RFP - Housing and Economic Development Strategic Plan

Background
The Town of Woodstock, Vermont, is a historic rural community in Windsor County known for its preserved village character and strong tourism economy. The town's economy has shifted from agriculture and light manufacturing to a service-based model focused on tourism and small businesses. Despite its affluent population, Woodstock faces challenges such as housing affordability, workforce shortages, and limited economic diversification.

The town seeks to develop a strategic housing and economic development plan to enhance year-round vitality and broaden its economic base.

Work Details
The selected consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

1. Project Management & Community Engagement: Develop a project schedule, coordinate with Town committees, design an inclusive community engagement strategy, and ensure participation from diverse populations.

2. Data Review & Market Analysis: Review local and regional reports on housing and economic trends, prepare a baseline assessment covering demographics, labor force characteristics, housing supply, industry clusters, infrastructure constraints, and quality of life assets; perform a SWOT analysis; evaluate tourism trends.

3. Competitive Positioning & Opportunity Identification: Identify strengths and barriers for attracting businesses and residents, define target markets for business attraction and housing development, recommend priority industry clusters for growth, identify opportunities for housing development including affordable options.

4. Strategic Framework: Develop a vision integrating housing and economic development with strategic goals for business attraction, housing production, placemaking enhancements, tourism development, and regional collaboration.

5. Strategic Implementation Plan: Create a detailed implementation plan with actions, timelines, responsible parties; identify high-impact projects; recommend policy changes; develop marketing strategies; identify funding sources; establish performance metrics.

Period of Performance
The project is expected to be completed within approximately six months from the notice to proceed through final presentation.

Place of Performance
The contract will be performed in Woodstock, Vermont.

Bidder Requirements
Consultants must demonstrate proven experience in housing and economic development strategic planning, expertise in market research and data analysis, ability to facilitate inclusive stakeholder engagement processes, understanding of sustainable practices in housing and economic development, excellent communication skills, and positive client references from prior projects.