Call for Proposals: Evaluation of Resources for Sexualized Violence (SV) Training in the Post-Secondary Context: Phase One

Status: closed

The intent of this project is to build an inventory of quality training resources for use by staff, faculty, and students at all B.C. post-secondary institutions under a creative commons license. The inventory will be hosted on an open-source website.

The project will be completed in two phases. Phase one focuses on the review and assessment of existing training resources for potential inclusion in the inventory. Phase two focuses on the development of new resources, if required, to fill gaps where no existing resources are available and on the actual organization/construction of the inventory.

This call for proposals (CFP) is for phase one and will be of interest to individuals or teams with the following knowledge, skills, or expertise: curriculum developers, instructional designers, and subject matter experts in sexualized violence and misconduct. The successful candidate(s) will have experience in assessing learning outcomes and competencies. A separate CFP will be issued for phase two.

Background/Context

In 2016, the B.C. Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act was introduced, requiring all public post-secondary institutions (PSIs) to develop policies to prevent and respond to SV and misconduct. In 2017–2018, a government outreach campaign identified the need to increase access to quality training resources. While access to resources is an issue for all PSIs, it is a particular challenge for smaller PSIs.

In 2019, a cross-sector SV and misconduct training and resources working group was established to provide advice and identify priorities for the development of resources. To date the working group has:

  • Identified priority SV and misconduct topics/subject areas in need of training resources (consent, disclosure, root causes of SV and misconduct, accountability, and justice (formal and informal), and trauma-informed practice.
  • Developed a toolkit for evaluating SV training and resources to guide the selection of training resources that are gender-inclusive, survivor-centred, evidence-informed, de-colonial, trauma-informed, intersectional, culturally located, and accessible for all users. (Download toolkit)

To support the development of an inventory of quality training resources for use by staff, faculty, and students at all B.C. post-secondary institutions, a high-level scan was conducted of existing SV and misconduct training resources referenced on websites of B.C. public post-secondary institutions (PSIs), B.C. public sector and non-profit organizations, and other organizations. The resulting list of resources is intended to serve as the starting point for the phase-one identification of resources for the inventory.

Tasks

Using the List of Resources and informed by the SV Toolkit provided, the contractor will:

  • Review and evaluate existing training resources related to SV and misconduct awareness, prevention, and response, with particular attention to resources that address the following priority topics: consent, disclosure, root causes of SV and misconduct, accountability and justice (formal and informal), and trauma-informed practice.

Note: Not all resources are open resources; therefore, the contractor needs to work with individual institutions/organizations to access and review resources.

  • Review the above resources with attention to delivery format, learning outcomes, evaluation strategies, and facilitator aids to support delivery;
  • Identify which training resources are currently openly licensed and which are not.
  • Make recommendations for the inclusion of specific resources (existing or with revisions) in the inventory.
  • Make recommendations for development of new resources for the inventory where no adequate resources are currently available.
  • Provide feedback and recommendations based on ease and effectiveness and identify issues after using the SV Toolkit.
  • Develop a proposed outline for the organization of the inventory, showing structure and content.

Payment

The total amount of the contract is GST inclusive.

Payment to be negotiated on awarding of contract.

Proposed Timeline

  1. Submit proposal by June 1, 2020.
  2. Contract awarded June 15, 2020.
  3. Work on evaluation of SV and misconduct training: June 15 to August 15, 2020.
  4. Submit interim report: July 15, 2020.
  5. Submit professional report by August 21, 2020.

Deliverables

Submit a professional report to Robynne Devine, Project Manager, by August 21, 2020, that includes:

  • An overall summary of the review of existing resources, including:
    • Assessment results for each resource, referencing the following criteria:
      • Delivery format
      • Learning outcomes
      • Training evaluation strategies
      • Facilitator aids
      • The eight principles identified in the SV Toolkit (gender-inclusive, survivor-centred, evidence-informed, de-colonial, trauma informed, intersectional, culturally located, and accessible)
    • Recommendations for inclusion of specific existing resources in the inventory
    • Recommendations for development of new resources for inclusion in the inventory to address current gaps
    • Feedback on the effectiveness of the SV Toolkit and recommendations for its improvement
    • An outline showing the proposed structure and content of the final inventory

Application

Please submit your proposal using Appendix A (below) to rdevine@bccampus.ca by midnight on June 1, 2020.

Appendix A

Proposal Guidelines

In no more than five pages, include the following elements.

Methodology

  • Provide a description of the steps and methodology for contacting organizations and collecting training resources.
  • Provide a description of the steps and methodology for examining and assessing training resources.
  • Provide a description of the steps and methodology for determining creative commons licensing attached to resources (or copyright, etc.).
  • Provide a description of how expertise will be applied to determine recommendations for the selection of resources and organization/structure of the final inventory.

Project Plan and Milestones

  • Provide a project plan that outlines steps and milestones to ensure the final deliverable is received by BCcampus by the deadline.

Budget

  • Provide a list of budget components, including fees, expenses, etc.
  • Identify where GST is relevant for budget items.
  • Indicate whether the contract will be with an individual, institution, or agency.

Experience

  • Demonstrated experience assessing learning outcomes and competencies
  • Demonstrated knowledge of SV and misconduct subject area; experience working with SV community and SV training resources
  • Demonstrated ability to use intersectional, trauma-informed, inclusive, and culturally sensitive approaches to SV and misconduct
  • Demonstrated experience managing project timelines
  • Demonstrated experience with similar assessment and/or evaluation projects

Proposal Evaluation Criteria

The following criteria will guide the evaluation and selection of the successful proposal.

Quality

  • Roles and relevant experience of principal and/or team members working on the project
  • Risk management plan for completion of the project if the principal contractor is unable to do so
  • Clearly articulated and reasonable project steps and milestones for the amount of effort noted
  • Clearly stated understanding of the deliverables and the intention of the project

Budget

  • The budget is reasonable with regard to the work proposed.
  • The budget is easy to understand and clearly outlines the most significant line items required, along with a reasonable timeline for expenses.
  • The budget clearly shows when the project work and related expenses will occur.

Additional notes:

This project is supported by the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills & Training (AEST) and is being led by BCcampus. BCcampus provides evidence-based, collaboratively designed and developed, openly licensed learning resources for the B.C. post-secondary education system and sector partners.

Accountability and justice: Processes and systems for community justice, accountability, and restoration of safety — both what they are and training people to have the capacity to be involved in such processes; training to understand impacts that may be associated with harms; exploring root causes of SV to support self-reflection on why behaviour occurred and prevention; suggesting survivor-centred ways communities can repair harm and restore safety; provide accountability at an individual level (i.e., the individual the person may have harmed); provide accountability at a community level (i.e., the community within which the harm occurred).