Partnership for Regional Alignment

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REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
FOR A CONSULTANT TO FACILITATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A
PARTNERSHIP FOR REGIONAL ALIGNMENT
Solicitation # 2026RFP1-PRA
1 S. Memorial Drive, Suite 1600
St. Louis, MO 63102
March 11, 2026

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Request for Proposals
for
A Consultant to Facilitate the Development of a Partnership for Regional
Alignment
East-West Gateway Council of Governments is seeking proposals from a consultant or a team of
consultants to facilitate the development of a Partnership for Regional Alignment.
Submittals are due no later than 1:00 p.m. local time on April 14, 2026 to the following address:
"Solicitation # 2026RFP1-PRA"
c/o Ms. Leah Watkins
Senior Manager of Contracts & Grants
East-West Gateway Council of Governments
1 S. Memorial Drive, Suite 1600
St. Louis, MO 63102-2451
Section III contains the formatting, content, and other requirements for a submittal. Unless otherwise
due to extenuating circumstances and approved by the Council in advance, any submittals received
after the date and time listed above will be rejected and returned unopened.
Pre-Submittal Meeting - A mandatory pre-submittal meeting is scheduled at the Council's offices on
April 6, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. CST. This meeting must be attended by at least 1 key staff member (Project
Manager preferred) of the proposed project team either in person or virtually. Please refer to Section IX
of this RFP for more information regarding this meeting.
FY 2026 Partnership for Regional Alignment RFP
Solicitation # 2026RFP1-PRA
Page 3 of 42

Table of Contents Page 4 of 42
Section Page
I. Introduction & Background 5
II. Scope of Work 7
III. Submittal Requirements 13
IV. Evaluation & Selection Procedures 22
V. General Items 31
VI. Nondiscrimination Requirements 34
VII. D/S/W/MBE Participation & Equal Opportunity 35
VIII. Protest Procedures 39
IX. Inquiries & Submission Information 40
Appendix A
Appendix B
IIB - Appendix B
Attachments*
Time Availability for Key Personnel Form
Prior Work Experience / Past Performance Form
A Price Proposal
B Firm Information
C Affirmative Action Checklist
D Contract Terms & Conditions Comments
E RFP Minimum Requirements Checklist
F D/S/W/MBE Participation Form
G Letter of Intent to Perform as a D/S/W/MBE
*Fillable / savable version of the attachments can be found on the Council's website at www.ewgateway.org/about-us/what-we-do/doing-
business-with-ewg/contracting-opportunities/
Appendices**
1 Evaluation Criteria & Factors
2 Draft Contract Terms & Conditions
3 Conflicts of Interest Policy
4 Firm Responsibility Questionnaire
5 FAQs - Submittal Requirements
**Appendices are available on the Council's website at www.ewgateway.org/about-us/what-we-do/doing-business-with-ewg/contracting-
opportunities/
FY 2026 Partnership for Regional Alignment RFP
Solicitation # 2026RFP1-PRA
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I. Introduction & Background Page 5 of 42
East-West Gateway Council of Governments (the Council) is the Metropolitan Planning Organization
and the Council of Governments for the St. Louis bi-state region. The Council is seeking submittals from
a consultant or team of consultants (the Consultant) to unite civic leaders across sectors around a
shared vision and collective action plan for a growing and thriving St. Louis region. The working title for
this effort is the Partnership for Regional Alignment (PRA).
In June 2025, the Council's Board of Directors called for staff to develop a strategy to effectively
identify and address issues of regional significance for the greater St. Louis area. This came from a
discussion benchmarking St. Louis' performance against several peer regions. One specific concern is
the region's current population trends, leading to an emphasis on addressing the root causes of our
slow growth and potential decline.
In recognition of the myriad issue-specific plans and initiatives already underway in the St. Louis
region, the PRA will focus on connecting the numerous existing agencies, organizations, and efforts to
deliberate and act together. The selected Consultant shall:
1. Manage/administer the project
2. Conduct a limited exercise to develop a brand for the project
3. Understand the civic context of the St. Louis region (context materials provided as exhibits)
4. Convene the region's civic organizations and leaders
5. Facilitate the development of a defined common regional vision
6. Identify clearly stated priority issues and specific goals and strategies
7. Facilitate initiation of action on priority issues
8. Outline a lasting framework to institutionalize the PRA and its ongoing work
9. Develop a final report that documents the above steps and decisions and outlines the
enduring structure / institutionalization of the PRA and ongoing activities
More information regarding the project can be found in Part (b) below.
Greater St. Louis, Inc. (GSL)-the St. Louis region's business-led economic development organization-is
partnering with the Council on this project. The Council and GSL will collaboratively manage the
Consultant, work, and work outcomes throughout the process. Additional information about the project
will be presented at a mandatory pre-submittal meeting and will be placed on the Council's website as it
becomes available.
