Trade and Investment Representative for Canada

The Oregon Business Development Department (OBDD) is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit a consultant to handle trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) recruitment as well as export assistance for Canada. The selected contractor will be required to develop a trade and investment strategy for Canada, refine target prospect parameters and value propositions, develop a social media strategy, generate and maintain a pipeline of prospective companies, and support up to three business recruitment/FDI missions to Canada during each 12-month contract cycle. The RFP focuses on target industries such as Advanced Manufacturing, Software and Information-Based Industries and Data Centers, and Bio Medical and Medical Device Manufacturers. Proposals are due by December 5, 2022 at 3:00 PM Pacific Time. The initial contract term is two years with the option to renew up to a maximum of eight years. OBDD has a budget of $150,000 per year, for a total of $300,000 over the two-year contract period. The RFP outlines expectations for the contractor to achieve 10-20 solid leads and 2-5 concrete project commitments within each 12-month contract period. The RFP also requires the contractor to provide market research, market entry strategies, and social media support to promote Oregon exports to Canada.

The RFP does not specify any set-aside designations or restrictions on the types of organizations that can respond. The RFP also does not mention any incumbent vendors or current contractors, nor does it indicate any existing infrastructure or technology that requires integration.