Resilient neighborhoods strategic advisor

The City of Detroit Office of Contracting and Procurement, on behalf of the Office of Sustainability, is requesting proposals for a Strategic Advisor to support development of the Resilient Neighborhoods: Extreme Weather Mitigation Strategy, with proposals due October 23, 2026, and a pre-proposal conference on October 2 at 9:30 AM EST via Microsoft Teams. This is a grant-funded professional services engagement.

The Strategic Advisor will translate land, environmental, and risk data into actionable mitigation strategies addressing neighborhood-level flooding, extreme heat, poor air quality, and other weather-related hazards. Core deliverables include advisory on data selection and mapping outputs; identification of priority neighborhoods and opportunity areas; development of a framework for land-based risk reduction; and creation of strategy summaries and presentation materials. Work is performed primarily remotely with participation in regular coordination meetings and potential in-person attendance at select meetings in Detroit.

Respondents must demonstrate a minimum of five years' experience providing similar services, including demonstrated capability translating data and analysis into actionable strategies, familiarity with land-based approaches to environmental challenges, and experience working with public sector clients in urban settings. The contract term is two years from Notice to Proceed, with potential renewal options anticipated. Proposals must include hourly rates for key personnel and allocation of costs across project phases; pricing shall be submitted as a not-to-exceed firm fixed price covering all labor, materials, travel, and expenses.

Evaluation criteria are relevant experience and past performance (40 points), project understanding and approach (20 points), team qualifications and capacity (20 points), and cost proposal (20 points). The City reserves the right to request oral presentations and may negotiate with multiple qualified respondents.

Questions are due October 7 at 4:00 PM EST, with answers distributed by October 12. Proposals must remain firm for 120 days from due date. Respondents must submit notarized affidavits covering disclosure of interests, non-collusion, hiring policy compliance, equal opportunity covenants, and political contributions; three years of audited financial statements; Certificate of Insurance with commercial general liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, workers' compensation at Michigan statutory minimums, and errors and omissions cyber liability of $1,000,000 per claim and $5,000,000 aggregate; SAM registration documentation; and City Treasury Clearance approval prior to City Council approval. All subcontractors must be disclosed to and approved by the City of Detroit Human Rights Department prior to commencement. The contractor must provide ISO 27001 certification or SOC 2 Type 2 Report annually regarding data security management.