On September 20th, 2017, Hurricane María hit Puerto Rico causing catastrophic island-wide damages. In response to this major disaster, the Governor of Puerto Rico issued the Executive Order Number OE-2017-047, declaring a state of emergency in Puerto Rico. Additionally, on September 21, 2017, the President of the United State of America issued a Major Disaster Declaration for Puerto Rico, ordering federal assistance to supplement the Government of Puerto Rico’s (GPR’s) recovery efforts and authorizing federal funding for emergency works in all seventy-eight (78) municipalities of our island, in order to begin to recover from the effects of this catastrophic disaster.
 
In response to the recovery efforts, in February 9, 2018, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocated $1,507,179,000 to the Government of Puerto Rico in Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds appropriated by the Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements, 2017, for the purpose of assisting in long-term recovery from 2017 disasters.  The PRDOH has been designated by the Governor of Puerto Rico as the grantee and administrator of this allocation. In addition to recover and rebuild, these funds are granted to stimulate economic growth in every affected community.
 
The PRDOH is issuing this Request for Proposals (RFP) to acquire Public Relations Services under the CDBG-DR allocation. The purpose of this RFP is to obtain public relations services from qualified professionals that will provide strategies and implement integrated tactics across a wide variety of platforms to further amplify the PRDOH CDBG-DR initiatives in accordance with the Action Plan. The successful Proposer shall engage immediately after an agreement with the PRDOH is signed.
 
All Proposers shall be qualified to obtain and submit a Bid Guarantee equivalent to five percent (5%) of the offer, valid for ninety (90) days in the form of certified check, bank draft, US Government Bond at par value, or bond from an approved insurance company that appears in the Federal Register (Treasury Listed) Circular 570 and authorized to do business with the government of Puerto Rico.
 
The RFP process is designed to promote fair and open competition while seeking a cost competitive option. The RFP package must be downloaded from the website www.cdbg-dr.pr.gov in the “Procurement” section. Interested Proposers must be registered using the forms available on the “Registration” section at www.cdbg-dr.pr.gov. Download and complete the CDBG-DR Procurement Process Registration Form. All prospective Proposers must send the completed CDBG-DR Procurement Process Registration Form to cdbgdr-procurement@vivienda.pr.gov. Alternatively, prospective Proposers can also obtain hardcopies of this RFP at the PRDOH’s headquarters at no cost on business days at the Procurement Office located on the 9th floor of the Department of Housing, 606 Barbosa Ave., Juan César Cordero Dávila Building, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Attention: Mr. José A. Rivera Delgado, Acting Contracts Manager. For any additional information on the RFP’s documents availability, you may contact us at (787) 759-9407 Ext. 3030. Responses to this RFP should be prepared in accordance with the instructions provided in the RFP package. The Proposal will be evaluated by the PRDOH as described in the RFP and in accordance with applicable local and federal laws and regulations, including HUD’s requirements, among others. Proposals will be held in confidence and will not be released for public review until the final awards is completed.
 
The PRDOH is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate as to sex, gender or sexual identity, race, age, national origin, religious creed, civil status, war veterans, handicap or disable status. We appreciate your interest in being considered for the performance of the services described in this RFP.