Economic Impact Study

The City University of New York is requesting proposals for an economic impact study assessing CUNY's full economic impact on operations, programs, and alumni, with proposals due August 21, 2026 at 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. The Procurement Lobbying Act applies; all vendor communications must be directed to the designated contact, Caron Christian, Deputy Chief Procurement Officer, or risk disqualification.

CUNY has established a 30% participation goal for New York State certified Minority-Owned and Women-Owned Businesses and a 7% participation goal for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses.

The scope requires a comprehensive workplan with timeline and staffing; preliminary findings report with economic activity metrics; and a final report with executive summary, infographics, findings, recommendations, and detailed appendices on data sources and methods. The analysis must cover enrollment demographics, employee residence and payroll, spending impacts, wages, tax information, capital project budgets, sector-specific impacts, small business creation, public benefits utilization, cost savings from sustainability efforts, MWBE spending impacts, geographic diversity of employees, degree and non-degree program impacts, and key economic sectors supported by CUNY programs and graduates. Minimum qualifications require at least ten years of experience in labor market data and economic modeling for higher education clients, producing data-backed studies for U.S. colleges and universities that include employment analysis, economic output and tax revenue analysis, cost-benefit analysis, taxpayer benefits analysis, sector-specific economic impacts, and societal benefits quantification.

CUNY anticipates awarding one contract for a one-year term commencing upon approval by the Attorney General and New York State. Proposers must submit a flat, all-inclusive price covering all administrative and out-of-pocket expenses with detailed cost breakdowns. Scoring consists of technical and management proposal evaluation (65 points), price proposal scoring (25 points), and oral presentations by short-listed proposers if required (10 points), for a maximum of 100 points. Written questions are due August 13, 2026 at 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. All work products constitute works made for hire with full copyright ownership vesting in CUNY. Comprehensive insurance coverage is required, including statutory workers' compensation, $2 million employer's liability, and $2 million combined single limit commercial general liability with a $4 million aggregate minimum.