Program Evaluation Services for the Local Community Benefits Fund

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (“Air District”) seeks proposals from qualified firms to provide performance measurement, tracking, and evaluation activities for the Local Community Benefits Fund. , which distributes funding derived from the Air District’s Community Benefits Penalty Funds Policy, as well as other enforcement-related funds, to support community-driven projects in areas disproportionately impacted by air pollution and environmental inequities. The Local Community Benefits Fund Round 1 will distribute funds in Benicia, Richmond, and surrounding communities.

Through this Request for Proposal, the Air District seeks services for two phases of the Local Community Benefits Fund to support the Air District:

• Phase A: Indicator Tracking Technical Assistance for early stages of grant implementation, including support with logic model development, initial outcome definition, data collection and targeted capacity-building support such as trainings, one-on-one technical assistance, and group office hours. This work will support grantees in effectively tracking, achieving, and maximizing measurable outcomes aligned with Local Community Benefits Fund program goals.
• Phase B: Output Tracking, Analysis, and Evaluation to provide ongoing support for long-term tracking, annual analysis, and periodic program evaluation of the Local Community Benefits Fund.

The Air District expects to enter into contract with one (1) firm. The anticipated duration of the contract will be for a period of up to six (6) years with a budget not to exceed $1,500,000. Interested firms must submit a comprehensive proposal for both phases to be considered. The Air District, at its sole discretion, will determine the scope and initial duration of the contract and any subsequent extensions.

The Air District is the government agency responsible for protecting air quality in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Air District is tasked with regulating stationary sources of air pollution in the nine counties that surround San Francisco Bay: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, southwestern Solano, and southern Sonoma counties. It is governed by a 24-member Board of Directors composed of locally elected officials from each of the nine counties. The Air District’s mission is to improve air quality to protect public health, reduce historical and current environmental inequities, and mitigate climate change and its impacts.

The Air District aims to achieve its mission through many strategic goals, including: reducing and eliminating health problems caused by air pollution, achieving and maintaining air quality standards, leading the Bay Area’s efforts to fight global climate change, creating high-quality regulatory programs, and applying environmental best practices in all operations. To do so, the Air District regulates air pollution emissions from stationary emission sources such as factories, refineries, and power plants, and from smaller facilities like gas stations and dry cleaners. The Air District ensures that such facilities comply with air pollution laws and regulations, provides incentives to replace older, higher-emitting vehicles and equipment with cleaner alternatives, and gives grants and provides outreach to encourage healthy clean air choices by businesses and consumers. The Air District implements these efforts with an equity focus, aiming to reduce air quality disparities and promote environmental justice by targeting local air pollution in overburdened communities.