• Issue date: March 5, 2025
• Closing date and time: March 12, 2025 5:00 pm
• Submit to: contracts-contrats@cedec.ca
• Contract period: The contract period will end on March 31, 2025

The Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation (CEDEC), based in the Province of Quebec, is requesting proposals to market studies to inform the development of economic and labour force opportunities.

This Request for Proposals (RFP) contains specific details and timelines and should be reviewed carefully prior to submitting a proposal. Incomplete or late proposals will not be considered.

ABOUT CEDEC

CEDEC is the federally designated and financed Official Language Minority Community in Quebec (OLMCQ) organization responsible for economic development, including business, labour market, and employment assistance development. Its mission is to strengthen the contribution of English-speakers and the OLMCQ to growing and developing Quebec’s economy, while leveraging their participation in it to address economic disparities and disadvantages. It specifically seeks to generate tangible economic impacts for English-speakers, businesses, social enterprises, and their communities, as well as the broader Francophone community in which they exist and thrive.

STATEMENT OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICE NEEDS

CEDEC wishes to hire a contractor to deliver 5-10 market studies to support economic development opportunities within specific industry sectors or sub-sectors. We expect the contractor undertaking this work by relying on secondary sources of data from a variety of sources. Primary data collection may be required to identify and qualify business and consumer demand related to specific economic development opportunities in specific industries. Primary data requirements will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Accordingly, primary data collection should be included and costed on a case-by-case basis. Note that it is anticipated that some of the market studies may be focused on the same industry or sector within different geographical contexts. Therefore, specific elements of primary and secondary research may be leveraged for use in two or more studies.

The scope of the work required should be understood in reference to the following elements:

1. Defining the contours of specific markets within particular industries or industrial sub-sectors).
   • Is it a public/private/civil society or hybrid market?
     • If hybrid, how are the interests and interactions of the public, private and/or civil society sectors/actors related?
   • Is the identified market a physical, virtual economic space, or both?
     • If both, how are physical and virtual economic spaces connected?
   • What industry/industries is the identified market part of or related to?

2. Identifying and describing who the major players in the identified market are, i.e., buyers/consumers, sellers/suppliers, regulators, investors, stakeholders.
   • Who are the current and anticipated buyers/consumers in the identified market?
     • What are / will be their characteristics (are they / will they be businesses, social enterprises, autonomous workers, government, consumers, other)?
     • If consumers, what is / will be their age, gender, income level, education, etc.?
   • What have been, what are, and what will be their market expectations, i.e., what is the value they have been, are, and will be looking for in the market?
   • What is the pattern of their past, current, and anticipated purchasing power?

• Who are the current and anticipated sellers/suppliers in the identified market?

• What are / will be their characteristics, i.e. are they / will they be businesses, social enterprises, autonomous workers, government, etc.?
• What have been, what are, and what will be their market expectations, i.e., what is the value they are / will be looking for in the market?
• What is the pattern of past, current, and anticipated selling power over time?
  • Who are the regulators in the defined market?
• What are their mandates and characteristics?
• What have been, what are, and what will be their market expectations, i.e., what is the value they are looking for in the market, and what regulatory mechanisms have they / will they use to achieve this value?
• What has been the pattern of their regulatory power over time, i.e., the power they use to ensure compliance with the standards and expectations they must enforce? What is it anticipated to be?
• Who are the key stakeholders in the defined market?
• What are and what will be their characteristics and interests?
• What has been, what is, what will be their power of influence in the market, i.e., their ability to affect how the market is defined, operates, and is regulated?
• What have been, what are, and what will be their market expectations, i.e., what is the value they are looking for in the market?
  • What are the relationships and power dynamics among market actors? Who individually or in coalition possesses the capacity to influence the operation and growth of the identified market?

3. Based upon 1 and 2 above, provide a description and analysis of the identified market in terms of:
   • Its origin and evolution.
   • The commodity(ies) (goods or services) being traded.
   • The evolving size of the market (trading space, number of buyers/consumers and sellers, volume of sales, shape and size of the supply chain operating in the market, etc.).

• The evolution of products and services, and their differentiation, i.e., how similar are products and services in the defined market and how different are they?
  • Growth and decline in the identified market in terms of the transaction of goods and services, and the factors that have contributed to these patterns.
  • Competition in the identified market, especially in terms of openness to new entrants or barriers to the same.
  • The identified market’s patterns of information flow between buyers/consumers and sellers/suppliers. The evolving interests and behaviours of consumers/buyers, sellers/suppliers, regulators, and key stakeholders in the market forecast of future demand and supply trends in the defined market, and the trends and factors that could impact the forecast.

