RFP# 202615 STEM Education Program Funded by CDBG for FY2024-2025 & FY2025-2026

The City of Homestead is issuing this Request for Proposal (RFP) to obtain qualified partners to implement a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Education Program to K-8 students low-income residents of the City of Homestead (within City limits). Funding is provided through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and subject to all applicable federal rules and regulations. The successful vendor will enter into a sub-recipient agreement with the City of Homestead that outlines the scope of services, performance measures, and payment. The vendor will be responsible for ensuring the participants are City of Homestead residents and are low-income per HUD guidelines. The vendor will provide a STEM education program; provide proof each participant is a City of Homestead resident and low-income in order to be reimbursed by the City for expenses according to an approved budget and schedule. The funds will be awarded to the most responsive respondent or respondents in the best interest of the City of Homestead.

This project will be funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Funding is allocated to support the development and implementation of impactful public service programs, with a focus on enhancing educational opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) for K-8 students within the City of Homestead.

Applicants must comply with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations, including the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR Part 200), as well as CDBG program regulations under 24 CFR Part 570.

Eligible applicants must qualify as a CDBG Sub-recipient. Applicants for Public Service Projects must meet CDBG Sub-recipient criteria as follows: (1) a private non-profit organization with verified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status or (2) a public agency. Non-profit applicants are required to provide proof of their tax-exempt status per Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code to confirm eligibility.

The City of Homestead is an Equal Opportunity Employer and strongly encourages the participation of Minority, Women-Owned, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (MBE/WBE/DBE) in this RFP process.

Prior experience with the City of Homestead is not a prerequisite for applicants, ensuring a broad and inclusive range of qualified partners may contribute to this initiative.

Background

In an ever-changing, increasingly complex world, it's more important our children and youth are prepared to bring knowledge and skills to solve problems, make sense of information, and know how to gather and evaluate evidence to make decisions. The skills that students develop in science, technology, engineering, and math, including computer science disciplines collectively known as STEM. We want our youth to be able to understand and solve some of the complex challenges of today and tomorrow, and to meet the demands of the dynamic and evolving workforce, building students' skills, content knowledge, and literacy in STEM fields is essential. 

Project Details

• Reference ID: 202615
• Department: City Manager | Community Development Division
• Department Head: Nzeribe (Zerry) Ihekwaba, PhD, PE (City Manager)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-05-12T21:00:00.000Z
• Pre-Proposal Meeting: 2026-04-29T14:00:00.000Z — A NON-MANDATORY pre-proposal meeting will be held on the date and time listed above in the Procurement & Contract Services Department conference room located at 450 SE 6th Avenue, Homestead, Florida 33030. At that conference all work will be discussed and all questions answered. No questions will be answered verbally except at the pre-proposal conference. You may submit questions via the Questions & Answer tab. Virtual Option: Microsoft Teams meeting Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/210652385690?p=MtGDD9vE0MYrviX9oS Meeting ID: 210 652 385 690 Passcode: XN6hJ7LQ ________________________________________ Dial in by phone +1 929-346-7292 Phone conference ID: 926 281 750#

Evaluation Criteria

• Firm Qualifications and Experience (20 pts) —
  1. Overview of firm - Describe the size of Proposer and its ability to provide required services to the City. Include the location of the office to perform the work and explain the purpose of the firm. Also provide the following: firm name, name of parent company (if applicable), complete business address, state of incorporation, number of years in business, Dun and Bradstreet number, licenses obtained to conduct business with the City.
     1. Describe your current operations and the manner and scope of other services provided currently or in the last five (5) years. Describe the Proposer's management capacity and system for coordinating all of the services to be provided under this RFP and any other contracts of the Proposer. Further, discuss how it plans to handle and coordinate all these efforts, along with the services to be performed pursuant to the RFP, if awarded a contract.
     2. Provide information as to whether Proposer has been acquired, plans to be acquired or merged with any other firms in the future, if known. Explain how said merger with another entity(s) may affect the services to be provided to the City, if any.
  2. Litigation – list any and all past and/or pending litigation, lawsuits, disputes, filing of or any pending bankruptcy proceedings, including the disposition of same, filed against the Proposer relating to the work described herein that your firm has been involved in within the last five (5) years. This list shall include each project name and the nature of the litigation, filing or claim.
  3. Financial Information – Provide financial data for your company as well as any other subcontractor with which you are proposing to use in this project. Provide audited financial statements for the past three (3) years. The City is interested in awarding this RFP to an organization that is financially sound. The financial statement, preferably audited, shall be for the firm which is submitting the proposal and shall include the following items: current and net fixed assets and any other assets; current liabilities, long term liabilities, and other liabilities; and name and address of firm preparing the financial statement and the date of preparation.
  4. Subcontractors – list any sub-contractors that may be used to accomplish this service.
  5. Insurance- Upon submission of Proposal, Proposer shall provide Certificate(s) of Insurance and any other documentation outlined in section 4 evidencing current in-force insurance to City’s Risk Management Department.
• Similar Projects (15 pts) —

