A. Purpose of the RFP
The Regional Diversity Roundtable (RDR) is seeking the services of individuals or consulting firms with a proven track record in curriculum development to lead the design of a 7-month Community Leadership Program and guiding materials as part of the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Charter Community Engagement and Leadership Initiative, a 23-month project funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The successful candidate will be expected to develop an interactive modular curriculum - including any online materials - that will be rooted in the fundamental principles of adult learning and will serve to increase participants’ awareness and understanding around the importance of collectively building inclusive and equitable communities in addition to fostering inter- and intra- community relationship-building through the local implementation of the D&I Charter’s vision and commitments.
B. Background: Regional Diversity Roundtable
The Regional Diversity Roundtable (RDR) is a charitable not-for-profit and membership based organization that is committed to building inclusion and diversity competence that results in the institutionalization of equity in the core values, structures, workforces, policies and services of the public and human services sectors in Peel Region. For additional information, please visit www.regionaldiversityroundtable.org.
C. Background: Diversity and Inclusion Charter of Peel
In response to growing opportunities and challenges in Peel Region, one of the fastest growing regions in Canada, the D&I Charter of Peel has been developed as a regional initiative to foster inclusiveness and equity in the community.
Launched in April 2013, the Charter’s goal is to ensure the full inclusion of all who live, work and play in Peel. It seeks to enable residents, communities, organizations, and governments in Peel to cooperatively create change through the implementation of the Charter’s commitments.
The D&I Charter Project consists of three phases; Phase 1 and Phase 2 took place from 2011 to 2016. More information about the first two phases can be found at http://dicharter.rdrpeel.org.
The D&I Charter of Peel Community Engagement and Leadership Initiative is the 3rd phase of the project. This phase seeks to engage diverse multilingual communities from across Peel Region and bring the Charter to life at the local and grassroots level.
D. Community Engagement And Leadership Initiative: Background and Purpose
The objective of the Community Engagement and Leadership Initiative is to build on the proven success of the D&I Charter of Peel Initiative by engaging diverse multilingual communities from across Peel Region and bringing the Charter to life at the local level. RDR is meeting this objective by translating the Charter into 10 non-official languages, developing an interactive and multimedia marketing campaign, and actively engaging with organizations and individuals within 12 diverse and multilingual communities in Peel; these include:
- African and Caribbean
- Arabic
- Gujarati
- Hindi
- Persons with Disabilities/Accessibility Needs
- Polish
- Punjabi
- Tamil
- Simplified Chinese
- Spanish
- Tagalog
- Urdu
Leadership Program
An essential component of the D&I Charter Community Engagement Initiative is a 7-month Community Leadership Program for a diverse group of 25–30 community members. The Program is intended to provide participants, who will serve as Community Ambassadors, with a variety of tools and techniques for developing and promoting sustained community dialogue and grassroots action that would foster a more equitable and inclusive region. Through the Leadership Program, Community Ambassadors are expected to hone their community leadership skills so that they can implement projects and/or activities that advance the goals and aspirations of the D&I Charter.
The Community Leadership Program will be informed by established principles of adult learning in order to provide participants with foundational knowledge and experiential leadership training around diversity, equity and inclusion issues in Canada, the Greater Toronto Area and Peel Region. Particular attention will be paid to understanding and motivating collective action around the Charter’s 12 commitments, as well as fostering cross-cultural communication among diverse participants. As such, the Community Leadership Program will be delivered in three distinctive stages:
A) The first stage will be dedicated to building a foundation around key diversity, equity and inclusion issues, specifically related to individuals and communities in Peel
B) The second stage will focus on leadership skill-building (i.e., public speaking, advocacy, cross-cultural communication, to name a few)
C) The third stage will focus on the initial development of group projects that aim to bring the Charter’s commitments to life at the local level
Each stage of the Community Leadership Program will comprise of modules that can be collaboratively negotiated by the selected consultant, the project team and a pre-determined advisory committee including community representation. The project team is also anticipating the creation of a shared hub for graduates of the program, to ensure that ideas and group projects can continue to be developed after its completion.
The 7-month Leadership Program will take place over a series of sessions that are each 2-3 hours in length. The leadership program will culminate in a workshop where participants will present their initial projects to community members and regional organizations, as well as be recognized for their time and commitment through certificates of participation.
