Local Supplier Readiness and Technical Assistance Consultant

Louisville Jefferson County Metro Government's Office of Equity is seeking a Local Supplier Readiness and Technical Assistance Consultant through RFP260072 to expand local vendor participation in construction and related sectors. The project will run from October 2025 to July 2026, with a Subject Matter Expert (SME2) responsible for providing high-impact technical assistance to small, minority-, women-, and disadvantaged businesses. Key deliverables include developing a Technical Assistance and Capital Access Plan, conducting at least 4 pre-bid briefings, hosting 2 capital/bonding clinics, producing quarterly dashboards, and generating an annual close-out report. Proposals are due by September 23, 2025, at 3:00 pm EST, with potential vendor interviews scheduled for the week of September 29, 2025. The evaluation will be conducted by representatives from the Office of Management and Budget's Procurement Division, the Office of Equity, and a subcommittee of the Louisville Metro Equity in Procurement Task Force, with proposals scored across technical approach, relevant experience, project management, key personnel, and pricing, totaling 100 possible points.

The procurement opportunity includes specific set-aside designations and enterprise restrictions, with minimum utilization targets of 15% for certified minority-owned businesses, 5% for certified female-owned businesses, and 0.5% for certified handicapped-owned businesses. Vendors must comply with local ordinances including Ban the Box policies, local vendor preferences, and minimum wage requirements. The total allocated budget for this contract is $100,000, and proposers will need to complete various compliance documents including Good Faith Effort forms, supplier creation forms, and W-9 documentation. Businesses must be prepared to demonstrate their ability to connect small businesses to capital and bonding opportunities, with additional evaluation consideration given to local vendor status and compliance with ethical standards. The procurement is specifically designed to broaden the pool of qualified local vendors in construction through targeted technical assistance and strategic engagement with General Contractors and Construction Managers.