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NOTICE
INVITATION TO BID
TO
METROPOLITAN WATER RECLAMATION DISTRICT OF GREATER CHICAGO
Technical Assistance Program
CONTRACT 25-RFP-23
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (“District”) requests proposals from any
prospective Proposer for the above captioned subject which is described in document 25-RFP-23.
PROPOSALS ARE DUE FEBRUARY 20, 2026
Sealed proposals, endorsed as above, will be submitted to the District via an electronic upload to the Euna
Portal only. See “Submission Via the Euna Portal” for instructions. Proposals will be accepted from the
date of the Invitation to Bid, up to 11:00 A.M. Central Time (“CT”), on Friday, February 20, 2026, stated
above. Bids will be deemed non-responsive if not submitted using the Euna-project specific URL link,
provided by the District with the bidding documents.
No bids will be accepted after 11:00 A.M. CT on the above scheduled due date. Faxed, mailed,
emailed, or hand delivered proposals will not be accepted. There is no Bid Depository safe for this
purpose.
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (“the District”) is committed to increasing
access to economic opportunities for Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), Women Business Enterprise
(WBE), and Veteran-Owned Business Enterprise (VBE) firms and other small businesses by promoting
participation and removing barriers that have historically limited their involvement in District contracting.
Through this Technical Assistance Program, the District seeks proposals from qualified firms to provide
innovative, comprehensive, and complementary services that will build the capacity of MBE, WBE, VBE,
and other small businesses. The program will deliver education, direct services, and practical support—
including training, business advising, and technical assistance—to help participating firms prepare
responsive bids and proposals, secure contract awards, and successfully perform on contracts by developing
the financial and operational capacity needed to sustain long-term success.
The estimated cost for these services is $900,000 over a thirty-six (36) month period.
Responsiveness Requirement: Proposers may submit a proposal for Group A services, Group B services,
or both Group A and Group B services. Proposals must clearly identify the service group(s) being proposed.
• If submitting for both Group A and Group B, proposers must submit two separate proposals—one
for Group A and one for Group B—for the submission to be considered responsive. This includes
two separate written proposals and two separate cost proposals.
District Award Options:
• The District anticipates awarding up to two (2) separate contracts, one for Group A services and
one for Group B services. The combined value of both contracts is estimated at $900,000 over the
contract term.
• The District reserves the right to determine the dollar value allocation between Group A and Group
B contracts. Contract values will not necessarily be divided equally; allocation will be based on the
scope, quality, and cost of services proposed.
• Alternatively, the District reserves the right to award a single contract to one proposer capable of
performing both Group A and Group B services.
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Extension
There shall be an option to extend the Agreement(s) for up to two (2) additional one-year periods
following the initial thirty-six (36) month contract term. The option to extend is at the sole discretion of
the District and is subject to approval by the Board of Commissioners.
• Rates: The hourly rates and fees during any extension periods shall remain fixed at the Year 3
rates established in the Proposer’s “Best and Final Unqualified Offer.”
The final award determination will be made at the District’s sole discretion, based on the results of the
technical evaluations, interviews, and the “Best and Final Offer” process as outlined in this RFP.
Proposers are cautioned that, due to unforeseen operating conditions, the full contract amount may not be
expended. All contract awards are contingent upon the approval of annual funding by the District’s Board
of Commissioners.
No proposal deposit is required.
Copies of the Request for Proposal are only available online from the District’s website at
www.mwrd.org (DOING BUSINESS → PROCUREMENT & MATERIALS MANAGEMENT →
CONTRACT ANNOUNCEMENTS). No fee is required for the Request for Proposal documents. Any
questions regarding the downloading of Request for Proposal documents should be directed to
contractdesk@mwrd.org or call (312) 751-6643.
The Affirmative Action Goals for this Request for Proposal are 15% Minority-owned Business
Enterprises (MBE) and/or Women-owned Business Enterprises (WBE), and 3% Veteran-owned Business
Enterprises (VBE).
Further, the District assumes no liability or responsibility for the failure or inability of any Proposer to
successfully download any and all contract documents, including but not limited to specifications,
proposal forms and/or plans, as a result of any type of technological computer and/or software system
failure or breakdown that restricts, prohibits or prevents successful downloading of any and all District
contract documents by the Proposer, whether caused by the District or other parties, directly or indirectly.
Proposers are to include with their proposal signed copies of any addenda, or acknowledge receipt of any
addenda, if the District issued any addenda to this contract. Failure to do so may be cause for the rejection
of any bid. Bidding documents are available only online, and any addenda issued for this contract will be
available online at the District’s website, www.mwrd.org (Doing Business→Procurement and Materials
Management→Contract Announcements). Addenda will also be emailed/faxed to each person receiving a
set of such contract documents and to such other prospective Proposers as shall have requested that they
be furnished with a copy of the addenda.
If any potential Proposer contemplating to submit a proposal is in doubt as to the true meaning of any part
of the specifications or other contract documents, such inquiry should be submitted online at the District’s
website, www.mwrd.org. The path is as follows: Doing Business→Procurement and Materials
Management→Contract Announcements. The District will provide an online response to such inquiries,
as the District deems appropriate. Strings of appropriate questions and answers regarding the bidding
documents will be available online on the District’s website until the bid opening date of the bidding
documents. No questions will be accepted by telephone, fax, email, mail, or any other such form of
delivery.
The District will only respond to questions received online ONE WEEK prior to the date set to receive
proposals. The District will not respond to questions received after this date. The District does not
guarantee the timeliness of responses provided online, nor does the District guarantee that such responses
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will be provided in adequate time to affect the submission of bids. The District shall provide responses
online ONLY if the responses do not interpret or otherwise change the bidding documents.
The District’s responses online are NOT official responses and, therefore, are not binding to the bidding
documents. Any official interpretation or change to the bidding documents will be made only by addenda
duly issued to all plan holders on record by the Director of Procurement and Materials Management.
The Voluntary Technical Pre-Bid meeting will be held online via a Zoom meeting on Wednesday, January
28, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. CT. The link to the Zoom meeting is attached in a separate Word document under
the “Additional Documents” column on the District’s website at mwrd.org (Doing Business→Procurement
& Materials Management→Contract Announcements→(Find correct project)→Bidding Documents). The
purpose of the Voluntary Technical Pre-Bid meeting is to review the scope of work, to provide for
identification and discussion of potential problems that might arise during the administration of this
Contract and seek clarification of technical or procedural aspects of this Contract. There will be a Q&A
session at the end of the meeting. Also, suppliers must give their contact information to register prior to
entering the Zoom Pre-Bid meeting.
The contact person for the request for proposal is Malisa Torres, Senior Diversity Officer. This contact
person will provide online responses to online inquiries.
The District reserves the right to accept any Request for Proposal or any part thereof or to reject any and
all Request for Proposals.
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
of Greater Chicago
________________________________________
By Darlene A. LoCascio
Director of Procurement & Materials
Management
DATE OF ADVERTISEMENT: Wednesday, January 14, 2026
This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.