FY 2026 Partnership for Regional Alignment RFP
Solicitation # 2026RFP1-PRA
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I. Introduction & Background Page 6 of 42
(a) The project area is the St. Louis region.
East-West Gateway's footprint includes four counties (Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles, and St. Louis)
and the City of St. Louis in Missouri and three counties (Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair) in Illinois. The
PRA will focus on this area, though some data sets, issues, and stakeholders may extend into the
greater metropolitan statistical area. The region includes two states with distinct character,
encompassing urban, suburban, and rural areas. The context is broad with marked diversity of
geography, culture, demographics, economy, history, and aspirations that should be represented in
the project.
There are numerous organizations and efforts already working to improve the St. Louis region. They
are as diverse as the region they serve. To prepare for this effort, the Council has catalogued various
organizations and entities that are either regional by nature or are focused on issues that are
regionally significant. We have also identified regionally significant outreach and planning activities.
While these lists are broadly representative, we expect that there may be additional entities, plans,
and outreach efforts that are relevant to the PRA's work. This is intended as a resource for prospective
Consultants to begin to investigate the civic context of the region and prepare to convene and engage
our civic community.
Appendix A - Summary Analysis and Appendix B - Catalog of Organizations can be found in the
Supporting Documents folder with the RFP.
The Council's "Where We Stand" documents and Case Studies of Peer Regions can be found at
https://www.ewgateway.org/research-center/wws-2024/.
Rather than tightly defining a specific process for project delivery, this RFP defines the required
outcomes and expects each submitting consultant to propose a clear and effective approach.
Engagement and facilitation will make up a significant portion of this work. The approach needs to be
broadly inclusive across the public and private sectors as well as the economic development, not-for-
profit, philanthropic, higher education, innovation, and arts communities. Convening and facilitating
collaboration among these leaders is expected to be the most challenging aspect of the project and
will require establishing a culture of mutual respect, knowledge and data sharing, cross-pollination,
and conflict resolution (as competing interests inevitably rise to the surface).
Note that this proposal process is divided into two separate submittal phases.
* Consultant firms will first submit a relatively short proposal that outlines the proposed
process, key staff, and general budget and schedule. This phase will also include relevant work
samples and references.
* The selection committee will review these and invite a short list of firms to develop detailed
scope, schedule, and fee proposals. This second, more detailed submittal will also include all
of the Council's required administrative review forms in order to complete the
"Responsiveness / Firm Responsibility" review.
Upon review of these detailed proposals, the selection committee will, at their option, select short
listed firms for interviews, then select a Consultant firm to negotiate a contract for the proposed
work.
FY 2026 Partnership for Regional Alignment RFP
Solicitation # 2026RFP1-PRA
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II. Scope of Work Page 7 of 42
A. General Scope of Work
The tasks described below provide a generalized scope of work for the project. A responding firm's
submittal must, at a minimum, address the tasks described below. Please note that the tasks
described below reflect the broad required elements that will define the work. It is possible that the
plan developed for the project will include more detail or other more specific sub-elements. Each
responding firm is encouraged to identify other key elements that it expects may be an important part
of the project, and describe its approach to addressing those elements.
Task 1 - Project Management / Administration
The Consultant must oversee all aspects of the project. The Consultant must meet regularly with the
Council and GSL throughout the project period. At the beginning of the project, the Consultant and
the Council/GSL will hold an in-person kick-off meeting to discuss the Consultant's approach to the
project, recommendations for the project, and to finalize the project schedule. The Consultant must
hold regular conference calls with the Council/GSL staff and must conduct periodic in-person meetings
with the Council/GSL staff at key points throughout the project period.
Each submittal must include a proposed project schedule. The final project schedule will be approved
by the Council/GSL, and the Consultant must adhere to the approved schedule. Please refer to Part C
of this Section II for more information regarding the project timeline and the requirements for the
project schedule that must be submitted.
The Consultant must also submit regular invoices and progress reports to the Council and provide
the Council with the information that it needs to complete its reports to its funding agencies. The
Consultant will need to be available to answer any follow-up questions regarding its work or the
information provided in its reports.
Task 1 Deliverables:
* Project schedule, in approved format
* Invoices, in approved format
* Progress reports, in approved format
* Community engagement plan, including a brand for the project
* Meetings and related minutes/records
* Community outreach activities and related public feedback
* Presentation materials
* Public meeting reports
FY 2026 Partnership for Regional Alignment RFP
Solicitation # 2026RFP1-PRA
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II. Scope of Work Page 8 of 42
Task 2 - Understand the Civic Context of the Region
The Consultant will investigate and understand the context and culture of the various organizations and
entities involved in work of regional significance in the St. Louis area. Some entities have a regional
mission and footprint. The work of others may be more narrowly defined, yet still hold regional
significance. The Consultant will become familiar with these organizations, their regionally significant
outreach, regionally significant work, and collaborative working habits. The Consultant will also monitor
record and understand upcoming regional efforts that may overlap or relate to the PRA.
