Strategic Planning Services

Central Health (Travis County Healthcare District) issued Request for Proposals 2601-001 on January 9, 2026, seeking a qualified contractor to develop a comprehensive Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) to inform the organization's 2026-2030 Strategic Plan. The procurement requires both quantitative and qualitative research analyzing health needs, social determinants, and upstream factors affecting the safety-net population across Travis County and an 11-county Central Texas trauma catchment area. Key deliverables include secondary data analysis, 4-6 focus groups (with at least one conducted in Spanish), 20-25 key informant interviews, community conversations, and surveys targeting community members and providers with oversampling for vulnerable populations, with draft components due October 31, 2026, and final deliverables addressing health status, social determinants of health, implementation strategies, and evaluation frameworks. The RFP mandates evaluation across six criteria: demonstrated relevant work experience (25% weight), methodology and implementation models (25%), experience advising government and safety-net organizations (25%), relevant work experience and capabilities of proposed personnel (15%), pricing strategy (10%), and interview/demonstration performance (20%). Proposers must submit detailed narratives, staff resumes, client portfolios, case studies, professional references, and pricing methodology. The pre-proposal conference was held January 20, 2026, at 1:30 PM via Microsoft Teams; the deadline for written questions was January 27, 2026, with responses provided by February 3, 2026; and proposals were due February 9, 2026, at 2:00 PM Central Time via BidNet or mail submission. The initial contract term is one year with optional renewal periods of up to four additional one-year terms, with a single award contemplated.

Proposers must comply with Central Health's Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) program good-faith efforts requirements and Austin's living wage requirements, though no specific minimum HUB participation targets or set-asides are mandated, and non-HUB vendors may participate. Proposers must also provide suspension and debarment certifications, conflict-of-interest questionnaires, and certificate of interested parties filings. The incumbent vendor is Guidehouse. Central Health will provide the 2024 Demographics Report, FY25 Annual Report, prior CHNA documents, and HIPAA-compliant aggregated data upon request, and vendors are responsible for survey tool development, recruitment oversight, and providing Central Health analysts access to collected data for validation. Vendors must budget for their own software licenses such as ArcGIS and NVivo, and may not offer participant incentives such as gift cards due to federal and state fraud and abuse law compliance concerns. No specific budget cap or award value is disclosed in the solicitation; Central Health requests vendors provide their own proposed budgets with pricing structured as fixed-price, fee-for-service with components broken out across the four main CHNA elements, including translation and interpretation costs for in-person qualitative events and the initial survey.