Federal Government Consultant for Salt Lake Community College

Salt Lake Community College, a Utah System of Higher Education institution located in Salt Lake County and serving over 60,000 students annually across eight campuses, is issuing a Request for Proposals for a Federal Government Consultant. The College seeks an individual or firm to provide comprehensive government relations and lobbying services before the legislative and executive branches of the federal government, including serving as liaison with members of Congress and executive agency officials, facilitating meetings, researching federal policies and regulations, assisting with grant identification, preparing congressional testimonies, and raising the College's profile at federal and national levels. The resulting contract will have an initial three-year term with potential renewal for up to two additional one-year terms contingent upon satisfactory performance. Questions are due by April 23, 2026, with proposals due May 11, 2026, at 2:30 p.m. MDT, followed by virtual interviews for top-scoring candidates scheduled for May 13-29, 2026, and finalist interviews in Washington, D.C., or virtually between June 1-19, 2026. Evaluation will be based on 100 technical points including demonstrated success representing higher education institutions (25 points), experience with relevant Senate and House committees (25 points), relationships with federal entities including the White House, Department of Education, Department of Labor, Department of Energy, Department of Commerce, Small Business Administration, and National Science Foundation (20 points), knowledge of key higher education policy issues (20 points), and experience securing federal funds including Congressionally Directed Spending and Community Project Funding (10 points). Offerors must submit six separate files including a signed Letter of Transmittal, Technical Proposal with executive summary and at least five customer references, separately submitted Cost Proposal, sample contracts, financial responsibility documentation, and a redacted version if claiming business confidential information.

No set-aside designations, disadvantaged enterprise requirements, incumbent vendor information, or specific award values or budget ranges are specified in the provided documentation. Contractors must comply with Utah's anti-boycott provisions under Utah Code 63G-27 et seq., maintain commercial general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $3,000,000 aggregate, comply with the Utah Status Verification System (E-Verify) for verification of employment eligibility, and certify non-debarment status. All proposals must be submitted through U3P before the specified closing deadline, with all contract documents required in Microsoft Word format. The College reserves the right to refuse to negotiate excessive exceptions to standard terms and conditions or those inconsistent with Utah state law, and upon contract award, other Utah System of Higher Education member institutions—including Utah Valley University, Utah State University, Weber State University, University of Utah, Snow College, Southern Utah University, Utah Tech University, and various technical colleges—may have the option to purchase off the resulting contract either by signing a Participating Addendum or entering into separate direct agreements with the awarded offeror.