Request for Proposal (RFP)

FASTER WV Ecosystem & Impact Assessment Consulting Services 

 

Advantage Valley is seeking proposals from experienced consultants or consulting teams to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness, reach, and economic impact of the FASTER WV program. The assessment will examine how the program’s business coaching, entrepreneurial education, technical assistance, access-to-capital resources, referrals, and partnerships have affected participating businesses, including business survival, revenue growth, job creation and retention, skills development, and access to resources. The selected consultant will also assess regional entrepreneurial ecosystem needs and provide actionable recommendations to strengthen future program delivery, performance measurement, partnerships, and investment.

 

Project Background 

FASTER WV currently supports entrepreneurs and small businesses across the Advantage Valley region through business coaching, technical assistance, entrepreneurial education, ecosystem partnerships, and access to capital resources. As the organization prepares for its next phase of growth and strategic direction, Advantage Valley seeks to better understand the long-term impact of the program, identify unmet regional needs, and evaluate opportunities for future ecosystem development and modernization.

 

Purpose of the Engagement 

The purpose of this engagement is to conduct a regional ecosystem and impact assessment process focused on entrepreneurship and small business development. The consultant will lead a collaborative discovery process designed to gather meaningful qualitative and quantitative feedback from entrepreneurs, businesses, ecosystem partners, and stakeholders across the region.

 

Project Objectives 

The selected consultant will help Advantage Valley:

  • Determine the effectiveness and measurable impact of FASTER WV.
  • Identify which services and levels of engagement produce the strongest client outcomes.
  • Assess unmet entrepreneur, business, and regional ecosystem needs.
  • Provide recommendations for improving, sustaining, and directing future program investments.

 

Required Consultant Activities

The selected consultant will be expected to design, facilitate, and manage a mixed-method assessment that includes the following activities:

  1. Project Planning and Evaluation Design
    • Conduct a project kickoff with Advantage Valley.
    • Develop a detailed evaluation plan, research methodology, stakeholder engagement strategy, and project schedule.
    • Identify the data, measures, and analytical methods that will be used to assess FASTER WV’s effectiveness.
  1. Program and Client Data Analysis
    • Review available FASTER WV program records, client data, service records, coaching hours, training participation, financial assistance, referrals, business outcomes, and other relevant information.
    • Assess the quality and completeness of existing data.
    • Analyze relationships between services received, level of client engagement, and business outcomes.
    • Recommend improvements to future data collection and performance measurement.
  2. Stakeholder and Client Interviews
    • Conduct approximately 25–40 interviews with FASTER WV clients, entrepreneurs, ecosystem partners, lenders, educators, workforce leaders, and other relevant stakeholders.
    • Include a representative mix of geographic areas, industries, business stages, and levels of program participation.
  3. Regional and Client Listening Sessions
    • Facilitate approximately five to seven in-person or virtual listening sessions.
    • Prioritize engagement in Kanawha, Cabell, and Putnam Counties while obtaining input from across the broader Advantage Valley region.
  4. Entrepreneur and Small Business Survey
    • Design and administer an anonymous survey of current and former FASTER WV clients and, when appropriate, other regional entrepreneurs.
    • Collect quantitative and qualitative information related to business outcomes, program experience, unmet needs, and perceptions of FASTER WV.
  5. Ecosystem and Business Journey Analysis
    • Assess how entrepreneurs and businesses navigate the region’s support system.
    • Identify service gaps, referral challenges, duplication, coordination opportunities, and missing resources.
    • Evaluate FASTER WV’s role within the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem.
  6. Analysis, Validation, and Recommendations
    • Integrate findings from program data, surveys, interviews, listening sessions, and ecosystem analysis.
    • Validate preliminary findings with Advantage Valley leadership or designated stakeholders.
    • Develop actionable recommendations for program improvement, future investment, performance measurement, and strategic direction.

