Project Information

Bid Title

LYNCHBURG FIRE DEPARTMENT CLIMATE, CULTURE, AND HIRING PROCESS ASSESSMENT

Issuing Agency

City of Lynchburg

Location

Virginia

Published Date

Dec 5, 2025

Closing Date

Dec 29, 2025

Government Level

State & Local

Status

Closed

Ref. #

2026-055

Original Source

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Bid Inquiries

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Bid Documents

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Project Description

Bid Number:	2026-055
Bid Title:	LYNCHBURG FIRE DEPARTMENT CLIMATE, CULTURE, AND HIRING PROCESS ASSESSMENT
Category:	Request for Proposals
Status:	Open

Description: You can now submit your IFB or RFP response online. Simply click the button below, fill out the form, and attach your documents. Submit Online Publication Date/Time: 12/4/2025 7:30 PM Closing Date/Time: 12/29/2025 4:00 PM Pre-bid Meeting: N/A Contact Person: MATTHEW.MARSTELLER@LYNCHBURGVA.GOV Related Documents: 2026-055 LYNCHBURG FIRE DEPARTMENT CLIMATE CULTURE AND HIRING PROCESS ASSESSMENT

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REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TITLE PAGE

Include This Page as the First Page in Your Proposal Response

City of Lynchburg, Virginia

Procurement Division

Proposal Title: Lynchburg Fire Department Climate, Culture, and Hiring Process Assessment

This is the City of Lynchburg's Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 2026-055, issued December 4, 2025.

Direct inquires for information to: Matt Marsteller; Phone: 434-455-4233 or e-mail at

matthew.marsteller@lynchburgva.gov All requests for clarification of or questions regarding this RFP

must be made in writing and be received by 4:00 p.m. on December 22, 2025. All Addenda shall be

issued no later than 4:00 p.m. on December 24, 2025. All responses to this solicitation shall be in strict

accordance with the requirements set forth in this proposal document and the ensuing contract documents.

Sealed proposals will be publicly accepted prior to 4:00 p.m., December 29, 2025; however only the

names of firms responding will be available for announcement. Proposals received after the stated due

date and time shall not be considered. Submit proposals electronically through the City’s Bid Postings

website as noted below. Acknowledge all addenda so issued in the space provided below. Any alteration

or changes to this Request for Proposals will be made only by written addendum issued by the City

of Lynchburg, Procurement Division.

All Offerors are responsible for obtaining issued addenda from the City’s Procurement website:

http://www.lynchburgva.gov/Bids.aspx

Acknowledge receipt of addenda here: No. ________ Date: _______ No. _______ Date: _______ No. _______ Date:

______

Information the Offeror deems Proprietary is included in the proposal response in section(s):

See Paragraph B. on page 2 for guidelines on submitting proprietary

information.

In compliance with this Request for Proposals and all the conditions imposed therein, the undersigned

offers and agrees to furnish the services in accordance with the attached proposal or as mutually agreed

by subsequent negotiations. By my signature below, I certify that I am authorized to bind the Offeror in

any and all negotiations and/or contractual matters relating to this Request for Proposals. Sign in ink and

type or print requested information.

Full Legal Name of Offeror:

Fed ID OR SOC. SEC. NO.:

Date:

Address:

Signature:

Phone: ( )

E-mail address:

Typed or Printed Name, Title

City Procurement Signature

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I. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

A. To submit a proposal, access the Submit Online button as part of the RFP description on the City’s Bid

Postings webpage: https://www.lynchburgva.gov/Bids.aspx. All proposals submitted should be uploaded

as a single PDF file and must be submitted by the deadline. Late proposals will not be considered.

Proposals will be stored in a secure folder until after the deadline has passed then accessed by

Procurement staff.

B. Submission of Proprietary Information

Trade secrets or proprietary information submitted by an Offeror in connection with this procurement

transaction shall not be subject to public disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act;

however, the Offeror must invoke the protection of this section prior to or upon submission of the data or

the materials, and must identify the data or other materials to be protected and state the reason why

protection is necessary. (Section 2.2-4342 F. of the Code of Virginia). Offerors shall submit, in a

separate section of the proposal, any information considered proprietary and any copyrighted

material and clearly identify the information as proprietary and/or copyrighted information.

Offerors may not declare their entire proposal proprietary nor may they declare proposed pricing

to be proprietary. References may be made within the body of the proposal to proprietary information;

however, all information contained within the body of the proposal not in the separate section labeled

proprietary shall be considered Public Information.

C. Proposals having any erasures or corrections must be initialed by the Offeror in ink.

D. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals, to waive informalities, and to

reissue any request for proposals and to award contracts to multiple Offerors. Any contract resulting from

this Request for Proposal shall not be exclusive to the successful firm. The City reserves the right to

contract with firms not party to the resultant contract for similar work if it determines this to be in their

best interest.

