Lake Erie West seeks consultant to support regional study
Aligning transportation, workforce, and housing
Lake Erie West Regional Council has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking a consultant to provide outreach and engagement services for a new regional study examining the connections between housing, workforce mobility, and transportation across Northwest Ohio.
The project, titled “Building Access: Aligning Transportation, Workforce, and Housing,” will explore how housing availability, employment opportunities, and transportation systems interact across the region’s six counties. The study will help identify why residents often live in one county while working in another and how transportation access can support or limit workforce mobility.
While the region functions as a single labor and housing market, many planning and investment decisions are made at the local or county level. The study will provide a regional framework to better inform housing development, business location decisions, transportation investments, and economic development strategies.
Lake Erie West staff will manage the overall project, including data collection, analysis, stakeholder steering committee coordination, and the development of final study deliverables. The selected consultant will focus on designing and implementing a comprehensive community and stakeholder engagement process to ensure the study reflects regional perspectives and experiences.
Key responsibilities for the selected consultant will include developing an engagement plan, facilitating public workshops and focus groups, conducting a regional commuter survey, supporting communications materials, and producing a final engagement report documenting community feedback and insights.
The engagement process will play a critical role in shaping the study’s findings and recommendations. The project is expected to run from May 2026 through October 2026, with final deliverables due Oct. 30.
Through this study, Lake Erie West aims to:
- Understand cross-county commuting patterns
- Identify mismatches between housing supply, workforce needs, and job locations
- Evaluate transportation access and barriers affecting workers
- Translate findings into actionable opportunities for housing developers and employers
Proposals from qualified firms must be submitted to Lake Erie West no later than 1 p.m. EST on April 13, 2026.
The RFP was released on March 11. Questions from prospective respondents must be submitted by March 19, with responses issued on March 23. Consultant presentations may be requested on April 20, with final selection anticipated on April 22.