Due to the high volume of qualified submissions, our team is taking extra time to review each proposal. We will be in touch the week of July 27, 2026. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Q: What accessibility standards apply, and are multilingual content, captioning, or remediation expected?
A: As a recipient of federal funds, RISE expects website enhancements to follow current accessibility best practices, generally aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA. RISE welcomes vendor recommendations on multilingual content, captioning, and remediation.
Q. Who is responsible for hosting, security, backups, and disaster recovery?
A: RISE continues to host the website and retains control of hosting, security, and infrastructure.
Q: Are there additional cybersecurity, data privacy, records retention, or reporting obligations beyond the RFP given the federal funding?
A: None are anticipated beyond those identified in the RFP and resulting contract. The selected contractor must comply with all applicable federal, state, and contractual requirements, including records retention and documentation associated with federally funded procurements.
Q: Is offshore development or support permitted, and are there restrictions?
A: RISE has not established restrictions on offshore resources. Firms should identify any proposed offshore personnel or subcontractors and the services they would perform. The selected contractor remains fully responsible for performance and compliance regardless of where work is performed.
Q: Does lack of SAM.gov registration make a firm ineligible?
A: No. Per Section 6, firms without current registration will be considered provided they commit to compliance before contract execution. Per Section 4, firms may indicate their intent to obtain SAM.gov registration prior to award and provide proof of completed registration.
Q: What analytics tools and KPIs does RISE currently use, and where does it want to improve?
A: RISE uses Google Analytics, and its current agency provides monthly performance reports. RISE tracks engagement across social channels and monitors Challenge application and conversion rates. No specific gaps have been identified. RISE welcomes recommendations on measurement, reporting, benchmarks, and KPIs to better track engagement and impact.
Q: Are brand guidelines, editorial standards, asset libraries, and campaign data available to vendors?
A: Yes. RISE has a brand guide and editorial guidelines. Brand guidelines, messaging materials, photo and video archives, and campaign data will be provided once an agreement is in place.
Q: Is there a budget range, ceiling, or not-to-exceed amount?
A: RISE is not publishing a budget range. Firms should propose detailed pricing for the services described in Section 3. RISE may review proposed pricing for reasonableness and request clarification, which may include the methodology used to evaluate cost and value.
Q: What is the contract term?
A: One year, with the option to renew for up to two additional one-year periods, subject to satisfactory performance, organizational needs, funding availability, and mutual agreement.
Q: Is the engagement retainer-based or project-based, and does pricing include ongoing maintenance and support?
A: Pricing should include ongoing maintenance and support.
Q: Does RISE use paid digital promotion?
A: Yes, particularly around Innovation Challenges. The selected firm should manage both paid and organic campaigns.
Q: Does RISE require full IP transfer or usage rights, and what governs ownership of deliverables?
A: RISE requires full intellectual property transfer for all creative deliverables, including interactive graphics, photography, multimedia content, video, and mobile-responsive design. RISE will not be subject to ongoing usage or licensing fees for these materials after the agreement expires. For code, ownership will be defined in the final contract based on the proposed technical solution; vendors should assume RISE will seek full ownership of any custom-developed code.
Q: Which audiences matter most, and what are the conversion goals?
A: All listed audiences (applicants, funders, sponsors, alumni, partners, agencies, legislators) are important. RISE measures success by stakeholder engagement and by Innovation Challenge application and conversion rates, with emphasis on attracting and converting high-quality applicants.
Q: Which social platforms are prioritized, and does scope include posting and community management or content creation only?
A: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Scope includes content creation, posting, and page management.
Q: What is the media relations footprint, and is there an existing PR firm?
A: RISE has no retained PR firm but is exploring additional media relations support. RISE has established relationships with reporters and has had international coverage of Challenge-winning projects. Current media relations are limited and mostly proactive, tied to Challenge launches, awards, and milestones. RISE wants to expand its presence across local, regional, national, trade, and international outlets.
Q: What are the highest-priority programs and milestones over the next 12 months?
A: Launching the next Innovation Challenge, expanding the RISE Alumni Program page (coming soon), and producing additional video content.
Q: Which communications outcomes are most meaningful?
A: All listed outcomes (applications, engagement, visibility, funder relations) are important to RISE’s success.
Q: Which channels are most important, and what gaps exist?
A: RISE wants to do more to tell its story and share the impact of its work in authentic, real-world ways.
Q: How should portfolio and work samples be submitted?
A: Either links or PDFs are acceptable.
Q: What project management and approval tools will the firm be expected to support?
A: RISE uses Trello to coordinate projects and workflow.
Q: What is the estimated annual volume of work?
A: RISE does not track fixed annual volumes. As a guide: two to three Innovation Challenges per year, [confirm range] digital and print pieces per year, plus added website and video content from the Alumni Program launch. PDF is the final format for collateral.
Q: What is the current website setup and the level of ongoing support needed?
A: What is the current website setup and the level of ongoing support needed?
Q: May firms propose for a subset of services, or is full-scope coverage expected?
A: Firms may propose for any combination of, or all of, the services in Section 3. Clearly identify which services you are proposing for.
Q: Will single-service proposals be evaluated independently, or is full-scope preferred?
A: There is no preference, and scope breadth is not an evaluation criterion. RISE may award all service areas to a single firm or make separate awards by service area, and reserves the right to make no award or partial awards.
Q: How should graphic design be categorized?
A: Graphic design may be listed as its own hourly line item.
Q: How is nonprofit experience and mission alignment weighted?
A: Under Relevant Experience, worth 20% (Section 4, point 2), referencing work with nonprofits or mission-driven organizations where applicable.
Q: What is the current website infrastructure (platform, version, hosting, support volume)?
A: As of this posting, the site runs on WordPress 7.0 and is hosted and maintained by RISE. RISE seeks a partner to enhance the site while keeping it user-friendly enough for staff to manage routine content updates independently. Respondents are encouraged to recommend improvements to performance, security, accessibility, and long-term maintainability.
Q: Will RISE provide access to Google Analytics, historical data, and baseline KPIs?
A: Yes. RISE uses Google Analytics, and the selected firm will have access to historical data. Detailed analytics access will be provided once an agreement is reached. Proposals may describe how this data would be used to improve performance.
Q: What third-party integrations, plugins, CRM, or application systems connect to the site?
A: Please refer to the current RISE website for details. RISE uses StartUs as its application management platform.
Q: Are any redesign, information architecture, or content migration changes anticipated during the term?
A: As RISE launches the Alumni Program and seeks a new Challenge application management platform, firms should plan for additional website content and functionality.
Q: Who controls hosting, security, and infrastructure, and what does the firm maintain?
A: RISE retains control of hosting, security, and infrastructure. The selected firm is responsible for enhancements, content, design, and ongoing support on the existing site (riseresilience.org), current domain, and WordPress platform.
Q: How does the website support Innovation Challenge workflows, and what improvements are needed?
A: The website is the primary hub for Challenges, providing program information, applicant resources, FAQs, and application links. RISE wants to enhance the applicant journey, strengthen calls to action, and better showcase funded companies, pilots, and measurable impact before, during, and after each Challenge.
Q: What are the current website pain points and priorities?
A: Making the site easier for staff to update and maintain, improving user experience, launching an alumni network, increasing visibility with prospective funders and partners, and better showcasing RISE’s impact across channels. Recommendations for further improvements are welcome.
Q: Has user testing or research been conducted?
A: Not to RISE’s knowledge.