Economic Development Strategic Plan

Charles County, Maryland, is soliciting proposals through Request for Proposal (RFP) #26-033 for the development of a comprehensive Five-Year Strategic Economic Development Plan supported by economic and market analysis. The County seeks qualified consulting firms to create a data-driven strategy that will guide economic growth, strengthen competitiveness, and support sustainable and equitable development through alignment of County, regional, state, federal, and private-sector partners. The scope of work encompasses analysis of six target industry clusters (Defense & Federal Contracting, Energetics Technology, Agribusiness, Logistics & Distribution, Health Services, and Retail) and seven strategic priority areas including the Western Charles County Technology Corridor, innovation and workforce pipeline development, industry cluster development, small business and MWBE support, public-private partnership development, rural and agricultural economic development, and strategic marketing and branding. Required deliverables include a Project Management Plan, Economic & Market Analysis Report, Strategic Framework, Action Plan with implementation-ready recommendations, Implementation Matrix, Final Strategic Plan with executive summary and presentation slides, and presentations to both County leadership and the Board of Commissioners. All work must be completed within 180 consecutive calendar days following receipt of written Notice to Proceed. The RFP requires extensive stakeholder engagement across the Board of Commissioners, County departments, NSWC Indian Head, regional education partners, business and industry leaders, the MWBE and small business community, rural and agricultural sector members, and real estate and development professionals. Evaluation will be based on 100 total points distributed across seven criteria: firm qualifications and relevant experience (15 points), approach, methodology, and technical quality (15 points), understanding of Charles County's needs (10 points), project team and capacity (10 points), stakeholder engagement and communication strategy (10 points), past performance and work samples (10 points), and price (30 points). A non-mandatory pre-proposal meeting is scheduled for March 25, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. via teleconference, with questions due by April 7, 2026, at 12:00 p.m., and proposals due electronically through the County's eProcurement Portal by April 22, 2026, at 11:00 a.m.

Consultants must demonstrate a minimum of five years of active engagement in economic development planning with at least three completed representative projects involving multi-year strategic plan development, economic and demographic analysis, industry cluster analysis, stakeholder engagement, and implementation-ready action plans. The County's Small Local Business Enterprise (SLBE) Program grants registered SLBE prime contractors an additional ten points on evaluation scores, or prorated points to non-SLBE contractors utilizing registered SLBE subcontractors, providing a meaningful incentive for participation by certified small local businesses. No incumbent vendor is identified in the solicitation, and no specific contract award value or total budget ceiling is stated; however, pricing shall be submitted as a lump sum on the Cost Proposal Form with a detailed fee schedule identifying hours by activity and project team member by discipline, with payment made in progress installments based on project milestones. Required insurance includes Commercial General Liability ($1,000,000 combined per occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate), Workers' Compensation coverage in compliance with Maryland statute, Commercial Automobile insurance ($1,000,000 per person/$2,000,000 per occurrence bodily injury, $500,000 property damage), Employers Liability insurance ($500,000 per accident and per employee disease aggregate), and Professional Liability/Errors & Omissions insurance ($1,000,000 per occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate). The County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and will award to the firm that best meets the County's needs rather than the lowest-cost proposer.