4. Assess the identified economic development opportunity in relation to the analysis of the defined market, and the market forecast provided.
   • For the identified market, predict and explain the future direction.
     • Demand for the products or services identified in the economic development opportunity.
     • Needed supply of products or services identified in the economic development opportunity.
     • Needed Public, Private, and Civil Society investment required to provide the current and forecasted products and services.
     • Current and anticipated regulation and stakeholder involvement in the identified market, and potential impact on exchanges between consumers and suppliers in it.

• In reference to the economic development opportunity, identify areas of potential growth in the defined market, including product and service enhancements, product and service diversification, requirement for new products and services, increased trade in the defined market, and/or expansion of trade into new markets.
  • Identify the key enablers/conditions of success that must be in place to effectively take advantage of economic development opportunities.

5. Make any additional recommendations about taking advantage of the identified the economic development opportunity.

CRITERIA FOR THE EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

Proposals received through this RFP will be evaluated using the following criteria:

• Demonstrated track record of producing high quality and predictive market studies.
• Demonstrated experience in in accessing and leveraging access to a broad spectrum of existing market data for numerous industries and sub-industries.
• Demonstrated experience in designing primary research to gather and analyze predictive demand and supply data doe specific markets.
• Experience working with not-for-profit and mission-based organizations.
• A basic understanding of CEDEC’s mission and our business, and willingness to invest in developing a deeper understanding of the organization and its collaborative approach to economic and labour market development.
• The ability to work effectively within a bilingual environment and work with data and information in English and French.
• A clear demonstration of ability to deliver on time and according to client specifications.
• A commitment to a team-based approach and “after-sale” client service.
• A commitment to leverage CEDEC’s current research capacity and resources to limit duplication and focus on the supplier’s added value contribution.
• The competitiveness and clear value of the quote provided.

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Proposals responding to this RFP must contain the following elements:

1. A cover letter summarizing your proposal.
2. A professional curriculum vitae or business prospectus demonstrating that you have the experience and qualifications necessary to undertake this contract as per the evaluation criteria noted above.
3. A market study methodology to leverage the use of secondary and primary data.
4. A workplan to generate the deliverables (i.e. 5-10 market studies) according to the requirements contained in this RFP.
5. A quote for the work tied to specific deliverables.
6. Three recent examples of work, at least one reflecting the ability to deliver high quality work in English and French.
7. Three references from past clients.

Proposals must be sent by email to the following address: contracts-contrats@cedec.ca. All proposals must have RFP: Market Studies in the subject line, be complete as per the requirements of this RFP, and received by the closing date for proposals (see above).

Please note that all expenses associated with this work are the responsibility of the contractor and should be reflected in the professional fees quoted.

Note also that CEDEC has elected not to share a budget for this Request for Proposals. Please provide us with a quote that reflects your estimate of fair market value for the work defined in this document.

NEXT STEPS

CEDEC may retain one or more proposals for consideration and conduct follow-up interviews once we have reviewed all submissions. All candidates that have responded to this RFP will be informed about the status of their submission once we have selected a contractor(s) to undertake the work.

Questions about this RFP are welcomed. Please keep them brief and to the point. All questions should be received no later than close of business on Friday, March 7, 2025, and should be sent by email to contracts-contrats@cedec.ca. We are not able to respond to questions by phone. Please use Market Studies in the subject line of all inquiries.

This Request for Proposals has been prepared by the Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation (CEDEC). CEDEC considers the material in this RFP to be proprietary and confidential. The contents of this RFP must be held in confidence by recipients and used only to prepare a proposal for consideration by CEDEC.

• Issue date: Monday, March 3, 2025
• Closing date and time: Monday, March 10, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. EDT
• Submit to: contracts-contrats@cedec.ca
• Contract period: March 14, 2025 to March 31, 2025 with the possibility of renewal with the agreement of both parties.

The Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation (CEDEC), based in the Province of Quebec, is requesting proposals to establish a data portal to inform the development of economic and labour force opportunities.

This Request for Proposals (RFP) contains specific details and timelines and should be reviewed carefully prior to submitting a proposal. Incomplete or late proposals will not be considered.

ABOUT CEDEC

CEDEC is the federally designated and financed Official Language Minority Community in Quebec (OLMCQ) organization responsible for economic development, including business, labour market, and employment assistance development. Its mission is to strengthen the contribution of English-speakers and the OLMCQ to growing and developing Quebec’s economy, while leveraging their participation in it to address economic disparities and disadvantages. It specifically seeks to generate tangible economic impacts for English-speakers, businesses, social enterprises, and their communities, as well as the broader Francophone community in which they exist and thrive.

