Request for Proposals:
Corporate Strategic Plan Development
Center for Public Safety Excellence
Date of Release: February 24, 2020
RESPONSE DATE: March 23, 2020 by 5 pm EST
INTRODUCTION: This Request for Proposals (RFP), issued by the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE), seeks proposals to develop a corporate strategic plan.
The Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) is a not-for-profit 501(c) (3) corporation. We are an international technical organization that works with the most progressive fire and emergency service agencies and most active fire professionals. Our mission is to lead the fire and emergency service to excellence through the continuous quality improvement process of accreditation, credentialing, and education.
In March 2016, we unveiled our stakeholder-driven CPSE Strategic Plan. This plan provides the road map for CPSE’s continuous improvement. CPSE’s Technical Advisor Program guided the development of the plan with a major focus on gaining stakeholder feedback and identifying our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Each year, we publish an annual report highlighting our activities and accomplishments. We have developed annual reports for 2018, 2017 or 2016.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Interested parties must prepare and submit all required documents no later than 5:00 p.m. (EST) on March 23, 2020. Respondents should email a cover sheet and attachment(s) addressing the response requirements before the deadline to pbassi@cpse.org.
Late proposals will not be reviewed. Questions about proposal submission should be sent at least three days in advance of deadline to pbassi@cpse.org.
BACKGROUND
CPSE is governed by a nine-member board of directors that includes four appointees of its two founding organizations (International Association of Fire Chiefs and International City/County Management Association), one member from the International Association of Fire Fighters, and four at-large members. The board elects a president, vice president, and secretary-treasurer, and hires a Chief Executive Officer to manage the corporation’s day-to-day operations. Each of CPSE’s dedicated board members contributes a wealth of experience and fresh ideas to the progression of the fire and emergency service.
CPSE accomplishes its mission with a staff of eight full time employees, over 600 committed volunteers, and 40 contractors. To further our mission to lead the fire and emergency service to excellence, CPSE offers a number of programs that can help fire and emergency service agencies and officers.
AGENCY ACCREDITATION
Agency Accreditation, overseen by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International, is an all-hazard, quality improvement model based on risk analysis and self-assessment that promotes the establishment of community-adopted performance targets for fire and emergency service agencies.
PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALING
Professional Credentialing, overseen by the Commission on Professional Credentialing, is a career enhancement and development model that recognizes professional accomplishments and technical competence of fire and emergency service officers. CPC offers five designations:
Chief Fire Officer
Chief EMS Officer
Chief Training Officer
Fire Marshal
Fire Officer
TECHNICAL ADVISOR PROGRAM
Technical Advisor Program provides agencies with the tools to internalize continuous improvement and achieve excellence. TAP provides agencies expert guidance and coaching in preparing for CFAI accreditation.
EDUCATIONAL OFFERINGS
CPSE offers a variety of educational offerings through our CPSE University for departments and personnel to achieve peak performance. Offered in both on-site and web-based formats, these workshops are designed to provide the tools for continuous improvement as well as practical information on accreditation and credentialing.
Our premier event is the CPSE Excellence Conference where the finest minds in the fire and emergency service come together for four days to advance agency accreditation, promote professional credentialing, and encourage leadership.
EXPECTED DELIVERABLES
The selected organization is required to complete the following steps, at a minimum, in development of the corporate strategic plan.
- A survey instrument to gather input from the CPSE community
- Three to five web listening sessions with select groups from within the CPSE community
- A one and half day strategic plan development meeting with the CPSE Board, senior staff, and volunteer leaders
- Facilitate and provoke discussion among the attendees at the development meeting to develop strategic goals and objectives
- Formulate success measures to ensure strategic goals and objectives are achieved
- A protocol for implementation, tracking, and annual review of the strategic plan
- A professional print-ready five-year strategic plan that is informed by CPSE community input and driven by CPSE leadership
EXPECTED TIMELINES
The selected organization is required to operate within our desired timelines. They are:
- Organization selection: Late April 2020
- Kick off meeting: Early May 2020
- Complete and compile all community input: October 2020
- Develop strategic plan: December 2020
- Receive final strategic plan and implementation protocol: January 2021
RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS
The RFP will, at a minimum, identify the following:
- Introduction of your organization
- Identify your abilities and plan of action for the deliverables noted in the RFP
- Identify your abilities to meet the timelines noted in the RFP
- Identify key team members that will be assigned to this project and their knowledge, skills, and abilities
- A detailed project proposal including milestones and costs
- Minimum of three examples of prior projects that are similar in scope and size to our project as well as references for these prior projects that we may contact
SELECTION CRITERIA
As the successful candidate you will demonstrate:
- Significant experience in strategic planning
- An understanding of nonprofit organizations and association management
- Experience with public safety and/or local government
- Experience synthesizing stakeholder input for action
- Experience facilitating group discussions
- A proven track record of project management by meeting committed deadlines and costs
For any questions about the RFP, please contact CPSE CEO, Preet Bassi, at pbassi@cpse.org.