Seattle's App-Based Workers Research

The City of Seattle is seeking proposals for Seattle's App-Based Workers Research. Proposals are due no later than 12:00 pm on Monday, July 20, 2026. All questions are to be submitted through the e-procurement portal at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/seattle no later than 12:00 pm on Monday, July 6, 2026.

Project Details

• Reference ID: 2025-059
• Department: Office of Labor Standards
• Department Head: Steven Marchese (Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-07-06T19:00:00.000Z
• Pre-Proposal Meeting: 2026-05-29T17:00:00.000Z — https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/0XhX-E0aTS6sicWQwIHr1w

Evaluation Criteria

• Experience and Qualifications (40 pts) —
  • Proposer(s) has experience conducting large scale qualitative or mixed-methods research.
  • Proposer(s) has experience analyzing qualitative or mixed-methods data and presenting the findings to the general public.
  • Proposer(s) has experience working with worker subjects from diverse backgrounds, for example: non-English speaking workers, workers with various immigration status, workers with disabilities, and workers who are paid or unpaid caregivers.
  • Proposer(s) has the organizational capacity, including the financial controls, to process and submit invoices and reports in a timely manner.
  • Race and social justice framework is at the center of Proposer(s)’s past research and consulting work.
  • Proposer(s) has demonstrated their ability and strategies of reaching app-based workers from different industry sectors and recruiting them into the study.
  • Proposer(s) explained how their engagement methods are culturally relevant and language-specific for workers from minority cultural and language backgrounds.
  • Proposer(s) has the capacity to connect with app-based workers working in City of Seattle. If the proposer is not located in the region, must show their strategy and plan to engage with app-based workers within.
• Proposed Delivery of Service (40 pts) —
  • The research design (i.e. scope, phases, methods, and questions) is comprehensive and clearly defined, for example, clearly stating that app-based workers in which service sectors and which language groups will be the targeted subjects.
  • The timeline and deliverables are clearly quantified (e.g. interview # workers in X industry and # workers in Y industry within # weeks).
  • The rationales of the research design, timeline, and deliverables are well explained.
  • The research design is developed after reviewing OLS’ first App-Based Worker data report, and the proposed data analysis will supplement the quantitative data that OLS has, in terms of both types of data and focused industry/ies.
• Cost Proposal (20 pts) —
  • The cost proposal is comprehensive and corresponds to the proposed scope, timeline, and deliverables.
  • The cost proposal corresponds with a feasible language access plan, for example, proposer has demonstrated the organizational infrastructure to provide in-language engagement with targeted worker populations or has budgeted adequately for language interpretation.
• Interviews (20 pts) —

  The City does not intend to conduct any interviews, but the City may interview top ranked firms from the proposal evaluation to make the final selection. If interviews are conducted, they will be worth 20 additional points.

  If interviews are conducted, rankings of firms shall be determined by the City, using the combined results of interviews and proposal submittals.  Consultants invited to interview are to bring the assigned key person(s) named by the Consultant in the Proposal, and may bring other key personnel named in the Proposal. The Consultant shall not bring individuals who do not work for the Consultant or are not on the project team without advance authorization by the Procurement Contact.

• Interviews

Submission Requirements

• Letter of interest (optional)
• Proof of Legal Business Name —

  Provide a certificate or documentation from the Secretary of State in which you incorporated that shows your company legal name. Many companies use a “Doing Business As” name or nickname in daily business; the City requires the legal name for your company. When preparing all forms below, use the proper company legal name. Your company’s legal name can be verified through the State Corporation Commission in the state in which you were established, which is often located within the Secretary of State’s Office for each state. For the State of Washington, see http://www.secstate.wa.gov/corps/

• Minimum Qualifications (required) —

  This response is mandatory. The determination you have achieved all minimum qualifications is made from this section alone, and therefore, the Evaluation Committee is not obligated to check references or search other materials in your proposal to make this decision.

  For each Minimum Qualification listed below, please describe how you meet the minimum qualification.

  Minimum Qualification #1

  Consultant must have a minimum of 3 years of experience during which the services (i.e. qualitative or mixed methods research and analysis) have been part of their primary work scope.

  Minimum Qualification #2

  Consultant must have successfully performed one contract with a public or private agency for services similar to those expected by the City for this contract.

