Market Research RFP Issued By Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA)

The  General  Appropriations  Act,  Act  88,  SLH  2021,  appropriated funds  for  the fiscal year beginning July 1,  2021, and  ending June  30,  2022  and  included  funds  for  the  promotion  of Hawaii agricultural  products  through  marketing  activities.    The Sponsorship  and  Product Promotion  RFP  22-03-MDB  requests  proposals  from  Hawaii-registered  non-profit agricultural  associations  and  non-profit commodity  organizations  for  sponsorships  and product promotion activities  that will  be conducted  within the  State.   SPP22  will  also consider  marketing  activities  conducted  out-of-state that enhance the competitiveness  of Hawaii agricultural  products  and  provide extraordinary  benefit to  the  members  of  the nonprofit association or  non-profit commodity  organization.

To achieve this  goal,  the HDOA  announces  the availability  of  approximately  $80,000 in program  funds  for  projects  to  enhance the competitiveness  of  local  agricultural  products and  their  industries  including,  but not limited  to,  agritourism,  apiary/beekeeping, aquaponics,  dairy,  eggs,  fish  (marine or  freshwater),  floriculture,  livestock  (cattle,  goats, sheep,  swine,  poultry),  organic,  specialty  crops,  and  value-added  products  (manufactured, processed).

SPP22 will  consider  proposals  that request funds  for  marketing  activities  including,  but not limited  to,  sponsorships  for  conferences,  festivals,  seminars,  trade  shows,  or workshops; and  for  product promotion projects  for  Hawaii  agricultural  products  including,  but not limited  to,  advertising  campaigns,  development  of  banners,  brochures,  or  posters, collaterals  (bags,  buttons,  clips,  pens,  pencils, packaging,  boxes),  in-store demonstrations, sampling  events,  or  website improvement.  

SPP22 proposals  for  sponsorship  and  product  promotion can include,  but  need  not be limited  to,  support for  statewide campaigns  to  increase  local  production  of  Hawaii agricultural  commodities  and/or  support  for  the  “Buy  Local,  It  Matters”  call-to-action campaign to  increase  demand  for  locally  grown and  processed  agricultural  products. The HDOA will  administer  a competitive process  to  award  these funds  in amounts  up  to  a maximum of  $10,000  per  proposal.   Higher  award  amounts  will  be considered  for  proposals that  are  of  extraordinary  merit that benefit Hawaii agricultural  producers  statewide.    For  sponsorships,  the requested  amount can be based  on  the following  suggested  guidelines and  reflect a reasonable  expenditure for  either:   mid-level  sponsorship  categories, sponsorship  of  travel  to  attend  the activity,  sponsorship  of  venue,  equipment rental, registration fees  or  costs  related  to  the activity.   Due to  limited  funds,  awards  to  an  eligible organization will  be  limited  to  one  project.

For  other  than sponsorships,  the requested  amount should  benefit  most  of  the membership and/or  industry  rather than one individual  or  company.    The  primary goal  of  SPP22  will be  to support Hawaii-registered  non-profit associations’  and non-profit  commodity  organizations’  projects  to  implement marketing  and  product promotion activities.   Project  proposals must  include  at  least  one  measurable, quantifiable outcome.

Submission

Applicants  must submit  their  proposals  electronically  in  MS  Word  format  with  all attachments  via email  to  hdoa.addrfp@hawaii.gov.   All proposals  must  be  received  by  12:00 p.m.  Noon  on  Monday,  March  7, 2022,  as  evidenced  by  the HDOA  time  clock.   The  official time of  receipt  of  proposals  shall  be determined  by the HDOA’s  time clock,  and  NOT by the  time  the  Applicant sends  its  proposal.   Applicants  are  encouraged  to  take appropriate measures  to  ensure timely receipt  of  proposals.  

Proposals  not  in  MS  Word  format  will  not  be reviewed  and  will  be returned  to  the applicant.   Proposals  not emailed  to  hdoa.addrfp@hawaii.gov  with  all  required attachments  by  the deadline will  not  be reviewed  and  will  be returned  to  the applicant.

The contact person for  this  Request for  Proposal  (RFP)  is  Sharon  Hurd,  (808)  973-9465,  or email  sharon.k.hurd@hawaii.gov  for  more information.

Scope of Work

Project  proposals  and  goals  of offerors  applying  for  sponsorship  and  product  promotion funds  can  focus  on  the  following  categories:

•  Introduces  a  product,  method,  technology,  or  process that achieves  the goal of the association/organization and  supports  the membership.

•  Demonstrates the need  for  the  project or  promotional  activity  to  attain  full  potential of  an industry  or  agricultural product;

•  Contributes a greater  ratio  of  matching  funds  (cash  or  in-kind);

•  Promotes a fledgling  industry,  with  a lesser  ability  to  pay  for  a product promotion program  but with  potential  for  expansion;

•  Benefits a great number  of  the producers  whose  production  accounts  for  a substantial  portion of  the value of  the industry;

•  Results in greater  value to  the State,  including  labor  and  material  utilized,  or  value added  within the  State;  

•  Supports the membership  statewide and/or  supports  most  of  the  stakeholders  of  the industry  (associations,  farmers,  producers,  businesses);  or

•  Has fulfilled  the expectations  of  previous  promotional  programs  based  on staff evaluation and  written  reports  submitted  by  the applicant.

Project  Oversight

HDOA’s Market Development Branch  (MDB)  will  directly  oversee the planning  and implementation of  the  project and  will  monitor  the performance of  all  project activities  and ensure that work  is  completed  within the required  timeline and  in compliance with  all program  regulations.   

Hunter PR and Ketchum PR are relevant PR agencies.