Request for Proposal Communications Consultant Health Equity Advocacy (HEA) Cohort for The Colorado Trust SUMMARY The Colorado Trust Health Equity Advocacy (HEA) Cohort is seeking a Communications Consultant (which can be comprised of multiple consultants or groups, and may be necessary to satisfy all the requirements of the proposal) to provide technical assistance and capacity building support for the following activities: developing a unified statement of the cohort s intention; and lead the development of, training in, and strategic distribution of core messaging and narrative adapted to different audiences. SECTION I: OVERVIEW & BACKGROUND The Colorado Trust (The Trust) is a foundation dedicated exclusively to the health and well-being of the people of Colorado. The Trust believes that all Coloradans should have fair and equal opportunities to lead healthy productive lives regardless of race, ethnicity, income, or where we live. The Trust uses a variety of grant making strategies and approaches to advance health equity for all Coloradans. One such effort has been the Health Equity Advocacy (HEA) field-building stratey. Health equity cannot be achieved without addressing social, economic, and environmental factors and challenges, also commonly referred to as the social determinants of health (SDOH). According to Healthy People 2020, a program of the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, SDOH are environmental conditions in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. Resources that affect SDOH can have a significant influence on population health outcomes. Examples of these resources include safe and affordable housing, access to education, public safety, availability of healthy foods, local emergency and health services, and environments free of life-threatening toxins. With the HEA strategy, The Trust aims to advance health equity policy solutions through a field-building approach. Eighteen organizations currently comprise the HEA cohort, which functions with the goal of creating a strong foundation for the health equity field, building the capacity and skills needed to influence and shape an ever-changing policy landscape. The types of nonprofit organizations that make up the cohort include policy advocacy organizations, direct service providers, and community organizing entities. The field-building logic model used to create the HEA overall strategy includes the following assumptions, among others: race, ethnicity, income, geography, and other SDOH are at the root of persistent health disparities facing Coloradans; addressing SDOH requires consistent, coordinated advocacy aimed at systems-level changes; and addressing SDOH can only effectively occur when institutional racism is dismantled. Some of the desired field-level outcomes include shared grantee understanding of SDOH and institutional racism, their relationship to health outcomes and the implications for systems change, and progress toward developing a knowledge base for the HEA field (e.g., shared language and framing, resources, tools, etc.).
Cohort members have received training provided by the Center for Social Inclusion to build skills and ability to address race in talking about health disparities, outcomes and solutions. The cohort s Communications Team has also surveyed members to determine the challenges each cohort organization faces in communicating about health equity. The team has also collected a bank of resources, assets and talents within cohort organizations that may be used to build capacity among peers in order to build the field. To further advance development of a robust advocacy field, the HEA cohort is contracting with a Communications Consultant to lead the development of a unified statement of intention and action and the development of core messaging for cohort members to use in advancing our mission. SECTION II: SERVICES NEEDED Unified Statement Lead the development of a unified statement, or manifesto, that declares the cohort s core values and intentions in advancing health equity, particularly by advancing racial equity in Colorado. The statement would be used to signify the core beliefs of the cohort in order to maintain those beliefs as the field is built. o Note that the cohort has already developed several core documents that are attached to end of this request, including: a vision statement, theory of change, and an executive summary of the cohort s recent activities.. The process of developing a unified statement should include all available voices from within the cohort. This can be accomplished through an iterative committee or work group process that recommends language for adoption by the full cohort in late 2017 or early 2018 at a cohort convening, or through another process proposed by the consultant or Communications & Messaging Team. Core Messaging and Narrative The consultant will lead the development of a core set of messages and narratives that the Trust, cohort, or members of the field can adapt and use to advance our mission. Note that the cohort is not a coalition unified around one policy goal, but a collective working to build a larger field of action toward health equity. The messaging and narrative should: Follow best practices and research in talking about race and ethnicity, racial equity, and health equity. Be developed in partnership with as many cohort voices as available. Be tested with non-cohort members of diverse backgrounds and perspectives to ensure efficacy. Be adaptable for use by all members of the cohort, including: policy advocates, service providers, community organizers, funders. Include messaging and narratives developed for specific audiences provided by the cohort. Examples might include: policy makers, other funders, members or networks, boards of directors, specific demographic groups such as rural Coloradans or Coloradans of color, etc.
