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 78 municipalities of our island, in order to begin to recover from the effects of this catastrophic disaster. The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 93-288, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 5121 et seq., was enacted for the purposes of providing an orderly and continuing means of assistance by the Federal Government to PRDOH and local governments in carrying out their responsibilities to alleviate the suffering and damage which result from disasters.
 
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 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 have 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 Qualifications (RFQ) to outsource Planning Consulting Service under the CDBG-DR allocation. The purpose of this RFQ is to obtain services for the assessments, studies, situational analysis, identify potential strategic initiatives, and to assist with the implementation and administration of disaster recovery programs and municipalities in accordance to Federal and Government requirements in connection with appropriated disaster assistance funding related to the allocations granted to the Government of Puerto Rico under the CDBG-DR allocation.
 
The RFQ process is designed to promote fair and open competition while seeking the most advantageous option for the PRDOH. The RFQ package must be downloaded from the website www.cdbg-dr.pr.gov in the “Procurement” section. Interested Respondents 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 Respondents must send the completed CDBG-DR Procurement Process Registration Form to cdbgdr-procurement@vivienda.pr.gov. Alternatively, prospective Respondents can also obtain hardcopies of this RFQ at the PRDOH’s 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 RFQ’s documents availability, you may contact us at (787) 759-9407 Ext. 3030. Responses to this RFQ should be prepared in accordance with the instructions provided in the RFQ package. The Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) will be evaluated by the PRDOH as described in this RFQ and in accordance with applicable local and federal laws and regulations, including HUD’s requirements, among others. SOQ 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 RFQ.