Specifications include, but are not limited to: A. This evaluation of economic development in New Orleans has the potential to create generational change and transform the economic development landscape of New Orleans. Given the vast importance of this project, the Respondent shall demonstrate an ability to devote adequate resources and attention to ensuring the project is carried out in a robust and efficient manner. B. The Respondent shall maintain transparency through open, honest dialogue among key stakeholders throughout the process. This is paramount and viewed as fundamental to each component of the scope of work for the project. C. The Respondent shall develop a thorough understanding of the organizational structure and alignment of current economic development entities in New Orleans and the history that has led to the current state. D. The Respondent shall review the City’s economic and community development priorities and initiatives, including the City’s Master Plan, Future Land Use Map (and amendment requests), Plan for Generational Economic Transformation, and Redevelopment Framework. These plans should serve as the basis for future community and economic development efforts. E. The Respondent shall review the organizational structure of New Orleans’s existing community and economic development entities to understand: a. Skills and areas of expertise of existing staff in an effort to identify current strengths, as well as gaps in skill sets needed for a successful future-state organization. b. Existing programs and funding streams. When reviewed collectively, the departments and entities that play a role in our economic development efforts control significant funding from a multitude of funding sources, many of which necessitate separate accounting practices and procedures. However, when directed toward a single vision and set of collective goals, these resources could transform the trajectory of the city, if deployed in a coordinated and effective manner. c. Existing assets of public boards, agencies, and authorities in New Orleans that play a role in community and economic development and control assets with substantial current and future value. This strategic planning effort should consider the value of assets and the role they might play in further funding and facilitating future economic development within the city. F. The respondent shall review best practices for economic development. Numerous models exist for structuring public economic development efforts. This planning process seeks to ground recommendations in a knowledge of national and global best practices, with a focus on highperformance organizations dedicated to solving complex economic and social policy issues through targeted programs and investments. Additionally, the effort seeks to identify structures for best integrating community and economic development objectives and removing silos of operation. G. The Respondent shall review and understand economic outcomes in the city. Recommendations for future community and economic development efforts should be grounded in the economic realities of the outcomes of the city’s residents. Future strategies should have the explicit objective of shaping an organizational structure that fulfills inequity reduction goals in line with the City’s Plan for Generational Economic Transformation.
