Equity Audit

The City of Wheat Ridge, Colorado, located in Jefferson County, has issued a Request for Proposals for an Equity Audit consulting service, a professional services contract procurement. The City seeks a qualified individual or firm to conduct a comprehensive, organization-wide equity audit examining internal policies, communications, external communications, and organizational practices as they relate to racial equity and inclusion goals aligned with the City's organizational values. The scope of work requires consultants to collect and analyze existing policies, programs, and practices impacting City staff; conduct listening sessions including surveys, interviews, and group discussions with staff and stakeholders; prepare a formal presentation of findings to City Council and staff; and deliver a final report with recommendations, baseline metrics, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) priorities, and short-term and long-term action steps. The audit will review City policies, organizational structure, protocols, initiatives, community engagement, internal and external communications, website content, program funding, and staff demographics to develop shared understanding of organizational values and guiding principles for action. The evaluation process employs a Best Value procurement model with proposals scored equally across five criteria: Firm Capabilities and References (20 points), Scope of Submission and Team Qualifications (20 points), Effective Approach and Timeline (20 points), Plan Effectiveness (20 points), and Price and Total Cost of Ownership (20 points). Questions must be submitted by February 21, 2026, with proposals due by March 5, 2026 at 2:00 pm Mountain Time via the OpenGov Procurement portal; short-listed firms will be invited to participate in oral interviews prior to final selection. The anticipated contract start date is April 1, 2026, with an initial one-year term subject to automatic renewal if performance is acceptable and pricing remains firm.

The RFP documents do not identify specific set-aside designations, disadvantaged enterprise restrictions, or incumbent vendors for this procurement. Proposers must provide detailed fee statements including individual rates for all staff, reimbursable expenses, and all fringe benefits and overhead costs; the City is exempt from sales and use taxes. Contractors must maintain commercial general liability insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence, professional liability/errors and omissions coverage of $1,000,000, and workers' compensation coverage, with the City named as additional insured on all liability policies. All contract products and deliverables become the sole property of the City upon completion. The contract is not-to-exceed and subject to City Council appropriations, with pricing required to remain firm for the first year; any subsequent price increase requests are limited to one adjustment per contract term and cannot exceed ten percent without triggering a City resolicitation. The specific award value or budget range has not been disclosed in the available procurement documents.