but does not mandate, subcontracting with Small Business Enterprises (SBEs), Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs), Women Business Enterprises (WBEs), and Veteran-Owned Businesses located in the Tampa Bay Region, with participation goals designated as voluntary and non-responsive firms not penalized for zero diverse business participation. Proposers must complete a Subcontractor Utilization Plan documenting outreach efforts, capacity-building initiatives, and past performance with small, minority, women, and veteran-owned enterprises within the past five years. Non-negotiable contract requirements include commercial general liability insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, commercial automobile liability insurance of $1,000,000 combined single limit, errors and omissions/professional liability insurance with a minimum limit of $1,000,000 per occurrence, and workers' compensation insurance as required by Florida law. Vendors must provide certificates of insurance within ten days of award notification, demonstrate Florida corporate registration, maintain E-Verify compliance, and provide at least three professional references. The contract budget is $95,000, with all out-of-pocket expenses including transportation, lodging, meals, materials, phone, postage, and mileage included within the total contract amount. The contract term commences upon execution and continues until the consultant completes all obligations and the City accepts all services and deliverables, with all intellectual property rights, deliverables, data, and documents remaining exclusive property of the City of St. Petersburg.