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Calgary is formally preparing a response to Amazon’s request for proposals for locating its second corporate headquarters and is hoping to get an edge through crowdsourcing its pitch.

Calgary Economic Development is putting together the bid for what Amazon calls HQ2 and has launched a website to help gather ideas from the public on how to best promote Calgary to the e-commerce giant.

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“Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is famous for crowd-sourcing ideas and if it works for him it can work for us,” said Mary Moran, Calgary Economic Development President and CEO in a news release.

The agency has also formed an executive advisory committee to support the bid efforts which includes Moran, Mayor Naheed Nenshi, WestJet CEO Gregg Saretzky, Enmax CEO Gianna Manes, former Chaordix CEO Alice Reimer and Waterous Energy Fund CEO Adam Waterous.

Calgary Economic Development has also formed two teams, one to work on strategy and components of the city’s response and another to develop a public relations campaign to support the city’s bid.

Here is Amazon’s summary of its “ideal site and building requirements”:

Amazon is promising to spend more than US$5 billion to create a ‘full equal’ to its current Seattle home campus. The deadline for responses to the request for proposals is October 19th.