Request for Proposals: Statewide Housing Campaign
By The Minneapolis Egotist / /
Minnesota Housing Partnership (MHP) advocates for equitable housing policy, produces data-informed research to inform solutions and delivers community development services across the United States. MHP’s mission is to expand housing and community development opportunities for those most impacted by economic and racial disparities by leading collaborative work to promote system change and grow equitable development capacity.
MHP’s community development team works directly with communities, regions, and organizations to achieve their housing and community development goals. We have deep experience in serving rural communities and Native Nations, throughout Minnesota and beyond.
MHP’s policy work includes leading many statewide housing campaigns, including work as a founding member of the Homes for All coalition and recently a successful effort to establish a Minnesota Affordable Housing Tax Credit. For the 2022 legislative session, MHP led the “Yes to Invest: $2 billion for housing in 2022” initiative, which influenced the scope and amount of housing investments proposed by lawmakers including the Governor and the House.
Campaign Background
MHP is excited to launch a multi-year statewide housing campaign in 2022. As part of this campaign, MHP seeks consulting services for three areas of work.
Narrative and Messaging: Develop a housing narrative, with special attention to a narrative that connects with rural and Greater Minnesota values. We would like this narrative work to build on the insights and recommendations of the Housing Justice Narrative project and reflect race equity and climate resiliency priorities. Narrative development should take into account inputs from rural, Greater Minnesota, ex-urban and suburban communities, Tribal Nations, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) community members.
Campaign strategy and design: Design and implement a three-year campaign plan, guided by the Campaign’s four goals below, to include communications and messaging strategies as well as field organizing and engagement. The plan should include options for paid and earned media.
Marketing collateral: Create content for a variety of communications and marketing platforms, including digital, video, radio, and more. In essence, we seek to change the hearts and minds of people throughout the state about housing— dispel myths and stereotypes about who needs and lives in affordable homes, and promote understanding about how housing affects our ability to succeed and thrive – in order to achieve legislative victories for housing stability at the state legislature.
Campaign Goals
Goal 1: Establish a common narrative that includes rural housing needs and reflects race equity and climate resiliency priorities. Refute disinformation and misinformation that perpetuates housing myths.
Goal 2: Measurably intensify ongoing support for housing, by public and lawmakers and candidates, including in selected target districts in Greater Minnesota.
Goal 3: Motivate support from the public, candidates, and lawmakers to achieve policy goals to increase state funding and policy for housing stability and affordable homes. Specific campaign goal(s) to be determined and may change over the course of the 3-year campaign. A similar initiative, Yes to Invest: $2 billion for housing, was created for the 2022 legislative session.
Goal 4: Create housing champions throughout Minnesota, especially in selected target districts in Greater Minnesota, by developing or increasing relationships and commitment to long-term housing movement work by campaign participants, organizing partners, community influencers, and others.
Audience
This project would be intended to reach members of the general public, as well as state candidates and lawmakers. This campaign will build the base of housing advocates and champions, prioritizing identified target districts.
Campaign Timeline
This multi-year campaign will be divided into phases for the purpose of timeline. Services requested in this RFP, other than developing a multi-year campaign plan, are for Phase I of the campaign which will conclude February 28, 2023. Phase II of this campaign will be from February 2023 through the first half of 2025.
Campaign Start-Up Budget
The budget range for the scope of work is $125,000 to $165,000. This budget is inclusive of consultant time as well as hard costs, including polling and paid media. RFP responses should describe how this budget range could be utilized for a menu of expenses, including: time and costs for narrative development, polling, creating and implementing a campaign plan and campaign strategy, content creation, and paid media.
Additional Budget-Related Information
In addition to the budget described above, we have additional budget and resources to provide the following:
• MHP will provide significant staff support to this campaign, including campaign management and strategy, organizing and field engagement, and communications support
• Funds are available for compensation of community experts for narrative development and campaign advice and participation
• Funds are available for field activities including compensation for organizing partners, canvassers, and events
• MHP will provide sub-grants to collaborating organizations across Minnesota
Scope of Work
• Narrative and messaging. Develop persuasive campaign narrative and messaging, building on research from the Housing Justice Narrative project, original research of Minnesota constituencies, and successful housing campaigns with similar goals.
Utilize polling, interviews, focus groups and other qualitative and quantitative data and techniques to refine and localize a housing campaign narrative that resonates with rural community interests and needs.
Narrative development should take into account inputs from rural, Greater Minnesota, ex-urban and suburban communities, Tribal Nations, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) community members
Identify unique messaging that is persuasive with various constituencies, prioritizing rural communities.
• Campaign strategy and plan. Develop a three-year campaign strategy and plan, including benchmarks and analytics, to end in June of 2025 or at the end of the legislative session. Plan should include:
Recommended benchmarks and activities for each of the four campaign goals.
Campaign structure and engagement activities, including grassroots and grass tops engagement in the targeted districts.
Strategy for deploying housing narrative through messaging and engagement activities, including connecting to policy objective.
Strategy for grassroots engagement, field, and candidate engagement activities.
Engagement with campaign committee for advice, feedback, and direction.
Research and analysis to establish and analyze campaign short-term and long-term goals, benchmarks and activities, including targeted districts for grassroots engagement and organizing.
Post-election plan and strategy, including messaging, organizing activities, and public engagement and lawmaker engagement activities.
Track and document the effectiveness of each campaign activity and the campaign as a whole and make adjustments as needed during the campaign period.
• Marketing collateral
Development of collateral, website, or presence on MHP’s website, digital and other communications assets.
Paid and unpaid media strategy and purchasing.
Paid and unpaid social media campaign.
Development of video and written storytelling collateral.
Final report including an evaluation of campaign strategy and results, and recommendations for next phase of 3-year campaign.
RFP Response Deadline: Responses are due by Thursday, July 14, 2022, end of business (5:00 pm). Please send all responses via email to [email protected]. Review of RFP responses will begin as soon as responses are received and will continue until selection.
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