RFR Cumulative Impact Analysis Guidance and Community Benefits Plans

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Office of Environment Justice and Equity (OEJE) is soliciting a consultant agency to develop Cumulative Impact Analysis (CIA) and Community Benefits Plan guidance focused on clean energy infrastructure siting. The procurement involves three primary tasks: comprehensive stakeholder engagement, asset mapping, and guidance document development. Stakeholder engagement will include multilingual interviews, focus groups, and hybrid meetings across Massachusetts, targeting engagement in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and Haitian Creole. The consultant will be responsible for identifying methodologies and best practices for cumulative impact analysis, with a specific focus on examining air pollution impacts, construction emissions, health impacts, and broader community considerations for new wind, solar, storage, transmission, and distribution infrastructure projects. The contract has an initial 2.5-month period with a potential total duration of 14.5 months, with all work to be completed by June 30, 2025. The proposal due date is April 24, 2025, and bidders must propose a team that can include subcontractors, with translation and interpretation services to be procured and budgeted as part of the overall proposal. Stakeholder engagement will include provisions for compensating participants through stipends or incentives.

The procurement includes a Small Business Purchasing Program (SBPP) goal of awarding at least 50% of the contract to Massachusetts-based small businesses, with bidders required to propose a Supplier Diversity Program (SDP) commitment of at least 1% of contract sales to be spent with diverse or minority-owned businesses. The contract is designed to support Governor Healey's Commission on Energy Infrastructure Siting and Permitting, with objectives of reducing permitting timelines, ensuring meaningful community engagement, and promoting equitable clean energy infrastructure development. The maximum contract budget is $250,000, with an estimated annual contract value of approximately $150,000. Successful bidders are prohibited from preparing additional Cumulative Impact Analyses or Community Benefits Plans for energy infrastructure project applicants while under contract. The procurement will use monthly time and materials invoicing, and the selected consultant will be expected to integrate their work with existing Massachusetts clean energy and climate planning infrastructure. Proposals will likely be evaluated on the team's expertise, proposed methodology, stakeholder engagement approach, and ability to meet the multilingual and community-focused requirements of the project.