Ideas for Impact RFEI

Since its inception, New York City Economic Development Corporation (“NYCEDC”) has leveraged a wide range of public-private partnerships to help make New York City a better place to live and work. Some of these partnerships were driven by economic trends and rapid technological advancement, while others were developed in response to natural disasters and public health crises. Regardless of the impetus, NYCEDC has always relied on its deep ties to private and non-profit partners to craft thoughtful solutions to pressing problems. As new challenges arise and the City of New York’s (the “City”) priorities evolve, NYCEDC remains open to innovative and impactful project ideas and ways of working with outside partners to seize future opportunities.

In an effort to catalyze the development of projects that advance NYCEDC’s strategic priorities, NYCEDC is issuing this unique Request For Expressions of Interest (“RFEI”) to facilitate submission and review of partnership ideas that fall outside the scope of NYCEDC’s other active solicitations (i.e., traditional Request for Proposals or “RFPs”, RFEIs, leasing opportunities, etc.). Through this RFEI, private sector and non-profit organizations can propose NYCEDC partnerships for a wide variety of projects, which may include but are not limited to:

• Programmatic initiatives
• Technology pilots
• Capital projects
• Impact investment opportunities
• Improvements to NYCEDC operations

NYCEDC encourages respondents (“Respondents”, each a “Respondent”) to propose creative, economically viable and financially sustainable projects that directly benefit the people and businesses of New York City. Although NYCEDC may be able to provide limited amounts of targeted seed capital to initiate a project with a demonstrated need, this RFEI is primarily focused on sourcing proposals that thoughtfully leverage NYCEDC’s in-kind, non-financial resources to drive impact. Examples of resources that Respondents could benefit from include but are not limited to:

• Access to NYCEDC asset(s)
• Marketing and publicity support
• Technical assistance and project management support
• Community and network building assistance
• Other types of strategic partnership support

Proposals submitted through this RFEI will undergo a tiered evaluation process, allowing NYCEDC to provide feedback on the project concept before either party has committed to an in-depth due diligence process. Strong proposals may then be implemented in a variety of ways depending on the nature of the idea, availability of resources, and NYCEDC procurement policies. Respondents may be awarded a contract directly through this RFEI, a subsequent competitive procurement or an alternative partnership structure.

NYCEDC plans to evaluate the proposals on the basis of factors stated in the RFEI which include, but are not limited to: the proposal profile, the financial profile, and the impact profile.

Optional Information Session

An optional informational session will be held virtually (with telephonic access) on Wednesday, August 2, 2023 at 2:00 P.M. E.S.T. Those who wish to attend should RSVP by email to [email protected] by 4:00 P.M. E.S.T. on Tuesday, August 1, 2023. Instructions for accessing the optional informational session will be emailed to those who RSVP before the event.

Inquiries

This RFEI has multiple deadlines to submit questions and/or clarification requests. Respondents may submit questions and/or request clarifications from NYCEDC on or before Friday, August 4, 2023 at 5:00 P.M. E.S.T. Questions regarding the subject matter of this RFEI should be directed to [email protected]. For all questions that do not pertain to the subject matter of this RFEI please email [email protected]. Answers to all questions will be posted in this web page by Friday, August 11, 2023.

After the initial Friday, August 11, 2023, posting, questions and clarification requests may then be submitted by Monday, January 15, 2024, and will be answered in a Q&A document posted by Wednesday, January 31, 2024.

After the first two Q&A deadline sets above, NYCEDC will post answers to questions every six months (the “Rolling Six-Month Q&A period”) by the final business day of every sixth month (i.e., the first such instance would be Wednesday, July 31, 2024). To have questions answered in that and all subsequent website postings, potential Respondents must submit their questions by the 15th of the sixth month of the Rolling Six-Month Q&A Period (i.e., Monday, July 15, 2024, for the Wednesday, July 31, 2024, posting).

Submission Requirements

Detailed submission guidelines and requirements are outlined in the RFP, available as of Friday, July 21, 2023.

This RFEI allows Respondents to submit proposals prior to one of twelve (12) monthly submission deadlines (each, a “Submission Deadline”) each year until the final submission deadline of Wednesday, December 31, 2025. The monthly Submission Deadlines will be on the last business day of each month at 11:59 P.M. E.S.T.

Please submit your response via electronic upload by clicking here.

M/WBE

It is the policy of NYCEDC to comply with all federal, state and City laws and regulations which prohibit unlawful discrimination because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status and other protectedcategory and to take affirmative action in working with contracting parties to ensure certified Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (“M/WBE”) share in the economic opportunities generated by NYCEDC’s projects and initiatives.

Companies who have been certified with the New York City Department of Small Business Services as M/WBEs are strongly encouraged to apply. To learn more about M/WBE certification and NYCEDC’s M/WBE program, please visit sbsconnect.nyc.gov/certification-directory-search.