Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund RFQ
Community Outreach and Engagement Consultant Cohort
The Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) provides dedicated funding for climate action that advances racial and social justice. PCEF was created by local ballot measure #26-201 in November 2018, passing with overwhelming community support. PCEF is intended to benefit those most impacted by climate change but have less access to the benefits or opportunities from climate projects. PCEF prioritizes communities living on the "frontlines" of climate change with clean energy funding, job training programs and green infrastructure projects. Priority communities for clean energy, green infrastructure, and regenerative agriculture projects, includes people with low incomes and people of color. For workforce and contractor development projects, that includes women, people of color, people with disabilities, and people who are chronically underemployed.
The PCEF Outreach Cohort is a strategy to engage hard-to-reach PCEF priority communities by extending the program’s outreach efforts through a cohort of 6 community consultants skilled in outreach and community engagement from priority population communities.This approach helps PCEF realize its guiding principles including centering Black and Indigenous people and other disadvantaged and marginalized communities, supporting capacity building, and investing in community-driven approaches to foster community power.
PCEF operates through the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability: https://www.portland.gov/bps/cleanenergy.
DEADLINE: Sunday July 25th, 2021, 11:59PM Pacific time
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the project structured?
Cohort members will engage in the project through an independent contractor agreement with either Kapwa Consulting, LLC (Kapwa) or studio b:ask (bask), who hold the prime contracts with the City of Portland, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. Kapwa and bask will serve as contract managers, process facilitators, and advisors to both the City and cohort participants throughout the duration of the project. Applicants are not required to have prior experience as a consultant or independent contractor.
What is the project role?
Over 12 months, consultants will become ambassadors of the PCEF program and
support the development of frontline community-initiated solutions to climate change by:
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facilitating targeted feedback opportunities from priority community beneficiaries to improve the program,
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participate as community reviewers for a PCEF funding round, and
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run their own projects to get their community engaged in PCEF.
What is the estimated monthly time requirement?
See scope of work (varies over project phases)