 

Evaluation Framework and Key Questions

The primary purpose of the assessment is to determine the effectiveness, reach, and economic impact of the FASTER WV program. The assessment should examine the extent to which the program’s coaching, training, technical assistance, access-to-capital resources, referrals, and other services have contributed to measurable improvements in participating businesses. The assessment should also identify opportunities to strengthen the program, address unmet client needs, improve service delivery, and guide future investment.

  1. Business Performance and Sustainability

The assessment should evaluate changes in client business performance following participation in FASTER WV, including:

  • Business stability, resilience, and long-term sustainability
  • Business survival rates, including the number and percentage of businesses that remain operational
  • Revenue growth or decline since becoming a FASTER WV client
  • Changes in profitability, cash flow, customer base, or market reach, when data are available
  • Business expansion, new locations, additional products or services, and other indicators of growth
  • Client intentions related to continued operation, growth, succession, or closure
  1. Employment and Regional Economic Impact

The assessment should measure the program’s contribution to employment and regional economic activity, including:

  • Jobs created and retained by participating businesses
  • Changes in employee count, wages, and hiring activity
  • Workforce development, recruitment, hiring, and employee-retention challenges
  • Capital invested, financing secured, and grants or other funding leveraged by clients
  • Estimated dollars recirculated within the regional economy through business spending, payroll, contracting, and other economic activity
  • Other direct, indirect, or induced economic effects that can be reasonably attributed to the program
  1. Client Skills and Business Capacity

The assessment should determine whether FASTER WV services improved clients’ knowledge, skills, confidence, and ability to manage and grow their businesses.

Areas of evaluation should include:

  • Changes in clients’ business knowledge and skills before and after receiving services
  • The effectiveness of one-on-one coaching, classes, workshops, technical assistance, and other program offerings
  • Improvements in areas such as financial management, marketing, operations, strategic planning, technology use, and access to capital
  • Clients’ ability to apply what they learned to business decisions and operations
  • Differences in outcomes based on the types and intensity of services received
  1. Service Delivery and Client Engagement

The assessment should examine how effectively FASTER WV delivers services and allocates staff and program resources, including:

  • Number and type of services received by each client
  • Staff coaching and technical-assistance hours provided per client
  • Relationship between service intensity and client outcomes
  • Variations in client engagement, including identification of unusually high or low levels of service
  • Client satisfaction, perceived value, and areas where services could be improved
  • Barriers that prevent clients from participating fully in program offerings
  1. Access to Capital and Business Resources

The assessment should evaluate whether FASTER WV improved clients’ access to financial and professional resources, including:

  • Loans, grants, technical-assistance funding, and other capital secured
  • Financing barriers and remaining capital gaps
  • Referrals to lenders, economic development organizations, technical experts, government agencies, and other service providers
  • Number and type of professional connections made through Advantage Valley
  • Client awareness and use of regional business-support resources
  • The effectiveness of referrals and partner handoffs
  1. Entrepreneurial Connectivity and Ecosystem Impact

The assessment should examine FASTER WV’s role in strengthening the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem, including:

  • Reductions in entrepreneurial isolation
  • Growth in clients’ professional, peer, mentor, and industry networks
  • Coordination among regional business-support organizations
  • Gaps, duplication, or inefficiencies within the entrepreneurial ecosystem
  • Stakeholder perceptions of Advantage Valley and the FASTER WV program
  • The program’s contribution to improved regional collaboration and resource awareness
  1. Responsiveness to Client and Regional Needs

The assessment should determine whether the program has adapted effectively in response to client feedback and changing economic conditions, including:

  • New services, resources, partnerships, classes, funding products, or initiatives created in response to identified needs
  • Client perceptions of the relevance and accessibility of program offerings
  • Unmet needs that should be addressed through future programming
  • Industry-specific challenges and emerging economic opportunities
  • Support needs of second-stage businesses seeking to grow, scale, hire, or expand into new markets
  • Opportunities to improve operational modernization, technology adoption, and artificial intelligence readiness
  1. Program Awareness, Reach, and Referral Patterns