In addition to describing how the Consultant will meet the services needed above, the proposal must also include activities to: Plan and implement training(s) for cohort members in the messaging and narrative usage and adaptation. Plan and implement assistance for cohort members for the strategic deployment of the developed messaging and narrative. In addition to the above, the consultant should include any additional creative strategies or approaches to this work that they would recommend to fulfill the HEA cohort s goals and needs. SECTION III: MANAGEMENT OF CONTRACT The Communications Consultant will be an independent third-party contracted directly with The Trust and reporting to the Communications Team, made up of HEA cohort leaders. The consultant may be an individual or a team from a single organization or multiple organizations. The consultant must have a strong understanding of the concepts and ideas around health equity, including the process by which SDOH and institutional racism influences the health of Coloradans. Ideally, the trainer/consultant will have experience deploying communications strategies and/or initiatives involving health and/or racial equity. In addition, the consultant must have the ability to collaborate with other cohort members or committees, such as the Racial Equity Committee, as well as other contractors to ensure consistency of messaging and intent within the cohort and all of its projects. Note: this RFP does not include any lobbying of any kind, nor legislator education. Any educational information created or provided will not contain any direct/indirect language as to whether to support/oppose legislation or a call to action. Report Out Communicate regularly with the Communications Team to provide progress, identify issues, answer questions, etc. Provide monthly conference call/webinar or written updates to the HEA cohort at least seven total beginning one month after the contract date. Maintain a repository of materials on Basecamp for cohort members to utilize. Create an annual written report and presentation to the HEA cohort with a summary of overall activities. SECTION IV: EQUIPMENT & SYSTEMS The contractor will be expected to use their own computer equipment. The contractor will be expected to have their own workspace. Black and white printing of documents needed for the listed activities will be provided as necessary. Access to a conference call line and/or webinar service will be provided as needed. SECTION V: CRITERIA & PROPOSAL
Contractor must have experience in communications strategies including framing and messaging, as well as an in-depth understanding of SDOH and the role they play in the health and well-being of Coloradans. They will have a clear understanding of what SDOH means in diverse communities and across the diverse and unique socioeconomic and geographic contexts of Colorado. The contractor will also have an understanding of health and racial equity and be able to conduct their work through a racial equity lens. Additionally, the contractor will be a multi-racial team with a demonstrated internal organizational commitment to racial equity and have a deep understanding of urban/rural and conservative/liberal politics and how to message effectively to all audiences. Although Colorado-based consultants are preferable, we welcome proposals from others with the appropriate experience and skills. Consultant must be available by conference call/webinar at least once a month and routinely by email. Please include travel, food, and lodging costs in the proposal. Proposals must include the following elements, in order. Proposals should only be in MS Word or PDF format. 1. CONTACT INFORMATION a. Name, organization(s) (if appropriate), and contact information 2. SERVICES NEEDED a. Describe how you will address all services listed in Section II. 3. COMMUNICATIONS & TOPIC EXPERIENCE a. Describe your communications experience, approach, and services. b. Describe your experience and understanding of SDOH. c. Describe your experience and understanding of both health and racial equity. d. Provide examples of past work related to SDOH, health equity, and racial equity, including creating messaging and narratives for the different audiences noted in this RFP. 4. PROJECT COORDINATION and HEA COHORT a. Describe how you plan to manage the project and communicate and coordinate with the HEA Cohort (including the project s team). 5. COST a. Provide a cost plan for the Services Needed. The available budget is up to $150,000. 6. RESUME a. Resume, and/or background and skills for primary contact and each professional on the proposed team b. Describe your organization s commitment to racial equity. 7. REFERENCES a. Name and contact information for up to three references that can speak to your experience. Our intent is for the proposal writing and reviewing processes to be expedient and not overly burdensome. Your brevity is appreciated. Please send a complete proposal that includes the above elements to Noelle Melchizedek, by 5 p.m. MT on Sept. 15, 2017.
SECTION VI: TIMELINE & BUDGET Timeline Proposal deadline = Sept 15, 2017, 5 p.m. MT Proposals reviewed and questions to applicants expected = Sept 27, 2017 Interviews with final candidates expected = Oct 3-10, 2017 Final decision expected = Oct 11, 2017 Work expected to begin = Nov 1, 2017 Work expected to end = Oct 31, 2018 Budget Up to $150,000 has been made available by The Colorado Trust for this one-year contract. The scope of work outlined in the proposal should be commensurate with the proposed cost to complete the work. Questions Questions can be directed to Noelle Melchizedek at noelle@coloradotrust.org. Please include COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT in the subject line.