Request for Proposal: Future Focus Consultant

Contact Simon Mallett, Executive Director, Rozsa Foundation by email at simon@rozsafoundation.com or call 403.245.6063.

Overview

About the Future Focus Program 

The Future Focus Program is a joint initiative between three funders who support the arts in Alberta: the Rozsa Foundation, Calgary Arts Development, and the Calgary Foundation. The program provides arts organizations with the opportunity to explore a key question or challenge facing their organization and develop directions for their operations that diverge from previous or current practice in response. Organizations may be asking themselves questions about their organizational purpose, their role in the arts sector, their continued viability, or how they need to adapt their structure or approach to operate into the future. The program supports organizations through the process of investigating, identifying, planning, and executing significant and strategic adaptations in their operations.

When planning their projects, organizations are expected to consider how Reconciliation, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) are integrated into all aspects of their operations.

About the Role 

The Future Focus Consultant (the Consultant) will be a first point of contact to arts organizations seeking to develop strategic solutions to their operational challenges. Drawing from their knowledge and experience of the arts sector and organizational change processes, they will discuss critical operational questions and challenges facing the arts organization and will ideate strategies and next steps that will support the organization on their journey. These next steps could include further conversations with the Consultant to further explore their challenges, as well as referrals to other systems of support, including the funding available through the Future Focus Program, though the Consultant is not responsible for working on the funding application itself.

The consultant is also responsible for organizing gatherings for the arts community to share the learnings stemming from the Future Focus program.

The consultant will be a resource accessible at no cost to arts organizations.

In consideration of conflict of interest, the consultant may not be engaged in projects funded by the Future Focus Program.

Project Goals and Deliverables

• By engaging an external consultant as a first point of contact, the funding collaborators aim to provide a confidential and constructive access point for arts organizations seeking to discuss their organizational challenges and questions.

• Strengthened applications made by organizations to the Future Focus Funding Program through clear articulation of challenges and opportunities, the development of strategic guiding questions and goals, and the resources or expertise needed to execute the work.

• The consultant will deliver at least two community events for organizations to share their stories of learning as a result of having undertaken work funded by the Future Focus Program.

• The consultant will identify trends present throughout their conversations to inform the continued iteration of the funding program.

• The consultant will provide feedback to the funding partners about how the Future Focus Program is or is not meeting the needs of the broader arts community.

Scope of Work

The consultant will maintain regular availability to meet with representatives of arts organizations in-person or virtually for an initial consultation to discuss a current operational challenge they are facing, offering insight and posing questions aimed at creating greater clarity around directions forward.

Stemming from the initial conversation, the consultant and organization may choose to continue meeting for further discussions, or if a tangible go-forward is determined (such as a larger-scale exploration that should be undertaken), the consultant may refer the organization to connect with staff from the funding partners to discuss a funding application to the Future Focus Program.

Areas of work supported through the Future Focus Program include: 

• Making shifts to business models and organizational structures.
• Investigating and implementing new revenue generating models.
• Changing the way your organization is registered/incorporated.
• Forming strategic partnerships with other organizations, including resource sharing.
• Developing strategies for new directions.
• Major shift in organizational mission or activity to support mission.
• Venue and space investigations.
• Assessment of organizational capacity and right sizing.
• Planning for leadership succession from founding and longstanding leaders.
• Addressing organizational life cycle questions, including potential mergers and closures.

All conversations between the consultant and organizations are expected to be confidential, unless otherwise explicitly agreed upon by the organization. That said, the Consultant will report back to the funders in aggregate, identifying trends present throughout their conversations to inform the continued iteration of the funding program.

In addition to the consultation work, the consultant, supported by the partner funders, will organize at least two community events, bringing together organizations whose work has been supported through the funding program and the broader arts community.

The maximum available budget for the consultant is $80,000 for the 12-month term of engagement. Additional funds are available to cover the costs associated with the community gatherings.

Potential Challenges:

• The consultant and the funding partners will collectively need to inform the arts community about the availability of this resource.
• The consultant will need to build trust with organizations so that they are forthcoming about their organizational challenges.
• This is a pilot project and there may be unforeseen challenges and gaps in the program design.

How to Submit

If you intend to submit an RFP for consideration, please inform the Rozsa Foundation by email by February 12, 2024 at 5pm MT.

If questions arise from potential consultants, the Rozsa Foundation commits to sharing those questions and responses with all individuals who have expressed intent to submit. The deadline to submit questions or request clarifications is February 16, 2024 at 5pm MT.

Proposals must be emailed to Simon Mallett at simon@rozsafoundation.com by 5pm on Friday, February 23, 2024. Please submit proposals in PDF format.

Items to be Addressed in Submission:

• Please tell us about your consulting experience in the arts or nonprofit sectors.
• Please submit a copy your CV.
• Please tell us about your experience and expertise providing consulting for organizational adaptation and transformation.
• Please tell us about your approach to considerations of equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility.
• Please tell us about the time commitment you can offer on an ongoing basis for consultations.
• Please provide a breakdown of costs associated with your proposal.

RFP Evaluation Metrics and Criteria:

• Consultant has previous experience consulting in the arts and/or with organizational adaptation.
• Consultant has previous experience organizing learning-centered community events.
• Consultant has previous experience with EDIA led or focused initiatives.
• Cost of service.

For more information and full guidelines review the full PDF attached.