The assessment should evaluate how clients and stakeholders learn about and engage with FASTER WV, including:

  • Primary client acquisition and referral channels
  • Geographic, demographic, industry, and business-stage characteristics of clients served
  • Awareness of the program among entrepreneurs, partners, lenders, and community stakeholders
  • Client willingness to recommend FASTER WV to other business owners
  • Number and source of client referrals generated by former or current participants
  • Populations, industries, or communities that may be underserved by the program
  1. Overall Program Effectiveness and Recommendations

The assessment should provide an overall determination of FASTER WV’s effectiveness based on available quantitative and qualitative evidence.

The final analysis should address:

  • Which services produce the strongest client outcomes
  • Which clients or types of businesses benefit most from the program
  • The relationship between program participation and business performance
  • The extent to which observed outcomes can reasonably be attributed to FASTER WV
  • Areas where program design, data collection, staffing, partnerships, or service delivery should be improved
  • Recommended performance indicators and data-collection practices for ongoing evaluation
  • Recommendations for sustaining, expanding, modifying, or discontinuing specific program activities

 

Deliverables 

At a minimum, the selected consultant will provide:
• Stakeholder engagement summary
• Regional listening session findings
• Entrepreneur survey analysis
• Ecosystem mapping findings
• Business journey analysis summary
• Regional ecosystem and impact assessment report
• Strategic opportunity identification and recommendations
• Presentation of findings to Advantage Valley leadership

 

Desired Consultant Qualifications 

The ideal consultant or consulting team will demonstrate:
• Experience facilitating strategic discovery and stakeholder engagement initiatives
• Experience working within rural and Appalachian entrepreneurial ecosystems
• Knowledge of entrepreneurship ecosystem development and regional economic development
• Experience supporting small business growth and modernization
• Strong facilitation and listening session management skills
• Experience conducting ecosystem assessments and qualitative research
• Familiarity with AI, technology adoption, and emerging business trends
• Ability to translate findings into actionable strategic recommendations

 

Proposal Requirements 

Interested firms should submit:
• Firm overview and qualifications
• Relevant project experience and references
• Proposed project methodology and engagement approach
• Proposed stakeholder engagement strategy
• Proposed timeline and work plan

• Team structure and key personnel
• Proposed fee structure and estimated project cost

 

Project Timeline 

The anticipated project timeline is approximately 3 months and will include:
• Project kickoff and planning
• Stakeholder engagement and listening sessions
• Survey development and administration
• Ecosystem analysis and findings development
• Final reporting and presentation

 

Evaluation Criteria 

Proposals may be evaluated based on:
• Relevant experience and qualifications
• Experience within rural and Appalachian ecosystems
• Quality and practicality of engagement approach
• Stakeholder facilitation capabilities
• Ecosystem assessment expertise
• Strategic thinking and innovation
• Ability to provide actionable recommendations
• Cost and overall value

 

Vision for the Engagement 

Advantage Valley seeks a strategic partner capable of facilitating a thoughtful, collaborative, and future-focused discovery process that will help shape the next evolution of FASTER WV and strengthen the long-term entrepreneurial ecosystem of the region. 

 

Proposal Submission and Selection Timeline

 

Proposals must be received no later than August 15, 2026.  Advantage Valley anticipates notifying the selected consultant and issuing an award on or about August 31, 2026. Advantage Valley reserves the right to modify the anticipated timeline as necessary.  Questions regarding this RFP and completed proposals should be submitted electronically to:

Bryan Shaw
Director of Entrepreneurial Development
Advantage Valley
bryan@advantagevalley.com

 

Proposals received after the submission deadline may not be considered. Submission of a proposal does not guarantee an award. Advantage Valley reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, request additional information, negotiate the scope or cost of services, and select the proposal determined to provide the greatest overall value to the organization and the FASTER WV program.