By Greg Hazley
[Note: This solicitation was postponed on Sept. 3 pending notice of a new deadline.]
The Army Corp of Engineers has put its lucrative New Orleans PR account out for bids, a year after it drew fire from critics who said it was trying to “spin” the news.
Manifold beneath the intersection of Claiborne and Napoleon Aves. in New Orleans where culverts carry storm flows to a pump station.
(Photo: Army Corp) |
The Army Corp issued an RFP Aug. 25 for a pact with the New Orleans District Public Affairs Office as it communicates the Corps’ work in reducing hurricane and flood risk in the southeastern area of Louisiana ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.
The account has been handled by Outreach Process Partners of Annapolis, Md., which won a $5.2M pact in 2007 to provide PR support for the Corps’ public affairs staff and to help stem a tide of negative press by fostering public outreach and communicating the Corps’ work. Its contract runs through September.
A citizens group in New Orleans organized criticism of the PR contract last year by claiming the Corps was trying to “spin” news coverage.
OPP is run by Janice Roper-Graham, a 25-year pro with extensive experience in floodplain, engineering, public works and mitigation communication with clients like FEMA, the Maryland Transportation Authority and the Louisiana Governor´s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
She has not yet been reached about whether her firm will re-bid for the project.
The RFP covers communications, public affairs, public involvement, community relations, and media relations services.
The resulting contract is set at $1.5M for the first year with four option years.
Eighty percent of New Orleans flooded when Corps-designed levees failed after Katrina in 2005.
Dowload the RFP (PDF).
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