  To demonstrate experience and success in conducting similar work, the proposer shall provide a minimum of three (3) references of similar sized projects with appropriate reference information, concentrating only on those projects completed within the last five (5) years or currently underway by the Proposer’s firm as follows:

  1. Client name, address, phone number, and email address
  2. Description of all services provided
  3. Performance period
  4. Total annual amount of contract
  5. Name of team members who were actively involved in providing services for the reference.
  6. If services terminated prior to the end of the contract term, explain why.

  NOTE: Please do not include projects completed or currently underway with the City.

• Key Personnel Qualifications and Experience in STEM Education (15 pts) —

  Provide an organizational chart that includes identification of the project manager and instructors/teachers and other staff that will perform on-site work for this project:

  • List qualifications of each employee that will be assigned to this contract. Resumes shall be submitted for each person.
  • Identify point of contact for this contract

   

• Approach to Registering Participants and Obtaining Required Participant Documents (20 pts) —
  • Provide the firm’s approach to registering participants and obtaining the required documents to confirm residency of City of Homestead and low-income requirement.
  • Provide a timeline for each approach, not to exceed 30 days to register participants.

   

• Project Approach to Obtaining Input and Planning (15 pts) —
  • Provide a written narrative describing the firm’s technical approach and work plan for completing the scope of work, including the number of program sessions and/or classes.
  • Define the adequacy of resources, including personnel, labor, equipment and supply resources.
• Price Schedule* (15 pts) —

  *Points for the fee will be determined by the below formula and provided to the evaluation committee by Procurement:

  • Second lowest cost – lowest cost = X
  • X divided by lowest cost = Y
  • Y times the total number of cost points = Z
  • Total number of cost points – Z = Points assigned to second lowest

Submission Requirements

• Respondents are solely responsible for ensuring that their submittals are complete, uploaded, and submitted in the City's e-Procurement Portal by the due date and time. (required) —

  Respondents are expected to organize their submittals in such a manner as to facilitate the evaluation process. Submittals should be keyed or indexed to correspond with this solicitation. Responses should be correlated to the specific submittal, criterion, section or paragraph number of the solicitation being addressed.

  Evaluators will make a reasonable effort to locate information in the responses; however failure to follow this suggested format may make location of critical submittal information difficult, possibly resulting in a loss of appropriate credit.

• Section 7.1 - Title Page: (required) —

  Show the name of Proposer's agency/firm, address, telephone number, name of contact person, date, and the subject:  RFP# 202615 STEM Education Program Funded by CDBG for FY2024-2025 & FY2025-2026.

• Section 7.2 - Table of Contents: (required) —

  The table of contents should outline in sequential order the major areas of the submittal, including enclosures. All pages must be consecutively numbered and correspond to the Table of Contents. Clearly identify the material by section and page number.

• Section 7.3 - Letter of Transmittal: (required) —

  The Proposer shall provide cover letter on letterhead, signed by an authorized representative of the company. This letter shall provide a brief narrative highlighting the Proposer’s proposal. This tab section should not include cost quotations. The letter should include:

  • Date
  • Name of the Firm
  • Contact Person (including title) authorized to represent your firm
  • Telephone Number
  • Email Address 
• Section 7.4 - Firm Qualifications and Experience: (required) —

  Each Proposer shall submit information and documentation requested that confirms it meets the following qualification requirement(s):