The Consultant will also analyze and refer to case studies of regional efforts from areas that share
relevant context or approaches.
Task 2 Deliverables:
* Record of investigation, including documents reviewed, interviews held, etc.
* Summary of Civic Context of the Region
* Presentation of findings
Task 3 - Convene the Community
The Consultant will develop and execute a clear plan for convening the civic community of civic
organizations, entities, and individuals in the St. Louis region. It is expected that this community be
broadly inclusive of our region's leadership, business, economic development, not-for-profit,
philanthropic, infrastructure, higher education, innovation, arts, and other relevant institutions.
While convening this group is its own outcome, its purpose is to establish stronger awareness of each
other's missions and work while raising a collective focus on regionalism and agency to collaborate for
regional impact.
Consultants shall clearly propose how to best engage this community of leaders in development of a
clear vision, priority issues, actionable strategies, and an effective implementation framework. The
agenda needs to be clear and efficient in order to draw the community together and maintain
participation throughout the PRA process. It is expected that the Consultant will draw from Task 2 to
not only draw this group together, but also to inform the group's conversation and work throughout
the PRA process.
Task 3 Deliverable:
* Clearly articulated outreach and communication strategy
* Convening of the region's Civic Community
1 The Council's Title VI Program and Public Involvement Plan are available at:
www.ewgateway.org/titlevi. The Title VI requirements for public meetings / events is provided in Exhibit 2 -
Title VI Requirements for Public Meetings.
FY 2026 Partnership for Regional Alignment RFP
Solicitation # 2026RFP1-PRA
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II. Scope of Work Page 9 of 42
Task 4 - Regional Vision
The Consultant will facilitate a process whereby the region's civic community defines a clear vision for
the greater St. Louis area. The Vision should be concise, inclusive, and allow the various civic entities to
identify their role in advancing its intent.
Task 4 Deliverable:
* Collectively defined regional vision
Task 5 - Priority Regional Issues, Goals, and Strategies
The Consultant will facilitate a process whereby the civic community defines issues of regional
significance and a short list of priority issues to collectively address. Priority issues must help to achieve
the defined regional vision (Task 4). It is expected that the Consultant will work with stakeholders to
establish a process that relies on data, knowledge sharing, mutual respect, collaboration, and direct
experience to determine the weight and proportion of regional issues, assets, and challenges as it
identifies and prioritizes issues of regional significance. Additionally, the Consultant will work with the
civic community to define a clear conflict resolution process to work through competing interests as
they may arise.
The Consultant will work with the civic community to develop clear goals and defined, effective
strategies to address each of the priority regional issues. The goals and strategies should be framed
around the civic community's collective capacity to define and achieve successful outcomes.
Task 5 Deliverables:
* List of priority regional issues
* Clearly defined goals and strategies for each priority issue
Task 6 - Priority Issue Actions
The Consultant will facilitate a process by which the civic community defines strategies and acts to
implement them to achieve the goals identified in Task 5. The civic community will tailor collaboration
and processes to individual regional priority issues. The teams, task groups, or similar structures will
align information, talent, and other resources as appropriate to inclusively achieve the defined goals
within a defined period of time. The process must be rigorous, defensible, and accountable.
Task 6 Deliverables:
* Defined Priority Issue Actions
FY 2026 Partnership for Regional Alignment RFP
Solicitation # 2026RFP1-PRA
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II. Scope of Work Page 10 of 42
Task 7 - An Enduring Framework
The Consultant will work with the civic community to develop and document a framework to
institutionalize the civic community and its work moving forward. This will draw upon the PRA
process to continue the existence and work of the civic community in our region beyond this effort
and initial definition and action on regional priority issues. The intent is to establish an enduring
alignment of regional civic organizations that reassesses our regional priorities as needed and
facilitates recurring, effective, collective action.
The framework will define the following:
1. Mission statement for the collaborative
2. Guiding principles for collaboration
3. Governance and operating model (including decision-making processes and
accountability mechanisms)
4. Norms, processes, procedures, and culture
5. Approach for identifying/revising and acting upon regional priority issues
Task 7 Deliverables:
* Enduring Framework for the Partnership for Regional Alignment structure, mission, and
activities
Task 8 - The Final Report
The Consultant will document the PRA process and outcomes from Tasks 2 through 7.
Task 8 Deliverables:
* Draft final report document
* Executive Summary (50 bound print copies and web page formatted pdf)
* Public-facing, easily readable final report document (20 bound print copies and web page
formatted pdf)
* Appendices including all internal progress documents and outreach/engagement materials (pdf)
FY 2026 Partnership for Regional Alignment RFP
Solicitation # 2026RFP1-PRA
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