• Consultant Inclusion Plan (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Proposal Response (required) —

  Please provide a research proposal (page limit: 15 pages, 11-point font, 1-inch margins on all sides) that details the design of your proposed research to understand the changes to working conditions before and after the implementation of Seattle’s App-Based Worker Minimum Payment Ordinance. Please make sure that:

  1. Your research is designed after a review of OLS’s first App-Based Worker data report and that your proposed research (e.g. research questions and areas of focus) supplements OLS’ quantitative data analysis, for example,  whether your proposed research will cover the same industry covered by OLS’ existing report, or you plan to expand to other industries, and if so, which one(s), and which remaining questions named in the OLS data report and other questions you propose to address.
  2. Your proposal introduces who you are as a researcher or a research team: your experience conducting qualitative or mixed methods studies, presenting the results to the general public, working with diverse populations while centering marginalized communities.
  3. Your proposal includes a detailed timeline and quantifies various deliverables you would achieve in different phases of the project.
  4. Your proposal includes a detailed language access plan (e.g. how you would staff and resource language access), demonstrates your experience and ability to engage with app-based workers from non-English speaking groups, and clarifies which language groups you intend to include in your research plan.
  5. Your proposal includes a plan on how you would reach out, recruit, and motivate app-based workers to join the research.
  6. Your proposal includes an analysis of feasibility and anticipated challenges.
  7. Your proposal demonstrates your qualification for providing this service by introducing your past experiences of studying labor, gig economy, and/or relevant areas, AND your past experiences or demonstrated readiness to adhere to City of Seattle’s invoicing and reporting rules.
• Pricing Proposal (required) —

  Please upload a cost proposal for your proposed research. The total cost should not exceed $130,000.

   

  The cost proposal should be comprehensive, itemized, and correspond to the proposed scope, phases of project, timeline, and deliverables.

   

  The cost proposal should address how you will support your proposed language access plan, either in-language engagement with targeted worker populations or contracted language interpretation and translation, and include hours and costs of each type of services used.

   

  The City may request additional clarification or a breakdown of the hours and costs with the top-ranking proposers.

• Consultant Questionnaire (required) —

  Please download the below document, complete, and upload. 

  Provide information to the extent this information is available. If your response is incomplete or requires further description, the City may request additional information within a specified deadline, or may determine the missing information is immaterial.  

• Contract Modifications —

  Make requested changes to the Contract language using track changes and upload here.

• Will there be minimum qualifications? (required) —

  Are there qualifications the Consultants must have to even be considered?  Minimum qualifications should ONLY be those that the Consultant must meet to have their proposal considered, meaning you will toss the proposal out in full if the Consultant cannot meet the minimum qualifications. If none, delete the paragraph and say there are no minimum qualifications. Minimum qualifications can sometimes be important, such as a professional license.  If you require a Minimum Qualification, ensure it is fair, appropriate and reasonable. Consultants can protest these if they seem exclusionary and unnecessary.  In addition, some federal requirements may restrict or prohibit the use of such qualifications. Review the terms of the grant to ensure compliance with all such requirements. For instance, for FTA funded projects, the use of geographical preferences is prohibited or extremely limited under certain circumstances.  See the Sidebar Supplement for more information. Minimum Qualifications are only for factual yes/no items which can be easily proven as a matter of fact and on the face of the RFP/RFQ response.  These are NOT subjective such as “Company needs to be experienced” or “needs to have good references.”  These are instead hard and fast criteria we check off “yes or no,” and we will toss them out without further consideration if they say no.

• Background checks __________ be required. (required) —

  If background checks are not required, select "may"

• Will a Consultant Inclusion Plan be needed? (required) —

  Note to department – All non-federally funded contracts above $395,000 require an Inclusion Plan. If potential work, including all phases, is above $395,000, retain the Inclusion Plan as a required submittal. The Mayor’s 2010 policy requires you to score the WMBE response, for no less than 10% of total points.

  Departments are encouraged to list the core Scope of Work items that the department has determined to be available for subcontracting.

  Contracts with FEDERAL FUNDING may require different or additional social equity requirements, such as federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) requirements, which are required for US DOT funded projects, such as FTA projects.  

  Exceptions: Exceptions to the Inclusion Plan requirement are rare. Departments must notify their WMBE IDT representative and PC for a review and written approval of an exception. An exception does not relieve the Consultant of its responsibilities to seek WMBE inclusion if changes to the contract provides opportunities for WMBE inclusion.

  For assistance, contact Miguel Beltran at Miguel.Beltran@Seattle.gov or 206-684-4525.

• Are you open to negotiating the standard contract terms and conditions? (required)
• Will you be using an Electronic Pricing Table or having your Consultant upload a Pricing Proposal? (required)
• To determine highest ranked Consultant, will interview scores be combined with all proposals or will it be a standalone phase? (required)