Primary Stakeholders
As we work on developing the Community Leadership Program, there are a few primary stakeholders that are worth mentioning:
- Community Champions approximately 25-30 diverse community leaders from across Peel Region whose role is to guide the project team throughout the initiative. These community leaders have been involved in the project since September 2016 and serve as grassroots connectors to ensure that the project consistently remains locally relevant. A small number of Community Champions (i.e., no more than 5) will be invited to help form an advisory committee that will support the selected curriculum developer in designing and reviewing the Community Leadership Program curriculum. They will also be invited to participate in the program if they so choose. There will be a minimum of 2 consultations with the advisory group prior to curriculum development and 1 consultation to review the materials once they have been developed.
- Community Ambassadors approximately 25-30 emerging community leaders from across Peel Region; these individuals will be the primary participants of the Community Leadership Program. Representing a number of diverse and multilingual communities across Peel Region, Community Ambassadors will use their existing networks to build bridges and strengthen relationships both within and between communities in their efforts to locally implement the Charter commitments. The selection process for Community Ambassadors will begin in February 2017; all participants will be selected by April 2017.
D. Scope of Work And Deliverables
The selected curriculum developer will work with the RDR project team and select Community Champions to develop an interactive modular curriculum including any online and/or multimedia materials that combines foundational knowledge on diversity, equity and inclusion issues with community leadership training and group project creation in effort to build stronger understanding and motivate collective action around the Charter’s 12 commitments, as well as to facilitate critical dialogue among and between diverse communities.
Within each stage of the Community Leadership Program, each module of the curriculum must include the following, at minimum:
- Module Overview The module overview indicates the learning goals, the specific participant learning outcomes expected at the end of each session, and any resources being utilized.
- Facilitator Guide The facilitator guide includes a scripted guide for facilitators in addition to any associated presentation decks and/or supplementary training materials. The design should include a variety of creative and engaging activities to accommodate different learning styles. It should also be progressive and build on itself from one section to the next. The facilitator guide must also include informal assessment strategies for each learning objective. Key participant resources must also be specified in this guide or in a separate booklet.
- Train-the-Trainer Booklet The curriculum should be supplemented with a train-the-trainer booklet that serves to explain the curriculum design as well as provide instructions on strategies and best practices for implementation. This booklet must be able to facilitate capacity building, and should include any applicable presentations and/or resources.
G. Timelines & Milestones
Start Date: Winter 2017
Launch of Leadership Program: Late Spring/Early Summer 2017
Contract End Date: Summer 2017
H. Remuneration Information
The available funding for this project is $10,000 (including applicable taxes) over the course of 4-5 months. The funding will be disbursed in instalments. The first instalment will be paid upon the signing of the contract.
I. Application Requirements
Please provide the following information in your application no later than Monday February 6th, 2016 at 5:00 PM:
- Detailed proposal outlining work plan as well as proposed curriculum design methodology
- Detailed timelines and budget information
- Detailed CV (and Team Profile, if applicable)
- 1 sample of similar and/or relevant work
- 3 recent references for similar and/or relevant projects
Candidates must ensure that work plan clearly demonstrate strategies for engaging with diverse communities in the development of the Community Leadership Program curriculum. Furthermore, candidates must specify in their submissions any theoretical frameworks and principles that they will be using to inform a training design that is appropriate for all adult learners (i.e., any participating community members, regardless of prior knowledge and/or professional status) . This includes elaborating on any evidence-based methodology and tools being incorporated. Candidates are requested to reference the appropriate sources and resources used, where applicable.
J. Selection Criteria
RDR invites proposals from suitably qualified individuals and firms with substantial experience in curriculum development, particularly for the not-for-profit sector. Consultants must have a demonstrated understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion issues in addition to experience with diverse community engagement and leadership processes.
The selection of successful proposals will be based on the quality of the proposal, the profile of the proposed team, and on cost. Proposals will be assessed using the following criteria and weighting:
Consultant profile - 35%
Work plan (clarity, fit with timetable, resource allocation) - 15%
Proposed methodology (relevance, originality, accessibility, practicality, creativity) - 40%
Portfolio - (demonstrated expertise, clarity and relevance of sample work) - 10%
For Additional Information please contact:
Amrita Kumar-Ratta, Project Lead, Regional Diversity Roundtable
Phobne:
(905) 232-7371
E-mail:
amrita@regionaldiversityroundtable.org