E. By submitting a proposal, the Offeror agrees that the proposal will not be withdrawn for a period of 90

days following the due date for proposal responses.

F. By submitting a proposal, the Offeror certifies that it has not combined, conspired or agreed to

intentionally rig, alter or otherwise manipulate, or to cause to be rigged, altered or otherwise manipulated

its proposal for the purpose of allocating purchases or sales to or among persons, raising or otherwise

fixing the prices of the goods or services, or excluding other persons from dealing with the City.

G. By submitting a proposal, the Offeror certifies that its proposal is made without collusion or fraud and

that it has not offered or received any kickbacks or inducements from any other Offeror, supplier,

manufacturer or subcontracting firm in connection with its proposal; and that it has not conferred on

any public employee having official responsibility for this procurement transaction any payment, loan,

subscription, advance, deposit of money, services or anything of more than nominal value, present or

promised.

H. Nothing herein is intended to exclude any responsible Offeror or in any way restrain or restrict

competition. All responsible Offerors are encouraged to submit proposals.

I. It is the policy of the City of Lynchburg to maximize participation by minority and women owned

business enterprises in all aspects of City contracting opportunities. The City does not discriminate

against faith-based organizations.

J. The City will not be responsible for any expense incurred by any Offeror in preparing and submitting a

proposal. All proposals submitted will become the property of the City.

K. By submitting a proposal, the Offeror is certifying that Offeror is not currently debarred by the City, or in

a procurement involving federal funds, by the Federal Government. A copy of the City debarment

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procedure in accordance with Section 18.1-10 of the City’s Procurement Ordinance is available upon

request.

II. PURPOSE

The City of Lynchburg is seeking a qualified vendor to provide consultant services for the assessment,

evaluation, and analysis of the climate and culture, as well as the recruitment and hiring processes, for the

Lynchburg Fire Department (LFD), to include recommendations for improvement and a roadmap of priorities to

be used in the recruitment of a Fire Chief. The LFD desires to begin the steps necessary to provide a thorough

analysis by January 2026 with the final plan and deliverables provided by March 31, 2026.

III. BACKGROUND

Lynchburg is a city of 50 square miles with a population of approximately 81,000 located near the geographic

center of the state, bordered by the eastern edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is located approximately 180

miles southwest of the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.

Lynchburg Fire Department (LFD): Officially established in 1883, the LFD currently provides fire suppression

and prevention services, emergency medical services, technical rescue, hazardous materials response, and

confined space emergency response. The department is staffed with 223 personnel, including civilians,

firefighters, and emergency medical and pharmacy personnel. The department operates with eight stations, an

administrative office, a Logistics shop and a Fire Training Facility. An additional fire station is coming online in

Fall of 2026, along with 21 additional sworn firefighters. The LFD has an Insurance Services Office (ISO)

rating of two, which means that ISO scored the LFD in the top 5% of their peer organizations. The Lynchburg

Fire Department received International Fire Services Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) accreditation, making it

one of 15 accredited departments in Virginia, first receiving accreditation in 2006.

Current LFD Climate, Culture, Recruitment, and Retention:

LFD’s workforce is composed of dedicated fire and EMS professionals who value service and high standards of

professional practice. While the department benefits from a strong sense of mission and community service, it

also faces challenges typical of modern fire and rescue agencies. These may include, communication gaps,

intercultural effectiveness, expectations around leadership and accountability, and the need to ensure that

internal practices align with the department’s stated values. A clearer understanding of the current climate will

help the City identify strengths to build upon as well as areas needing targeted improvement.

Retention of trained personnel is critical to LFD’s operational stability and long-term success. Factors

influencing retention may include career development opportunities, supervisory effectiveness, workload, and

the department’s overall cultural climate. Understanding how these dynamics affect morale and organizational

health is essential to developing a prioritized roadmap for improvement.

Recruitment and hiring remain ongoing priorities as the department seeks to maintain adequate staffing levels

and attract qualified candidates in an increasingly competitive public safety job market. Like many fire and EMS

agencies nationwide, LFD experiences challenges related to candidate volume, diversity, and the time-intensive

nature of fire service selection processes. The City aims to ensure its recruitment and hiring practices are

modern, fair, legally compliant, and reflective of best practices in professional fire and EMS organizations.

IV. SCOPE OF WORK

In your proposal, outline how your company intends to accomplish the following items for the City:

1. Initial project engagement with a thorough review of the LFD’s background. This may include, but not be

limited to: meetings with essential ‘Leadership Team’ staff from the City; dialog and engagement with

current Command Staff members of the LFD; briefing available to all LFD personnel. A definitive project

timeline should be included in this section using January 20, 2026 as the date to begin providing services.

As noted above, the City’s goal is to have the final plan and deliverables no later than March 31, 2026.