STATEMENT OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICE NEEDS

CEDEC requires the services of a vendor to create, host, and maintain an online data portal that contains economic and labour market information for Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs) across Canada. This portal should be linked to CEDEC’s website and contain the following elements:

1. A custom data map and dashboard with key economic and labour indicators.
2. An online catalogue of data tables accessible to CEDEC and its partners for all Canadian census divisions, subdivisions and, where possible, small geographies.
3. Technical support in the form of ongoing email support, and ongoing training and development.

CRITERIA FOR THE EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

Proposals received through this RFP will be evaluated using the following criteria:

• • Demonstrated track record of producing data products
  • Confirmation of access to a broad spectrum of economic and labour market/force data for Canada’s OLMCs
  • Experience working with not-for-profit and mission-based organizations.
  • A basic understanding of CEDEC’s mission and our business, and willingness to invest in developing a deeper understanding of the organization and its collaborative approach to economic and labour market development.
  • The ability to work effectively within a bilingual environment and work with data and information in English and French.
  • A clear demonstration of the ability to deliver on time and according to client specifications
  • A commitment to a team-based approach and “after-sale” client service.
  • The competitiveness and clear value of the quote provided.

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Proposals responding to this RFP must contain the following elements:

1. A cover letter summarizing your proposal.
2. A professional curriculum vitae or business prospectus demonstrating that you have the experience and qualifications necessary to undertake this contract as per the evaluation criteria noted above.
3. A workplan to generate the deliverables specified in this RFP (see above).
4. A quote for the work tied to the specific deliverables.
5. Three recent examples of work, at least one reflecting the ability to deliver a bilingual data product.
6. Three references from past clients.

Proposals must be sent by email to the following address: contracts-contrats@cedec.ca. All proposals must have RFP: Data Portal in the subject line, be complete as per the requirements of this RFP, and received by the closing date for proposals (see above).

Please note that all expenses associated with this work are the responsibility of the contractor and should be reflected in the professional fees quoted.

Note also that CEDEC has elected not to share a budget for this Request for Proposals. Please provide us with a quote that reflects your estimate of fair market value for the work defined in this document.

NEXT STEPS

CEDEC may retain one or more proposals for consideration and conduct follow-up interviews once we have reviewed all submissions. All candidates that have responded to this RFP will be informed about the status of their submission once we have selected a contractor(s) to undertake the work.

Questions about this RFP are welcomed. Please keep them brief and to the point. All questions should be received no later than 5:00 (17:00) on Thursday, March 6, and should be sent by email to contracts-contrats@cedec.ca. We are not able to respond to questions by phone. Please keep your questions concise and use Data Portal in the subject line of all inquiries

This Request for Proposals has been prepared by the Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation (CEDEC). CEDEC considers the material in this RFP to be proprietary and confidential. The contents of this RFP must be held in confidence by recipients and used only to prepare a proposal for consideration by CEDEC.

Appendix 1: Specific Data Requirements for Data Portal

The following indicators are drawn from the October 2024 Overview of Quebec’s Economic Landscape. A Better Economy for Better Lives. Exploring the trends and factors shaping Quebec’s Economy in 2024-2026.

https://cedec.ca/publications/overview-of-quebecs-economic-landscape/

1. Key industries impacted by the Digital and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Transformation (% of employers by municipality/census subdivision (CSD) and region/census division (CD) in the following industrial sectors: Manufacturing, Agriculture, Education, Health Care, Tourism, Transportation, E-Commerce)

2. Demographic and Labour Force Profile (for CDs and CSDs):

• • Population
  • Permanent and Temporary Immigration: By program – skilled workers, immigrant entrepreneurs; By age; International students; By Educational attainment
  • Age: youth (15-24), mature workers (50-64), seniors (65+)
  • Employment and Unemployment rates by age: youth, mature workers, seniors

3. Industrial Sectors involved in the transition towards a greener, more sustainable economy (% of employers by Census Division and Subdivision): Energy; Transportation; Aviation; Agriculture; Waste & water management; Housing.

4. Profile of OLMC English-Speaking Community (Compared to general population) by Census Province, Census Division and Subdivision.

• • By age cohort (15-24, 15-64)
  • Dependency ratio (15–64-year-olds/total population)
  • Participation rate
  • Unemployment rate
  • Temporary vs permanent employment
  • Weeks worked
  • Educational attainment
  • Occupational profile (NOC): Statistical and data officers and related research support occupations, Data analysts and scientists, Information systems evaluators

Note: Official Language Minorities are classified according to Statistics Canada’s definition of First Official Language Spoken (FOLS). FOLS designation is a derived concept, taking into account a person’s knowledge of Canada’s two official languages, their mother tongue, and their home language (i.e., the language they speak most often at home). Individuals who speak both English and French as their first official language are evenly divided among English and French speakers.