Community Relations Support Services

The Vendor is required to provide comprehensive community relations support services (CRSS), including but not limited to:
• Community engagement,
• Marketing,
• Alternative mode programming,
• Fare systems and policies, and
• Valley metro strategic initiatives.
- Overall community relations support
• Provide community relations services to support community involvement across all phases of transit project development, including scoping, planning, environmental review, design/final design, engineering, and construction.
• This includes:
o Corridor studies, (as described in attachment f)
o Mitigation planning,
o Transit service changes,
o Facility development,
o Fare and technology initiatives
• Provide support services, as needed, related to:
o Fixed route bus and rail service,
o Paratransit,
o Alternative mode programming,
o Valley metro strategic plan initiatives,
o Transit facility development and fare/technology changes
- Community relations coordination
• Serving as the primary point of contact for assigned projects and establish two-way working relationships with stakeholders (residents, businesses, property owners, nonprofits, etc.),
• Drafting, managing, and implementing public involvement plans in collaboration with valley metro's projects and community relations managers,
• Customizing outreach for LEP, under served, and multicultural communities through translation and tailored communication strategies,
• Coordinating with sub-contractors, vendors, internal and external partners,
• Leading or supporting advisory boards and working groups,
• Developing and managing stakeholder distribution lists and feedback tracking within valley metro database,
• Preparing engagement reports (summaries, minutes, agendas, metrics),
• Creating digital outreach tools (social media posts, email newsletters, messaging) to share with partner organizations and member cities and assist with messaging for social media and advertising,
• Complying with federal guidelines and any valley metro’s construction mitigation plan,
• Planning and facilitating public meetings (virtual, hybrid, in-person), including materials development, speaker coordination, polling, surveys, technical support, accessibility and other activities associated with meetings with diverse stakeholders,
• Capturing and analyzing online engagement (social media, website comments),
• Designing and deploying self-guided online information tools (e.g., interactive videos, simulations) that provide interactive content to audiences to view at their own pace, and
• Engaging influencers and local ambassadors to support outreach.
- Business assistance program development and support
• Coordinating with other contractor's for business assistance tasks,
• Updating program elements based on community dynamics, current business climate and industry best practices,
• Providing dedicated staff, representing the community, to serve as primary points of contact and “boots on the ground” to respond and serve business needs and create engagement in the program,
• Creating and executing events, programs and campaigns to increase business visibility and customer engagement to the impacted community,
• Developing and maintaining stakeholder contact lists and performance metrics within valley metro database design,
• Preparing and executing surveys, interviews, questionnaires, video content, digital promotion, marketing materials, presentations, reports and correspondence,
• Managing program budgets and optimize resource allocation per assigned task order,
• Planning and facilitating meetings and coordinate with internal and external stakeholders, and
• Ensuring outreach to underserved and hard-to-reach communities, including translation services as needed.
- Specialized public relations and crisis communications support
• Developing public relations and media strategies supporting strategic initiatives and public sentiment for transit services including ridership generation, valley metro brand awareness, funding, and related initiatives.
• Creating and implementing media and crisis response plans around sensitive community issues affecting valley metro and projects or initiatives.
• Tasks may include:
o Developing campaign development, conduct targeted community and media outreach, speaker engagements, polling, and social media campaigns,
o Developing communication plans and produce content, including media buys, pitches, and video and digital storytelling,
o Engaging multicultural and niche media outlets,
o Training spokespeople and staff for media interaction,
o Monitoring, analyzing and reporting on community sentiment and campaign effectiveness,
o Providing inclusive engagement in accordance of the civil rights act, with a focus on low-income, underrepresented, under served, multicultural and LEP communities, and
o Providing translation services and on-site staffing as needed.
- Special event planning and support
• Building and executing special event plan,
• Coordinating with relevant parties and vendors,
• Building and managing event budget,
• Building and managing event timeline,
• Building and executing communications plan,
• Organizing coordination meetings involving internal and external stakeholders,
• Developing volunteer programs; serve as event volunteers,
• Serving as agency ambassador staff,
• Supporting sponsorship sales, and
• Coordinating with operations and maintenance, safety and security and other divisions and groups as necessary.
- Research and analysis
• Conducting studies, surveys, polls, and community events,
• Developing demographic and socioeconomic profiles,
• Preparing reports and visualizations (charts, graphs, infographics),
• Analyzing trends and sentiments across local and regional contexts, and
• Identifying outreach needs and recommend strategic actions.
- Artificial intelligence (AI), business intelligence (BI), and public opinion analytics
• Provide valley metro with data, analysis, and actionable tools to support a comprehensive understanding of public sentiment toward valley metro and its activities:
o Monitoring,
o Assessing,
o Interpreting public perceptions and opinions related to valley metro services,
o Initiatives,
o Marketing and communications campaigns, and
o Monitoring major events, ballot measures, and potential crises.