Consultant RFPs Under Review

January, the Governing Body unanimously approved a Resolution for hosting community conversations on Culture, History, Art, Reconciliation, and Truth (CHART). The process, which is projected to last a year, focuses on fostering as much participation from the community as possible. The approach aims to increase inclusivity, transparency, and community participation.

Under the resolution, the City will contract with a consultant experienced in cultural competency and community-centered processes.

The Consultant will have experience in cultural competency, particularly with the communities of Northern New Mexico. The Consultant will work closely with the City Project Team to implement a robust engagement process and will provide a final report with recommendations gained from community input. The Consultant will be selected through the City’s Procurement Process, which is underway.

The deadline for Requests for Proposal was April 6. The City Purchasing Office is reviewing all of the submissions to ensure that they are fully compliant with the terms of the RFP.

Next, the Evaluation Committee will meet to review and score the proposals. Following this review, the Purchasing Office will review the scoring completed by the evaluation team along with the justifications for submitting those scores, to ensure that everything submitted is compliant with purchasing codes. This is tentatively scheduled for April 19 (dates are subject to change). If necessary, oral presentations will be scheduled for April 21, and the final selection would then take place on Thursday, April 22.

After the Consultant is hired, there will be clear descriptions offering members of the public different ways to participate including: a survey; an interview; or sign up to attend a series of community dialogue meetings where residents will be able to interact with others from across all parts of the community.

These sessions will be designed to promote broad cross-cultural understanding and racial equity, and to inform decisions for statues and monuments as well as short-, medium-, and long-term responses to ensure community healing and reconciliation. The goal is healing based on mutual respect.

The City has created a webpage, www.santafenm.gov/chart, that will serve as the hub for CHART information moving forward. The page includes a copy of the adopted resolution, a video of the Governing Body meeting where CHART was approved, and sign-up to receive CHART communications by email.