Request For Proposals (RFP) No. NJHT 26-001 NEW JERSEY HISTORIC TRUST | Heritage Tourism Theme Development

Introduction: The New Jersey Historic Trust is an agency affiliated with the Department of Community Affairs whose primary mission is to advance historic preservation for the benefit of the state’s diverse population today and for its future generations. Through its education, tourism, stewardship, and financial investment programs, the Trust saves New Jersey’s heritage and strengthens its communities. In 2017, the Trust launched Journey Through Jersey, the first website dedicated solely to promoting heritage tourism in New Jersey, and to support and improve visitor experiences at the state’s many diverse historic sites. The website supports over 150 historic destinations organized by themes, and provides travel tools such as blog posts, travel itineraries, and annual events.

Summary: The New Jersey Historic Trust is seeking a proposal from a consultant team to develop two context studies for Journey Through Jersey. A context study for heritage tourism is a comprehensive analysis of the various factors influencing a heritage site's tourism experience and its surrounding environment. It examines the historical, cultural, economic, social, and environmental circumstances of a heritage destination, considering the perspectives of stakeholders, visitors, and the local community. The goal is to understand how these elements interact to create visitor experiences, ensure sustainable development, and inform effective management practices for heritage tourism programs. The consultant team should have expertise in historic site interpretation, educational programming, historical content development, and web design. Two previously completed context studies are available on the resources tab of the Journey Through Jersey website: NJ in Conflict and Lives of Purpose: New Jersey Women’s Heritage.

Tasks to be completed by the consultant team include:

• Develop a survey of theme-related sites that meet Journey Through Jersey’s Guidelines for Inclusion to determine what types of programming is currently being offered and identify opportunities for further development. The sites identified in the survey will be listed on the website.
• Develop context studies (2) of 9-10 pages in length and the to support two themes identified in the New Jersey Heritage Tourism Master Plan: NJ in Design and NJ at Play. The narratives should justify the remarkable assembly of great design and New Jersey’s history of hosting vacationers seeking relaxation and inspiration. The narrative shall also identify and define the likely sub-themes to be further developed on the tourism website. While the context narrative should be written in a more scholarly manner, complete with footnotes and references cited, the consultant shall synthesize this narrative into a shorter, engaging summation suitable for general audiences to be used as content for the website.
• Using the sites identified in the survey as they relate to each theme, the consultant shall develop four travel itineraries: Two for NJ by Design and two for NJ at Play. The itineraries should use the state’s three regions on the existing website as a guide and include one-day excursions and multi-day excursions. The proposal should include methodology for completion of this scope of work, a proposed schedule noting milestones, samples of completed heritage tourism products, examples of content material to illustrate writing style, a writing sample, and other promotional material relevant to this REQUEST.

In addition to a client list and references, the proposal should also include resumes for the individuals that would be principally involved in executing this project.

The project cost proposal should be itemized by the tasks outlined above. Any anticipated travel and/or reimbursable expenses should also be itemized. The New Jersey Historic Trust estimates the above services to cost $60,000, inclusive of expenses.

DEADLINE: Proposals with all supporting material is due by 4:00 pm on Thursday, November 13, 2025 to:
Glenn A. Ceponis, Executive Director glenn.ceponis@dca.nj.gov

USPS: Glenn A. Ceponis, Executive Director
New Jersey Historic Trust, PO Box 457, Trenton, NJ 08625

For hand-deliveries: Glenn A. Ceponis, Executive Director
New Jersey Historic Trust, 101 South Broad Street, 6th Floor, Trenton, NJ 08608

For questions or more information, please contact: Ashley Parker, ashley.parker@dca.nj.gov

New Jersey Treasury Required Bid Forms:

Click the links below to open pdf files of the New Jersey Treasury’s required bid forms:

Agency Request for Proposal

Waiver and DPA Contract Checklist

State of New Jersey Standard Terms and Conditions

Waiver Supplement to Standard Terms and Conditions