REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL: Database Consultant

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL: Database Consultant

We are seeking a consultant who can complete a database which will be used by JS to analyze Justice 40-covered investments for a new report. We invite interested parties to participate in a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to provide their expertise in data development.

The Just Solutions team is working on a report that will provide an analysis of the development and implementation of the Justice 40 Initiative through two avenues: 1) analyzing the amount of non-transportation federal investments in five states; and 2) analyzing how four federal agencies are tracking their Justice 40 obligations. The first avenue entails a quantitative analysis of investments in Oregon, Washington, California, Maryland, and New York. The second avenue will include a qualitative analysis of how the Department of Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Department of Interior, and the Environmental Protection Agency are measuring benefits through Community Benefits Agreements, mapping tools, and other publicly available data.

Just Solutions has compiled the list of the funded projects, including 252 in Maryland, 335 in Oregon, 468 in Washington, 471 in New York, and 1010 in California for fiscal years 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. The database has overall project descriptions but is missing geographic identifiers. We would like the consultant to identify and document the address or census tract in which the project is located, and at the very least the county in which the project is located. A methodology and documentation of such methodology should be developed to communicate how special cases are handled: example, when a project is located across several census tracts or counties. The consultant’s deliverable will be the completed database with the geographic identifiers for each funded project across the five states. Just Solutions will then take the completed database to conduct an analysis on the extent to which non-transportation federal investments are reaching disadvantaged communities.

Scope of Work:

• Develop and document the methodology used to identify the address or census tract and county of each funded project. Identification and documentation of special cases.
• If the contractor creates codes or uses text mining to leverage information in the “recipient” and “project description” fields to extract location information, such code and process must be included in the description of the methodology.
• Review the large data set of Justice 40 projects in Maryland, Oregon, Washington, New York, and California to extract from the database all transportation projects and statewide projects. These projects will be excluded from our analysis thus could be removed to reduce the time it would take to complete the geographic identifiers.
• From the remaining funded projects, the consultant must systematically and as accurately as possible identify the place of performance by the address or census-tract, and county.
• Submit the completed database by October 31, 2024

This is a consulting scope to be 10-15 hours a week. The consultant would work with our senior policy analyst and report progress every two weeks. Compensation total is $15,500 from September 16, 2024 through October 31, 2024.

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Possess a Master’s degree in data science, informatics, geography, or social science.
• Proven experience developing large data sets systematically and attention to detail
• Must have an established business with other clients.
• Must carry business insurance. 1
• Ability to work remotely.

Preferred additional skills, but not required

• Experience coding or text mining, for example to identify unique place names and codify to census tract/counties
• Familiarity with TIGER shapefiles and geographic boundaries and codes
• Preference for those with a background in environmental or climate issues, and racial and social justice

To Apply

Interested consultants should send an email to with the subject line “Identifying Communities Receiving Justice 40 Benefits” and attach a letter of interest, qualifications and relevant work sample(s), and three references from former or current clients by September 5, 2024. Interviews with qualified candidates will occur on a rolling basis.

1 If you are unable to meet the business qualification, there is the potential to hire a candidate as a temporary employee.