The Southland Development Authority (SDA) serves the south suburbs of Cook County. We are conducting a Request for Qualification for consultants to perform periodic, project-based, 1:1 technical assistance for small and medium-sized businesses.
Request for Qualification
Background
The SDA is a not-for-profit business started in November 2019. Its mission is to grow the economy of south suburban Cook County. It offers a wide range of development resources and services to drive catalytic growth. One of these resources is its Business Growth Services Program which provides technical assistance to small and medium-sized businesses.
Business Growth Services (BGS) works with a dynamic network of consultants to provide an ecosystem of services tailored to our business client’s needs. This network of deeply experienced industry experts periodically works with business owners, one-on-one, on a project-by-project basis, to help them grow.
The Opportunity
BGS would like to grow its network of consultants in the following areas:
– Consumer Marketing
– Finance (i.e., accounting, financial consulting, CPA, etc.)
– Operations
– Supply Chain
– Digital Marketing (e.g., SM, SEO, Website development)
– Business Certification Expert (WBE, MBE, etc.)
– Salesforce
– Trucking
– Restaurant Management
– Architecture
– Construction Estimating / Bidding
Qualifications
– Minimum of five years of experience in subject matter area
– Demonstrated progression in experiences and responsibilities
– Minimum five years of consulting experience
– Minimally, a Bachelor’s degree in an area of expertise, an advanced degree is a plus
– Experience providing technical assistance is a plus
– Experience working with small businesses is a plus
– Prior experience working with BGS is a plus
– Bilingual (Spanish/English) is a plus
Criteria For Review
– Consultant/Consultancy qualification and experience (50%)
– Depth and breadth of capabilities (i.e., number of subject matter areas covered) (10%)
– Workload capacity (10%)
– Bi-lingual (10%)
– Minority-owned enterprise (10%)
– Previous, successful experience working in SDA’s Business Growth Services Program as a consultant (5%)
– Local presence (5%)
Submittal Requirements
Please submit a digital copy of your qualifications and your team’s by 5 PM, Friday, May 13, 2022. In addition, you may submit questions related to this RFQ by email to Marcia Delaney, Vice President, Client Services (marcia.delaney@southlanddevelopment.org). We must receive your questions by 10 AM CST on Wednesday, May 11, 2022.
All Submittals Must Include
- Resume
- Bio or Company profile, including the name, address, email, and telephone number of your company’s primary contact for this RFQ. Also, please include a profile of each individual who will participate in consulting work
- Statement of capabilities
- Work samples for each area of competency with no fewer than a total of three examples of work)
Thank you for considering this opportunity.