Request for Proposals (RFP) Historic Resources Marketing & Interpretation Plan

The City of Rock Island is hereby requesting proposals from qualified consultants to create an implementable framework for celebrating, interpreting, and promoting the City’s historic resources with a focus on the City’s National Register-listed historic districts, including Downtown, Broadway, and the U.S. Housing Corporation District, as well as local landmarks and districts.

This project will take a high-level approach to evaluate these and other potential strategies, resulting in a coordinated plan that defines priorities, ensures alignment with existing branding, and identifies key partnerships, budgets, and implementation steps. The resulting document will serve as a roadmap to guide staff time and resource allocation, as well as inform future funding pursuits.

This project is funded in part by a Certified Local Government (CLG) grant awarded to the City by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), using federal Historic Preservation Fund monies from the National Park Service.

The selected consultant will create a comprehensive, implementable framework for celebrating, interpreting, and promoting the City's historic resources. The scope of work must include:

1. Existing Conditions & Best Practices: Review existing historic interpretation, marketing materials, historic resource inventories, programming, and target audiences. Identify gaps and opportunities and benchmark relevant practices in comparable communities.
2. Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration: Engage the Preservation Commission and appropriate community partners, including the Rock Island Downtown Alliance, Rock Island Preservation Society, Broadway Historic District Association, Rock Island Public Library, Visit Quad Cities, and other regional partners, to identify priorities and opportunities for coordination.
3. Interpretation & Marketing Strategy: Develop recommendations for:
- Digital tools, including web/app-based tours, interactive mapping, multimedia content, and QR-enabled content;
- Physical interpretation, including historic plaques, wayfinding, and central interpretive features;
- In-person programming, including guided tours, educational workshops, community celebrations, and partner-led events; and
- Marketing and outreach strategies for residents, visitors, and students.
4. Branding & Coordination: Ensure recommendations complement existing City branding efforts and avoid duplication or competing identities, including guidance on visual integration, messaging, and coordination among partners.
5. Implementation Plan: Provide a prioritized short-, mid-, and long-term roadmap identifying recommended projects, responsible parties, estimated costs, potential funding sources, and implementation steps.
6. Final Deliverables: Provide the final plan as a single searchable PDF with photographs, along with editable source files.

As a condition of the City’s CLG grant, drafts of the plan must be submitted to the Illinois SHPO for review and comment at key milestones, and the final draft must receive SHPO approval before it is recommended for adoption or published.

**Submissions** must be received no later than **November 16, 2026 at 4:00 PM**. Proposals may be delivered in person or sent via mail with a tracking service. All submissions must be in **sealed envelopes** that include the following information on the outside cover:

Community Development Department, Attn: Tanner Osing, 1528 3rd Avenue, Rock Island, IL 61201. ENCLOSED: Response to RFP – Historic Resources Marketing & Interpretation Plan

Proposed project budget **not to exceed $24,000.00**, with completion of the final plan no later than April 30, 2028. Consultants who do not meet the professional qualifications standards shall not be considered. The lowest bid shall not automatically guarantee that the consultant will be awarded the contract. A submitted price for services shall remain valid for 90 days after submission deadline.

Award of the contract is contingent upon written approval of the selected consultant by the Illinois SHPO, as required under the City’s CLG grant agreement.

• November 19, 2026: Preservation Commission makes recommendation.
• December 14, 2026: City Council awards contract.