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2. Outline how the initial engagement process and information/background gathering leads to the development

of a survey for LFD personnel to complete that is valid and securely distributed.

3. In detail, explain how the analysis of the survey will be completed and how a multitude of common themes,

both positive and constructive/negative, may be identified.

4. Provide any additional information gathering sessions which may be required once the information from the

survey is digested by those involved in the review of the process.

5. Outline how your company intends to conduct a comprehensive recruitment and hiring process assessment

that identifies specific ways to recruit and hire quality candidates while also determining ways to screen

candidates out of the process who may not be best suited for employment with the LFD.

6. Explain how your solution ultimately develops recommendations and actionable paths for necessary change

within the LFD.

7. If there are any other methods of collecting information, data, feedback, criticism, etc., include them in your

proposal.

8. Outline how your company intends to inform the general public, City staff, LFD staff specifically, and City

Council members with a final report and presentations associated with sharing your findings.

V. PROPOSAL PREPARATION

Proposals must clearly outline the Offeror’s ability to provide an analysis of the climate, culture, and

recruitment/hiring practices for a Fire Department. Proposals should be prepared simply, providing

straightforward and concise responses to requests for information and descriptions of qualifications and

capabilities. Responses shall be limited to no more than 15 double-sided pages or 30 single-sided pages, excluding

the Title Page, cover letter if submitted, staff resumes, and any issued addenda. The proposal should be submitted

as a single file through the City’s bids webpage as noted on page 2. Proposals with extraneous information will

receive a lower ranking and incomplete proposals may be determined non-responsive.

Offerors should organize their proposals using the format described below:

Title Page

Furnish the REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TITLE PAGE and include it as the first page of the proposal. The

name stated on the Title Sheet must be the full legal name of the Offeror and the address must be that of the office

which will have the responsibility for the services provided.

Offers should acknowledge receipt of addenda on the title page. Failure to do so may result the proposal being

deemed non-responsive.

Section 1 - Project Understanding & Methodology

Briefly describe the understanding of the requested services and the methods to provide the required services.

Section 2 – Scope of Work Approach

Detail the proposed approach to the Scope of Work and how development of a comprehensive evaluation and

assessment process of the climate and culture and recruitment and hiring processes of the Lynchburg Fire

Department would be accomplished. Explain how the services will be delivered, the steps anticipated in delivering

the services, and indicate a timeline to implement the requested services. This should be in detail as much as

possible.

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Section 3 – Offeror Experience & Personnel

Describe the Offeror’s background and specific experiences in providing consultant services for the assessment,

evaluation, and analysis of climate and culture, as well as recruitment and hiring processes, to include

recommendations for improvement. Include a brief statement of the Offeror's professional competence, technical

capabilities, and qualifications. Experience is preferred from Offerors who have provided fire and EMS consulting

services to government entities of a similar size and scope.

Indicate the project manager and/or key individuals with a proposed role in the service delivery and include a

delivery team organization chart.

For each key individual involved, emphasize their role on the proposed delivery of services, and include a resume

detailing related experience in working with similar contracts and local governments/private organizations.

Include their educational background and experience as directly related to their assigned duties under the proposed

contract. RESUMES WILL NOT COUNT TOWARD THE PROPOSAL PAGE COUNT.

***If any staff member of your firm who may provide services under this contract has any past, previous, or

current association or affiliation with any staff member of the LFD, please disclose such in this portion of the

proposal. Past, previous, or current association or affiliation is in NO WAY a disqualifier to submit a proposal.

The City wants to be aware of any relationships that may or have existed between contracted staff and LFD

personnel.***

Resumes of individuals who will not be directly involved with the proposed project should not be included.

Resumes for staff of sub-consultants should be included in the same format as those for the prime consultant.

Also provide a brief summary of the reasons that the Offerors believe themselves to be the most qualified for this

requested delivery of services.

Section 4 - References

Provide a list of at least three fire and EMS organizations for whom the Offeror has had success in providing

climate and culture consulting services. If the Offeror has conducted evaluation and assessment services for an

IFSAC accredited agency, please provide at least one of these agencies in your three that are given. Include client

name, dates when the service was provided, a brief description of the size and scope of the services performed,

individual contact name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address.

Section 5 - Pricing

Please provide pricing for each component or phase of the proposed strategy and delivery of services. The LFD

may choose to use some of the proposed components given by the awarded vendor and not others. (buffet style

selection.)

VI. PROPOSAL EVALUATION CRITERIA & METHOD OF AWARD

All proposals that adequately address the information requested in this RFP will be evaluated on the content of

the proposals and the criteria listed below. The City reserves the right to reject all proposals submitted if it is in

the City’s best interest.

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Commodity Codes

• NAICS 541611Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
• NAICS 541612Human Resources Consulting Services
• NAICS 611430Professional and Management Development Training

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