  1. Overview of firm - Describe the size of Proposer and its ability to provide required services to the City. Include the location of the office to perform the work and explain the purpose of the firm. Also provide the following: firm name, name of parent company (if applicable), complete business address, state of incorporation, number of years in business, Dun and Bradstreet number, licenses obtained to conduct business with the City.
     1. Describe your current operations and the manner and scope of other services provided currently or in the last five (5) years. Describe the Proposer's management capacity and system for coordinating all of the services to be provided under this RFP and any other contracts of the Proposer. Further, discuss how it plans to handle and coordinate all these efforts, along with the services to be performed pursuant to the RFP, if awarded a contract.
     2. Provide information as to whether Proposer has been acquired, plans to be acquired or merged with any other firms in the future, if known. Explain how said merger with another entity(s) may affect the services to be provided to the City, if any.
  2. Litigation – list any and all past and/or pending litigation, lawsuits, disputes, filing of or any pending bankruptcy proceedings, including the disposition of same, filed against the Proposer relating to the work described herein that your firm has been involved in within the last five (5) years. This list shall include each project name and the nature of the litigation, filing or claim.
  3. Subcontractors – list any sub-contractors that may be used to accomplish this service.
• Section 7.5 - Similar Projects: (required) —

  To demonstrate experience and success in conducting similar work, the proposer shall provide a minimum of three (3) references of similar sized projects with appropriate reference information, concentrating only on those projects completed within the last five (5) years or currently underway by the Proposer’s firm as follows: 

  1. Client name, address, phone number, and email address
  2. Description of all services provided
  3. Performance period
  4. Total annual amount of contract
  5. Name of team members who were actively involved in providing services for the reference.
  6. If services terminated prior to the end of the contract term, explain why.

  NOTE: Please do not include projects completed or currently underway with the City.

• Section 7.6 - Key Personnel Qualifications and Experience in STEM Services: (required) —

  Provide an organizational chart that includes identification of the project manager and instructors/teachers and other staff that will perform on-site work for this project. Refer to additional information as outlined in Section 3.12 of the RFP.

  1. List qualifications of each employee that will be assigned to this contract.  Resumes shall be submitted for each person.
  2. Identify point of contact for this contract.
• Section 7.7 - Approach to Registering Participants and Obtaining Required Participants Documents: (required) —
  1. Provide the firm’s approach to registering participants and obtaining the required documents to confirm residency of City of Homestead and low-income requirement.
  2. Provide a timeline for each approach, not to exceed 30 days to register participants.
• Section 7.8 - Project Approach to Obtaining Input and Planning: (required) —
  1. Provide a written narrative describing the firm’s technical approach and work plan for completing the scope of work, including the number of program sessions and/or classes, as additionally outlined in Section 3.2 of the RFP.
  2. Define the adequacy of resources, including personnel, labor, equipment and supply resources.
• Evidence of Insurance (required) —

  Insurance- Upon submission of Proposal, Proposer shall provide Certificate(s) of Insurance and any other documentation outlined in section 4 evidencing current in-force insurance to City’s Risk Management Department.

• COH Forms to Submit: (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

  The following items must be completed and uploaded as part of your electronic submittal. Failure to complete and return required forms may result in your submittal being deemed non-responsive and not considered for award. These forms must be downloaded, completed, and uploaded as a part of the submittal.

  1. AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) DISABILITY NONDISCRIMINATION STATEMENT
  2. BUSINESS ENTITY AFFIDAVIT/CONFLICT OF INTEREST
  3. CERTIFICATION REGARDING DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION, AND OTHER RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS PRIMARY COVERED TRANSACTIONS
  4. DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE PROGRAM AFFIDAVIT
  5. SCRUTINIZED COMPANIES FORM
  6. E-VERIFY
  7. SWORN STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 287.133 (3) (a), FLORIDA STATUTES, ON PUBLIC ENTITY CRIMES
  8. PERFORMANCE SURVEYS
  9. NOTIFICATION OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER COLLECTION AND USAGE
  10. W-9 FORM
  11. AFFIDAVIT ATTESTING TO NONCOERCIVE CONDUCT FOR LABOR OR SERVICES
  12. AFFIDAVIT REGARDING PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTING WITH ENTITIES OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES OF CONCERN 
  13. PROPOSER’S CERTIFICATION
  14. SMALL AND MINORITY AND WOMEN’S BUSINESS ENTERPRISE
  15. CERTIFICATION REGARGING LOBBYING
  16. PROTEST PROCEDURES
• Funding/Source: (required) —

  Goods and services to be procured, which are funded by a Federal Grant Program, must be procured in accordance with 2 CFR §200.317 through §200.327 (aka Federal Super Circular), as may be amended by the Federal government.

