Open Solicitation for Community Justice Co-Creation Initiative

Release date: September 18th, 2023

Purpose and Goal

Montgomery County is dedicated to advancing community-led planning in collaboration with local government. This shift aims to empower frontline community members to identify fundamental issues and develop comprehensive solutions to promote racial equity, health, high quality of life, and inclusive climate resilience.  Utilizing as their guiding framework the Spectrum of Community Engagement to Ownership developed by Facilitating Power, the Montgomery County government and the Montgomery County Collaboration Council are organizing a space for the community to create new norms, attitudes, practices, and processes so that impacted communities are adequately supported and positioned to co-define the problems affecting them and co-design solutions for long-term viability. 

Initiative Name

Community Justice Co-Creation Initiative

Program Description

The Community Justice Co-Creation Initiative presents an opportunity for community-driven empowerment toward practical solutions. Its vision is to establish an anti-racist, climate-resilient region where every individual not only survives, but thrives.

This transformative journey necessitates collaboration, experimentation, resource sharing, vulnerability, and trust. The County Government, the Collaboration Council, and community organizations and members have jointly endeavored to co-create a sustainable community infrastructure for climate resilience and community justice. This initiative will involve community leaders collaborating with their communities to conceive and co-create comprehensive health, equity, and high-quality life solutions, contributing to a resilient, climate-ready region for all.

Timeline

Community-based organizations and community leaders will receive compensation for their expertise as co-creators and co-learners of the process. This commitment extends throughout the fiscal year until June 2024, with a flexible timeline guided by the pace of trust-building.

Compensation

Compensation will vary according to the level of responsibility and time commitment of each partner. We will compensate organizations at a minimum of $50/hour. This project will require an investment of at least 6 hours/month from the organization. Still, the final details of the CBO's scope of work, including the anticipated level of effort, will be developed in partnership with the Montgomery County government and the Collaboration Council. Regardless of the level, Community-Based Organization (CBO) co-creators will act as a bridge to represent frontline community members and encourage their active leadership in this transformative work.  

Contractor Competencies

Core team members are pivotal in co-creating and designing the Community Justice Initiative. They should:

• represent grassroots, base-building entities working within historically and/or currently marginalized communities
• be able to mobilize and engage their communities in addressing the climate crisis facing frontline communities. 
• have a strong orientation towards co-learning and popular education
• have a willingness to collaborate with local government
• have a deep awareness of the climate crisis and its connections to lived experiences, as well as profound empathy and an ability to identify root cause

Review Process

Submissions will undergo review by DEP staff, the Collaboration Council, and community partners. Co-creators will be selected based on their alignment with the initiative's goals and principles.

Deadline

Submissions will be reviewed, and co-creators will be selected on a rolling basis.