PART A. The Vital Signs Project

Vital Signs is a critical service, in the form of a digital and printed report, which is undertaken by Community Foundations across Canada. The report highlights and comments on up to 11 key quality of life indicators which measure and grade the vitality of our communities, leading to the identification of significant social and economic trends.

Through a combination of scientific research and public opinion, Vital Signs is a tool for aligning community goal-setting, for promoting civic engagement and dialogue, and for measuring collective community success.

A critical component of Vital Signs is collaboration. Vital Signs draws its data from numerous sources which are  provided to the contractor in part, and involves the acquisition of additional data when possible/required from numerous community organizations including a local data consortium, stakeholders and leaders in consultation regarding the selection of indicators and communication of the results.

For more information about Vital Signs, visit http://www.communityfoundations.ca/vitalsigns//en/home

PART B. Background

Begun in Toronto in 2001, Vital Signs is a well-established national program coordinated by the Community Foundations of Canada. There are greater than 20 Canadian communities that participate in the program annually.

Community Foundations of Canada provides clear guidelines and responsibilities that must be followed in order for the Foundation to be a participant in the program. However, there is considerable variance in Vital Signs reports, i.e. content often differs from Foundations that serve rural versus urban communities.

Vital Signs is a new venture for Community Foundation Grey Bruce.

PART C. Project Objectives

A comprehensive Vital Signs report will:

1. bring future discussion and focus to community priorities based on established need
2. inform priorities for new or enhanced community programs
3. determine future granting priorities of Community Foundation Grey Bruce and potentially, other funders
4. direct fund creation through targeted donor solicitation based on established community priorities
5. create new connections between a range of community groups and give new profile to existing research

PART D. Scope of Work

To provide professional assistance in planning and facilitating the Foundation's first Vital Signs project.

The Foundation will engage an independent Contractor to manage the preparation and distribution of the Vital Signs report. Supervised by the Executive Director and Vital Signs Committee, the Contractor is responsible for:

1. Reviewing and prioritizing existing data for Vital Signs indicators;
2. Facilitating at least two public community input meetings, one in Grey and one in Bruce County;
3. Procuring, analyzing and prioritizing additional regional-specific indicators for consideration;
4. Communicating key messaging and grading of data through a written, graphically engaging 1-2 page "highlights" report for inclusion in the Foundation's 2015 annual report;
5. Communicating key messaging and grading of data through creation of a comprehensive written report prepared for June 2016;
6. Identifying Vital Signs distribution channels for maximum exposure;
7. Preparing data source information as well as a comprehensive list of all stakeholders and contributors to community meetings;
8. Liaising with project preferred designer and printer.

Budget: The budget for this project is $13,000 plus HST.

Printing costs, Community Foundation of Canada Vital Signs participation fees and graphic design fees of full report are at the expense of Community Foundation Grey Bruce.

A modest budget is also available for refreshments at community meetings, advertisements for community meetings, and a public launch in 2016.

Timing: The Consultant shall begin the project April 1, 2015 or earlier. The 1-2 page "highlights" report will be complete for October 6, 2015 release. The comprehensive written report will be prepared by June 2016.

PART E. Consultant's Guidelines

1. Decision Making Process:

In purchasing the services of a Consultant, Community Foundation Grey Bruce is seeking to augment local knowledge and expertise with outside expertise.  Imperative to the success of the process is that control over the consulting process remains in the hands of Community Foundation Grey Bruce, which is ultimately accountable to its board of directors, members and fund holders.

All research reports, materials and correspondence acquired through the data collection, analysis and writing are the property of the Foundation and will be compiled and submitted to the Foundation at the end of project.

2. Proposal Requirements:

a) Costs

The cost for the project submitted in the Consultant's proposal shall include all necessary expenditures to undertake all the required work outlined in these Terms of Reference including transportation, labour, associated materials, subcontracted expertise, etc.  Taxes should be explicitly shown.

The Consultant shall include a breakdown of the cost of fees (including per diem figures) for all team members, and disbursements for the various components of the project as described in the proposal.

b) Qualifications

• Ability to undertake quantitative and qualitative analysis of statistical and related data.
• A proven track record of achievement of goals in a collaborative environment.
• Proven experience with public issues, community development, as well as local awareness of the services provided by the local charitable sector and other public bodies.
• Strong organizational, communication and writing skills.
• Proficiency with current computer technology.
• Post-secondary level achievement in a related discipline.

Other Requirements

• The Consultant is required to have their own reliable form of transportation.
• The Consultant is not required to work within the offices of the Foundation at all times - the Consultant is encouraged to complete the majority of the work from their own preferred location.
• The Consultant required to have a laptop computer for this project.
• In the proposal, the Consultant shall include resumes for each member of the project team and identify the portions of the planning to be undertaken by each member of the team.
• The proposal shall identify any other Consultants which are intended to be utilized in the planning, and shall provide a copy of their resumes.

c) Methodology

The proposal shall contain an outline of the methodology that the Consultant proposes to utilize in undertaking the work.

d) Tasks

The proposal shall include a list of phases and tasks to be completed, based on the above noted scope of work.

e) Confidentiality

All records and documentation will be confidential.  Financial records of existing operations will be held in strictest confidence.

f) Timing

The proposal shall include a time schedule estimating the time required to complete the project.

g) Proposal Deadline

The Consultant shall email one copy of their proposal to the attention of Aly Boltman, Executive Director. 

The e-mail address is: alyboltmancfgreybruce at bmts.com

To be considered, the proposal must be received on or before March 1, 2015 at 11:59pm or earlier.

3.  Evaluation of Proposals

Community Foundation Grey Bruce  reserves the right to select the consulting team of its choice and will not necessarily award the contract to the lowest bidder.  The Consultant will be selected based on the following criteria:

• meeting the terms of reference
• proposed tasks
• quality and experience of the Consultant's project team
• experience with similar studies
• proposed schedule
• proposed methodology
• estimated cost
• satisfactory references (minimum three required)

4.  Management of the Project

Terms of payment are negotiable.

At a minimum, all items presented within the scope of this project must be addressed to the satisfaction of Community Foundation Grey Bruce.

Should Community Foundation Grey Bruce or the selected Consultants request cancellation of the contract, payment to the Consultants will be pro-rated according to the tasks completed and awarded upon submission of the completed work and documentation of all findings.