Date: Friday, July 7, 2023
Applications are due August 11, 2023 by 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time Applications must be submitted electronically by this deadline.
Purpose
The purpose of this evaluation is to assess the AEA Board’s effectiveness under Policy Governance, identify gaps, and generate recommendations to improve effectiveness and identify any gaps in executing responsibilities. Ideally, the evaluation will also yield questions, recommendations and templates that can be used in future Board evaluations.
Background
AEA began the shift to policy-based governance in 2009. In 2018, the AEA Board committed to doing an external evaluation of its effectiveness every three years. Due in part to the impact of COVID-19 on routine operations, this will be the first external evaluation to take place since AEA made this commitment. It is important to note that this is not intended to be an evaluation of fidelity to the Carver model which provided the initial thinking about policy-based governance at AEA. The Board has intentionally adapted the Carver model to address the AEA context and needs. (For additional background see the 2011 evaluation of the AEA transition to policy based governance.)
Learning Objectives
This evaluation is intended to address how well the Board is implementing policy-based governance and how policy-based governance serves the Board and AEA to identify strengths and/or areas for improvement. The AEA adaptation of the Carver model is found in the Governing Policies Manual. Key dimensions of performance may include, but would not be limited to, the ways in which the organizational governance approach is in alignment with AEA’s mission and vision; the extent to which each role group in the organizational governance structure performs their functions (e.g., oversee management, finances, and quality; set direction; build community relationships, establish ethical standards, etc.); where there may be gaps; what are most critical success factors; and how Board performance is affecting progress towards AEA’s ends goals. Given that the Board would like to realize the goal of such evaluations every three years, recommendations about how the Board might most effectively lay groundwork and institute systematic processes that would support such periodic evaluation would also be beneficial.
AEA members are explicitly invited to participate in this evaluation and will be asked to disclose potential conflicts of interest.
Scope of Work
The selected Offeror will work with the AEA Evaluation Task Force to develop a plan and implement a comprehensive evaluation, ensuring that activities are complementary to Board operations and consistent with the approved evaluation plans.
The selected Offeror will develop an evaluation plan to assess the AEA Board’s effectiveness under policy-based governance over the last three years. The evaluation may include gathering information from former Board members who served during this period. AEA’s all-volunteer Board includes a three-person Presidential Rotation (President Elect, President, Past President), nine Board Members at Large, and a Treasurer (N = 13). Four or five of the thirteen Board members change each year, with existing members replaced by the new President Elect, Treasurer Elect (in years the Treasurer position is rotating), and three incoming Board Members at Large. It is not expected that data would be collected from the overall AEA member base for this evaluation.
Illustrative Evaluation Questions
After review and approval of the evaluation plan by the Evaluation Task Force, the selected Offeror will complete the planned evaluation and present their findings.
Deliverables
Deliverables will include a:
The selected Offeror and Evaluation Task Force may workshop the findings and conclusions with the Board to develop the final recommendations.
Ideally, the evaluation will also yield questions, recommendations and templates that can be used in future self-guided Board evaluations
Proposed Project Timeline:
07/06/2023 Issue RFP
07/18/2023 Potential Offerors Deadline to submit questions/requests for clarifications
07/24/2023 Respond to Offeror questions/requests for clarifications
08/11/2023 Responses to RFP due
09/05/2023 Final selection and notification to Offeror
09/08/2023 Complete contract with selected Offeror
09/14/2023 Virtual meet and greet between Selected Offeror, Evaluation Task Force and Board
10/09/2023 Update meeting with Selected Offeror, AEA Evaluation Task Force and AEA Board
11/15/2023 Draft report due to AEA Task Force
11/30/2023 AEA Evaluation Task Force submits draft report to AEA Board
12/07/2023 Feedback and discussion on draft report with Offeror
12/31/2023 Final reports submitted to the Board
Content Area Expertise
Evaluators with expertise evaluating board effectiveness under policy-based governance and demonstrated experience with facilitating diverse groups are preferred.
Proposal
To be considered for this evaluation, proposals must be in pdf format and include the following:
Project narrative (not to exceed 4 pages) that includes:
Annex 1: The name of the primary staff and other significant contributors:
Annex 2: Line-Item budget and narrative, not to exceed $15,000 that clearly outlines:
Annex 3: Project deliverables and timeline:
Annex 4: Past Performance (1 page)
The Offeror may include a cover sheet and Table of Contents that are not included in the page limit. The Offeror must use one-inch margins, 12-point font for the body of the proposal, and at least 10-point font for tables and figures.
Selection Criteria and Scoring:
Each proposal will be reviewed and rated on the following elements by the Evaluation Task Force members:
A. Understanding of Program Purpose and Goals (15 points): Applicant has a clear understanding of the project’s purpose, goals, and deliverables.
B. Relevant Personnel Experience (25 points): Applicant has clearly documented evidence of their (and that of the proposed program staff) subject matter expertise and experience in the proposed content areas. Reasonable effort (hours) are budgeted for team members with the needed skills and knowledge.
C. Proposed Approach & Timeline (50 points): The proposal includes a clear, feasible, and appropriate plan to effectively meet the goals and deliverables of the evaluation. The proposal should include explicit assumptions about the delineation of roles between the Offeror and AEA and a reasonable timeline with all deliverables completed within the evaluation period.
D. Budget (10 points): The proposal includes a detailed, line-item budget justifying proposed expenses, and the expenses are appropriate for the purposes of the deliverables. Costs can include:
Deadline and Committee Contact
Questions about this RFP may be submitted to the contacts listed below. Please submit questions boardeval@eval.org . We will share a Q&A document with answers to all submitted questions.
The deadline for proposal submission is August 11, 2023 by Midnight, Eastern Standard Time. Proposals should be compiled in PDF format and emailed to the AEA Board Evaluation Task Force at boardeval@eval.org
Interviews will be conducted with finalists between August 16, 2023 - August 23, 2023.
Additional questions? Contact info@eval.org.