Dear POLMETH Colleagues,

Please see the RFP for a funded evaluation opportunity with the City of
Philadelphia below.

Best,
Dan

###############

URL:
https://bigideasphl.com/2020/03/06/request-for-proposals-services-delivered-to-the-city-of-philadelphia-office-of-transportation-infrastructure-and-sustainability/

*Issued by:*

The City of Philadelphia, Managing Director’s Office, Office of
Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability

*Statement of Purpose:*

The City of Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and
Sustainability (OTIS) seeks a qualified consultant to support an evaluation
of the impact of the City’s plastic bag ban on shoppers’ bag use behavior
before and after the ban goes into effect on July 2, 2020.

The primary goal of this study is to measure and understand the effect of
the ban on the choices shoppers make about what bag to use, if any, at
checkout. This will inform
future policy development related to regulation of the provision of
shopping bags provided to customers by businesses.

*Department Overview:*

The Managing Director’s Office (MDO) works in coordination with individual
operating departments to implement the Mayor’s vision and deliver
efficient, effective, and
responsive public services to every neighborhood in Philadelphia. OTIS
oversees the Streets Department, Water Department, Zero Waste and Litter
Cabinet, and the Office of
Sustainability and coordinates policy, planning, and decision-making among
the entities that manage local transportation and utilities infrastructure.

*Project Background:*

In December 2019, Philadelphia passed a law that bans businesses from
providing single use plastic shopping bags and non-recycled paper shopping
bags to customers. The law aims to encourage shoppers to bring their own
reusable bags and to cut down the use of single-use plastic bags, which
account for significant proportions of the litter in our streets and
waterways as well as contaminant in the City’s recycling system.

The bill also calls for a study of the impact of the ban in order to assess
whether the policy is working as intended and if changes are required in
order to achieve its goals.
GovLabPHL, under the Mayor’s Office of Policy, Legislation, and
Intergovernmental Affairs, is collaborating with OTIS, the Zero Waste and
Litter Cabinet, the Department of Licenses and Inspection, the Department
of Public Health, and the Department of Commerce to design this evaluation.
GovLabPHL is an initiative focused on elevating the practical use of data
and evidence in city government. The full evaluation will assess three
components of impact: 1) compliance with the law, 2) environmental impact,
and 3) change in individuals’ bag use behavior. The evaluation of
compliance and environmental impact will be done internally, using data
that is already being collected or can feasibly be collected through
existing processes. Because evaluating individual bag usage cannot be done
with existing data or processes and therefore requires a new and likely
time-intensive data collection effort, this component of the evaluation
requires the services of a consultant.

To evaluate the impact of plastic bag bans or fees on bag usage, other
cities have collected data through observations at stores. Research
assistants stationed at store checkout record the number and types of bags
shoppers use. To ensure enough data is collected for meaningful analysis,
the total number of observations would likely need to number in the tens of
thousands. Evaluators then compare changes over time, in some cases between
stores both inside and outside the jurisdiction where the bag policy is in
effect.

*General Disclaimer of the City:*

This RFP does not commit the City of Philadelphia to award a contract. This
RFP and the process it describes are proprietary to the City and are for
the sole and exclusive benefit of the City. No other party, including any
Applicant, is intended to be granted any rights hereunder. Any response,
including written documents and verbal communication, by any Applicant to
this RFP, shall become the property of the City and may be subject to
public disclosure by the City, or any authorized agent of the City.

*Scope of Work:*

OTIS and GovLabPHL are seeking a consultant to support the evaluation of
the impact of banning certain kinds of shopping bags on individuals’ bag
use behavior. The consultant will collaborate with GovLabPHL to design and
plan the evaluation, and will be responsible for: hiring and training
research assistants to collect data, managing observational data collection
across three time periods, and conducting data entry and cleaning.
Depending upon the applicant’s proposal, the scope of work may also include
data analysis and collaboration with GovLabPHL to write a final evaluation
report. Primary outcomes of interest and data collection sources are
outlined below (to be finalized in collaboration with selected consultant
during the planning phase and prior to any data collection):

OUTCOMES:

Change in individuals’ bag usage behavior:

   - Change in usage of reusable bags
   - Change in usage of paper bags
   - Change in usage of disposable plastic bags

DATA SOURCES:

   - Observations of shoppers’ bag usage at a sampling of stores in and
   outside of Philadelphia at 3 points in time (pre-ban, shortly after
   implementation, 12 months after implementation)
   - *Possible additional data sources*: retail scanner data analysis of
   sales of substitute plastic products (e.g. trash bags); shopper survey

*Note: there may be additional outcomes of interest (e.g. impact on shopper
spending, perceptions of businesses or shoppers) to be discussed with
consultants and incorporated into evaluation if feasible.*

Because baseline data collection must be completed before the law goes into
effect on July 2, 2020, we are seeking applicants who can begin work on
this project as soon as possible.

RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

   - Work with GovLabPHL and other partner departments to design the
   evaluation, including sampling method, hypotheses, and data analysis plan
   - Work with GovLabPHL to finalize data collection plan, including
   selecting stores and locations, identifying timeline and method for
   scheduling observations, and developing data collection instrument(s)
   - Hire, train, and manage team of paid research assistants to conduct
   observations at selected stores
   - Implement and manage data collection process at baseline, 3 months
   after effective date, and for a period ranging between 6 and 18 months
   after the effective date
   - Oversee data entry and cleaning for all three data collection periods

The scope of work may also include conducting data analysis and a report of
results. Please indicate your availability and cost estimates to conduct
these activities in your proposal.

DELIVERABLES:

   - Methodology and analysis plan, written in collaboration with GovLabPHL
   - Cleaned dataset for all observational data
   - Finalized protocol with findings (if applicable, report template
   provided by GovLabPHL)
   - Actionable recommendations for city policymakers (if applicable)

*Monitoring/Security:*

By submission of a proposal in response to this RFP, the Applicant agrees
that it will comply with all contract monitoring and evaluation activities
undertaken by the City of Philadelphia and with all security policies and
requirements of the City.

*Insurance Requirements:*

As a contractor of the City of Philadelphia, the selected applicant may be
required to maintain insurance. Specific policies and minimum limit(s) will
be commensurate with the
scope of work to be performed, and will be determined with the consultant
once selected. The consultant may be required to provide proof of insurance
at the City’s discretion.

*Submission Requirements:*

To apply for this contract opportunity, applicants must submit a response
to *[log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>* that includes the following:

   - Statement of qualifications: describe your experience and capability
   in providing services similar to the responsibilities required for this
   project
   - Brief proposal that includes 1) estimated project cost (Please note:
   The proposed budget should not exceed the small contract amount of
   $34,000); 2) your availability to start work on this project; and 3) a
   high-level project plan with approach, staffing, timing, milestones, and
   deliverable review processes.

REQUIREMENTS:

   - Experience designing applied research and/or policy evaluations
   - Experience managing large-scale data collection efforts for research
   projects
   - Effective methods for managing and delivering on time

*Deadline for Submission:*

This opportunity will remain open for up to two weeks from the date posted,
or until the City receives a minimum of three proposals.
URL:
https://bigideasphl.com/2020/03/06/request-for-proposals-services-delivered-to-the-city-of-philadelphia-office-of-transportation-infrastructure-and-sustainability/


-- 
www.danhopkins.org
Professor and Undergraduate Chair
Department of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania
President, Political Psychology Section, American Political Science
Association
Associate Editor, Political Analysis and Political Behavior
Author, The Increasingly United States
<https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/I/bo27596045.html>

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