• Description & Grant Number (required)
• Does Davis Bacon Act Apply? (required) —

  If yes, local prevailing wage rates must be provided by the grant consultant.

  Davis Bacon Act

• What is the estimated value of this procurement? (required)
• Is this project a public construction work? (required)
• Pre-Bid Meeting? (required)
• Scope of Work: typed in or attached? (required) —
  1. Type in text for scope of work; or
  2. Attach scope as pdf, word, etc.
• Electronic Pricing Table (required) —

  Would you like to have bidders respond to an electronic pricing table through OpenGov?

  Some examples of of when to say "yes":

  1. This is a quote for goods or commodities
  2. This is a public works bid, with a pricing table that can be uploaded into OpenGov from an excel spreadsheet
  3. Seeking services for hourly rate schedules
• Separate Fee Proposal Upload (required) —

  If you are NOT using the Electronic Pricing Table option, will you want your bidder to separate a Price Proposal from the rest of their Response? You'll want to do this if you open your bids initially WITHOUT showing price, and then come back in after a technical evaluation to unseal pricing later.

• Evaluation Committee (Best Value)? (required) —

  Will there be an evaluation committee to review the proposals and score them based on weights and multiple criteria?

• Liquidated damages amount per calendar day in which work is not completed (required) —

  Select amount of liquidated damages per calendar day in which work is not completed:

   

  Contract Amount	Daily Charge per Calendar Day
  $50,000 and under	$313
  Over $50,000 but less than $250,000	$580
  $250,000 but less than $500,000	$715
  $500,000 but less than $2,500,000	$1423
  $2,500,000 but less than $5,000,000	$2121
  $5,000,000 but less than $10,000,000	$3057
  $10,000,000 but less than $15,000,000	$3598
  $15,000,000 but less than $20,000,000	$4544
  $20,000,000 and over	$8537 plus 0.00027 of any amount over $20 million

   

• Plans (required) —

  Select the appropriate clause for Plans:

  1. Attached ("Plans are available in Bid documents or for a full set of plans, please visit http://www.cityofhomestead.com/bids.aspx.")
  2. City Website ("For a full set of plans, please visit http://www.cityofhomestead.com/bids.aspx.")
  3. T-Square ("Plans will only be available via www.t-square.com.  Please follow link to: <enter link>")
  4. No Plans ("There are no plans associated with this project. ")
• When will the Site Inspection be held? (required) —
  1. Immediately after the Pre-Bid Conference
  2. Prior to Bid/Proposal Submission due date
  3. By appointment only with Homestead Buyer
  4. By appointment only with project manager
  5. NO SITE INSPECTION NECESSARY
• TERM OF CONTRACT (required) —
  1. "This Contract shall commence the day after the date of award by the City Council of Homestead"
  2. as-needed basis
  3. through job completion
• Method of Award (required) —
  1. all-or-nothing award basis
  2. individual basis
  3. group
• RESPONSE TIME (required) —
  1. Vendors' best estimate
  2. One Week Notice
  3. 2 Hours
  4. NO RESPONSE TIME REQUIRED
• DELIVERY TIME (required) —

  Select delivery time for the following subsection:

  "Bidders shall specify on the attached Bid Form, the guaranteed delivery time (in calendar days) for each item. It must be a firm delivery time; no ranges will be accepted, i.e. 12–14 days. If the Awardee of the Bid fails to deliver within the specified delivery time, it is understood that..."

  1. Best Estimate
  2. Firm Delivery Time; $25 daily liquidated damages
  3. Firm Delivery Time; 1% daily liquidated damages
  4. NO DELIVERY TIME REQUIRED
• COMPLETION TIME (required) —

  Select the appropriate option for Completion Time:

  1. 30 Days Substantial Completion ("Substantial completion shall be achieved 30 days from Notice to Proceed. Final completion shall be achieved 60 days from Notice to Proceed")
  2. 98 days from Notice to Proceed ("Final completion and receipt of items shall be achieved 98 days from Notice to Proceed")
  3. ________/provide amount of days
  4. NO COMPLETION TIME REQUIRED
• # of days completion time (required) —

  Enter in the number of days for completion time.

