The Dunleavy administration is trying for a second time to spend up to $9 million on a public relations campaign aimed at executives and investors in mining, forestry, transportation and other industries, having cancelled the first effort because the state was unhappy with the results.

The request for proposals was first issued August 15, with a requirement that firms be at least 10 years old, have “five years or more experience in providing public relations support for Alaskan issues or entities” and three years of “worldwide” experience.

The successful company is supposed to create a website and “identify industry leaders, venture capital, corporations and other stakeholders essential to the identified industries and form a plan to market to them.”

One goal was to promote Dunleavy’s so-called “Alaska Standard,” a 32-page pamphlet that promotes development of oil and gas, mining and renewable resources in Alaska. Bridge House Advisors of Chicago wrote the pamphlet under a previous state contract.

In addition, the state wants a “multi-market and multi-platform education campaign using the Alaska Standard materials, other industry-developed materials, and materials that may be developed under this contract” to promote development in Alaska. The state also wants to “counter the misinformation messaging targeting young people and younger Alaskans.”

The goal of countering misinformation among young people is a world apart from targeting investment experts, so this is a muddled approach to public relations.

The state seeks to “define the future of private sector growth and diversification for Alaska’s economy.”

Much of this effort to attract new industry was supposed to have been led by the so-called “Alaska Development Team,” which Dunleavy created to attract new businesses to Alaska, hiring Clark Penney, the grandson of his biggest financial supporter, under a no-bid contract that was worth up to $441,000.

The Alaska Development Team was supposed to create a website and do great things, but little came of it. The only development team member left is Commerce Commissioner Julie Sande, who is now placed in charge of the proposed $9 million industry public relations campaign to promote development.

The new effort to attract industry could have a total cost of up to $9 million, including four renewals through 2030. Only $3 million has been appropriated so far by the Legislature.

The deadline for submittals was September 10. The contract was supposed to have been issued by October 29 from the state commerce department.

But the request for proposals was canceled October 25. The justification given by the state suggests that the administration was displeased with the results and/or the rules for ranking the responses and wanted to impose new criteria. The state said the RFP the state created in August failed to mention “all factors of significance to the state.”

“Specifically, (1) an offeror’s capabilities in identifying and cultivating relevant industry decision makers and influencers outside of Alaska, both domestically and internationally, and (2) an offeror’s capabilities in creating new and leveraging existing opportunities to promote the department’s interests.”

Exactly how this key information about “factors of significance” could have escaped the attention of state officials in charge of the factors of significance is a mystery.

Under the new request for proposals, responses are due by Monday.

The evaluation criteria for the new RFP include a number of changes to what is a subjective process.

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