Equity Line Newsletter

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) #35228 for the Equity Line Newsletter, a bi-monthly digital publication focused on the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) activities, current contracts, and opportunities for certified small businesses across Oregon. The contract, which covers the jurisdictions of Marion County and the City of Salem, requires a contractor to manage all aspects of newsletter production, including developing content, designing templates, and submitting draft and final newsletters on a bi-monthly schedule. Specific deliverables include kick-off meeting minutes, newsletter templates, and 20-page newsletters from June 2022 to June 2023, with potential options for additional newsletters. Evaluation criteria included knowledge of the certified small business market, experience of project managers and key personnel, work samples, and proposal clarity. The initial proposal due date was June 15, 2022, which was later amended to June 24, 2022, at 3:30 p.m. A pre-proposal conference was held on June 2, 2022, to provide additional guidance to potential proposers.

The RFP did not include specific set-aside requirements, but it was subject to federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) provisions with a no-goal requirement. The contract opportunity was open to various vendors, with three initial proposers: Andrey Burkovskiy (Workbench Media Design), Bell + Funk Creative, LLC, and Twirl Advertising & Design, LLC. Bell + Funk Creative, LLC was ultimately selected as the top-ranked firm for contract negotiations. The budget for the initial contract term is limited to $30,000, with the potential for annual renewals at ODOT's discretion. The contract will require compliance with ODOT's web standards and communications requirements, and the selected vendor must provide certificates of insurance, a responsibility inquiry form, business registry number, and potentially a W-9 form. ODOT expressed a preference for payments to be made via Automated Clearing House (ACH) direct deposit and encourages the selected consultant to offer similar payment methods to subcontractors.