• LIQUIDATED DAMAGES (required) —

  Select the appropriate clause for Liquidated Damages:

  • Enter specified dollar amount for daily liquidated damages within the specified delivery time ("If the successful Bidder fails to deliver within the specified delivery time, it is understood that $XXXX.00 per calendar day per item will be deducted, as liquidated damages, for each day beyond the specified delivery time")
  • Enter specified dollar amount for daily liquidated damages beyond the substantial/final completion date ("The Bidder agrees to pay the City liquidated damages in the amount of $XXXX.00 per calendar day beyond the substantial completion date and or final completion dates as specified")
  • 1% daily liquidated damages ("Bidder shall specify in the space provided the guaranteed delivery time. If the successful Bidder fails to deliver within the specified delivery time, it is understood that 1% of the unit price per calendar day per item will be deducted, as liquidated damages, for each day beyond the specified delivery time up to a maximum of 25%")
  • Task Order; $25 daily liquidated damages ("As Task Orders are identified substantial completion times will be mutually agreed upon between the successful Contractor and the City. Liquidated damages of $25.00 per day will be deducted from the Contract sum for each calendar day elapsing beyond the specified time for completion for each Task Order")
  • Applicable liquidated damages ("Applicable liquidated damages are the amounts established in the following schedule:")
  • NO LIQUIDATED DAMAGES REQUIRED
• PERCENTAGE ABOVE VENDOR COST (required) —

  Select the appropriate option for the PERCENTAGE ABOVE VENDOR COST clause:

  1. "Bids for parts and supplies shall be submitted on a percentage above vendor cost. Evidence of said costs shall be submitted with invoice, for each order. Proof of costs shall be printed, properly identified and dated as to issuance and effectiveness. See Section entitled "Audits", as the City reserves the right to audit all historical and current invoicing for pricing during the term of this contract". 
  2. Additional Work: "Bids for material, parts and supplies for additional work not included in the scope of services herein shall be submitted on a percentage above vendor cost. Evidence of said costs shall be submitted with invoice, for each repair or service call. Proof of costs shall be printed, properly identified and dated as to issuance and effectiveness"
  3. NO PERCENTAGE ABOVE VENDOR COST REQUIRED
• PAYMENT (required) —

  Select the appropriate option for the PAYMENT clause:

  1. Lump Sum (50%:50%) "Bidder shall submit a lump sum price inclusive of all labor, parts/supplies needed to construct, furnish, deliver, install and complete project as described herein and in the Drawings, and supply all other incidental material and appliances, tools, transportation, etc., required to complete the Work, and to leave the premises in first class condition " 
  2. Full Payment upon Receipt: "Full payment will be made upon receipt and acceptance of a complete unit(s). No down or partial down payments will be made"
  3. Based upon Receipt of Checklist "Full payment will be made upon completion of the Work. No draws or partial payments will be made while work is in progress.  The successful Bidder will be required to complete a checklist (see attached sample) and leave it with a designated person or at a designated location each time service is performed. PAYMENT WILL BE BASED UPON RECEIPT OF SAID CHECKLIST."
  4.  25% of total Contract price retained for 60 days "Invoices for payment will be submitted for the duration of the Contract based on the following percentages of completed Work: 25%, 25% and 25% upon final completion. 25% of the total Contract price will be retained for 60 days. Acceptable certified “as- builts” must be provided before final acceptance"
• SUBCONTRACTORS (required) —

  Select the appropriate clause for the SUBCONTRACTORS section:

• Insurance (required) —

  Select the appropriate clause for the Insurance section:

  1. Prior to the execution of this Contract, Bidder shall provide the City with a certificate of insurance and a copy of the policy endorsement naming the City of Homestead its employees, directors, officers, agents, independent contractors, successors and assigns, and other authorized representatives as additional insured to the extent of the contractual obligation assumed by the Bidder...Bidder(s) shall submit with their Bid, proof of insurance meeting or exceeding the following requirements.
  2. Throughout the term of this agreement and for all applicable statutes of limitation periods, Bidder shall maintain in full force and effect the insurance coverage set forth in this article