Request for Proposals
The Mentoring Partnership – Settlement Referral Partnership Project Evaluation
The Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC), through The Mentoring Partnership (TMP) program, invites proposals for the provision of Project Evaluation services as outlined in the Request.
About TRIEC
Founded in 2003, the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) brings together leaders who are committed to helping highly-skilled immigrants and employers succeed.
TRIEC believes that when immigrants prosper, we all do. TRIEC helps employers make the most of the Greater Toronto Area’s culturally diverse workforce and helps immigrants connect to employment that fully leverages their skills and talents.
We do this by partnering with organizations from across all sectors in the GTA, because we believe that a collaborative approach achieves the greatest impact.
SECTION I - GENERAL INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS
This is not a Request for Tender or an offer. TRIEC is not bound to accept the proposal that provides for the lowest cost or price to TRIEC nor any proposals submitted.
TRIEC reserves the right to negotiate with the highest rated proponent or re-invite proposals from the highest rated proponents without going to a public proposal call.
If a contract is to be awarded as a result of this Request for Proposal, it shall be awarded to the proponent who is responsible and responsive and whose proposal provides the best potential value to TRIEC. Responsible means the capability in all respects to perform fully the contract requirements and the integrity and reliability to assure performance of the contract obligations.
An evaluation committee will review each proposal. TRIEC reserves the exclusive right to develop a list of criteria that will be used to evaluate the proposals.
The proposal and accompanying documentation will not be returned to the proponents.
Each proponent is required to disclose any instances, which may cause a conflict of interest. If such disclosures are made, the proponent is required to indicate the manner in which they intend to address such conflicts. Where TRIEC is not satisfied with the manner in which the proponent intends to address such conflicts, TRIEC, in its sole discretion, may refuse to consider the proponent’s proposal.
The submission of this Request for Proposal shall be structured as shown in Section III.
SECTION II - TERMS OF REFERENCE
PROJECT IDENTIFICATION
Project title:
Program and Impact Evaluation for TRIEC’s The Mentoring Partnership / Settlement Referral Partnership Project
Location:
603 – 250 Dundas Street West
Toronto, ON M5T 2Z5
BACKGROUND
The Mentoring Partnership (TMP) brings together recent skilled immigrants in the Toronto Region and established professionals in occupation-specific mentoring relationships. A collaboration of employer and community partners, The Mentoring Partnership operates as a program of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council and is funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the Government of Ontario, Ontario Trillium Foundation, RBC and Manulife.
The Settlement Referral Partnership Project is a pilot initiative that supports TMP growth in the GTA by developing a coordinated referral process between existing service delivery partners and other programs and settlement organizations. The Settlement Referral Partnership Project is funded by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration.
Settlement Referral Partnership Project Objectives for TRIEC:
- Expand the TMP model to new partners
- Broaden the TMP delivery model
- Increase the number of job-ready highly-skilled immigrants matched with mentors
- Document and analyze the impact of the program
- Explore further TMP expansion
Project Activities for TRIEC:
- Conducting an environmental scan of the settlement agencies in the GTA
- Consultations with settlement agencies in the GTA to explore their interest and capacity to participate in the pilot
- Assembly of a program Working Group to guide and advise the program team in the development of the referral model
- Regular updates provided to current Service Delivery Partners
- Development of project tools such as partnership agreements, referral forms, quality assurance framework, etc.
- Development of a communication strategy and marketing collateral
- Development and delivery of training to pilot participating organization staff
- Providing support throughout the pilot phase to participating organizations
- Updating program IT systems
SCOPE OF WORK
TRIEC seeks to evaluate the quality of the program, as well as the outcomes and the impact of The Mentoring Partnership and the Settlement Referral Partnership Project in relation to TRIEC’s strategic goals.
Some of the program components to be evaluated are:
a. Quality of Program:
• Measure the participant satisfaction at program close (mentees, mentors)
• Periodically conduct individual interviews with program participants to gather feedback on usage, learning impact, and evolving needs
b. User Uptake:
• Program participation statistics
• Partner participation statistics
c. Project Processes:
• Evaluate effectiveness of model development processes
• Measure referral and service delivery partners’ satisfaction and effectiveness of training, support and referral processes
• Review of the effectiveness of partnership relationships
d. Performance Metrics:
• Determine if performance metric goals outlined in the contract have been reached
e. Individual Impact:
• Measure quality and effectiveness of learning during program (mentees, mentors)
• Measure and evaluate mentee outcomes
• Measure behaviour change related to the objectives of program as well as the overarching TMP goals
f. Organizational Impact:
• Explore organizational impact with referral, service delivery and employer partners.
g. System Impact:
• Evaluate system impact in terms of more coordinated service delivery.
PROJECT DELIVERABLES FOR THE AWARDED FIRM
1. Consultation with TRIEC to establish appropriate outcomes and metrics, as well as project schedule.
2. Audit and update of Evaluation Framework.
3. Audit and update of current evaluation toolkit. Design of new evaluation tools and integration with existing toolkit. Complete evaluation toolkit delivered in an easy-to-use electronic and hard copy format.
4. Evaluation report draft (Word) and slide deck (PowerPoint).
5. At project conclusion, present the evaluation findings to the Working Group, Managers Committees and other stakeholders, as needed, for analysis and recommendations prior to finalizing the evaluation report.
6. Revised report (Word) and slide deck (PowerPoint) including recommendations for next steps.
7. TRIEC will make its project personnel available to provide advice, support and guidance where necessary.
The project deliverables as stated above must be completed by the following dates:
Evaluation framework review - March 31, 2017
Complete evaluation toolkit - May 31, 2017
Evaluation draft report and slide deck - January 15, 2018
Final evaluation report - February 1, 2018
SECTION III - FORMAT OF SUBMISSION
Respondents are requested to submit responses in the format shown below. Failure to follow this format may result in disqualification.
Proposals must be received via email by 3:00 PM local time on January 13, 2017 at:
Contact: Beatrice Kohlenberg
Job Title: Manager, TMP Settlement Referral Partnership Project
Email: bkohlenberg@triec.ca
Subject Line: TMP / Settlement Referral Partnership Project Evaluation – [COMPANY NAME]
Each emailed proposal should state the following on the cover page:
- Proponent’s Name
- Project Title
- Closing time and date
Content of submission:
1. A proposal describing your relevant background to include skills and qualifications
2. A work plan outlining how the above-mentioned tasks described would be carried out by the project completion date.
3. A firm estimate of fees to be charged or ‘per diem’ rate.
4. A current resume.
5. References: Names of three recent clients and their contact information (contact person, title, company, address, telephone number, and email).
Our Commitment to Supplier Diversity
At TRIEC we are committed to Diversity and Inclusion in all areas of our organization.
As an organization that supports and promotes the prosperity of skilled immigrant talent we strive to cultivate a pool of diverse suppliers* who embody our values. We are committed to an inclusive procurement and supply chain process which creates long-term sustainable value in the community.
Organizations that are able to clearly demonstrate their commitment to and alignment with these values will be looked upon favorably.
*A diverse supplier is a business owned by an equity-seeking community or social purpose enterprise. These communities include, but are not limited to, women, Aboriginal people, racial minorities, persons with disabilities, newcomers and LGBTQ+ persons.
