Status: closed
Click for a printable PDF version of this Call for Proposal
Summary of Opportunity
With the support of BCcampus, the Ministry is seeking qualified vendors to make existing provincial professional training and development opportunities fully accessible to Deaf/hard of hearing persons in the field of early childhood education.
Focus of Call for Proposals
To provide accessible opportunities for early learning and child care training and professional development for participants who are Deaf/hard of hearing.
Please note: An American Sign Language (ASL) version of this CFP can be found here: https://bccampus.ca/collaborate-with-us/
1. Introduction
Through the Canada-British Columbia Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, funding has been provided to improve access to online professional learning opportunities for Deaf/hard of hearing persons in the field of early childhood development in B.C. At the centre of this opportunity are the unique visual, auditory, and linguistic needs of Deaf/hard of hearing persons when it comes to equitable and accessible learning opportunities.
The role of BCcampus in this Ministry of Education and Child Care–led initiative is to provide a call for proposals process, evaluate the proposals with the ministry, and disburse funds to the successful applicant.
Please see detailed application criteria below for further information.
2. Background
The Ministry of Education and Child Care, together with the Government of Canada, has established a shared vision for early learning and child care that is outlined in the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework. One of the key items in this framework is the commitment to high-quality care and inclusive teaching and learning practices for all children, regardless of where they live in the province.
The Ministry values early childhood professionals and as such is committed to providing training and development opportunities to support their growth and the growth of a quality child care system.
To this end, through consultation with provincial Deaf/hard of hearing service partners, an identified area of need is a significant shortage of early childhood professionals who are Deaf/hard of hearing. Existing Deaf/hard of hearing early childhood professionals have an ongoing need for high-quality, accessible in-person and online professional learning opportunities. In addition, the Ministry seeks to continue to enhance the quality and accessibility of priority topics identified by the Early Childhood Educator Registry and the early years sector, such as the following:
- Indigenous cultural competencies
- Inclusive child care
- Trauma-informed practices
- Play-based learning
- Practice that reflects the vision and mission of the B.C. Early Learning Framework
As part of the Canada-British Columbia Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, funding has been allocated to help reduce barriers in this area.
3. BCcampus Values
BCcampus is committed to embracing and making real equity, diversity, and inclusion in everything we do, from the initial call for proposal to the final resources developed for a project and in every document and process. From the workplace to our learning spaces, we value diversity and are actively working to decolonize our organization and the ways in which we collaborate with others. We believe that a more diverse team will help us better support the individuals and communities we work with. Please find the BCcampus definitions of equity, diversity, and inclusion on our website: https://bccampus.ca/about-us.
BCcampus is committed to anti-racism as a practice. We resolve to remove barriers to education and services for Indigenous and racialized people and communities and to do all we can to ensure that no one is further marginalized, nor have this experience exacerbated, through working with us.
Please find the BCcampus Anti-Racism Statement here:
4. Purpose
With the goal of supporting accessible learning environments for Deaf/hard of hearing persons and acknowledging their valued lived experiences as role models and teachers in early learning and child care environments, the Ministry is seeking quality, equitable, and accessible professional training and learning opportunities for Deaf/hard of hearing persons.
The Ministry recognizes this project as a first step in beginning to address the
- Unique support needs of young Deaf/hard of hearing children in child care environments
- Importance of Deaf/hard of hearing representation in child care staffing
- Critical lack of accessible learning opportunities for Deaf/hard of hearing adults
5. Guiding Principles
In their proposals, applicants are expected to demonstrate knowledge and reflection of the principles and practices outlined in the following resources:
- British Columbia Early Learning Framework (2019) and Play Today: B.C. Handbook (2019)
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Bill C-81: Accessible Canada Act
- Bill 6: Accessible British Columbia Act
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action
- West Coast Association of Visual Language Interpreters Code of Ethics
- NER model for captioning
- Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) guidelines and requirements for live and prerecorded media
- Closed captioning standards and protocols for Canadian English language broadcasting
- Web content accessibility guidelines
6. Scope
The successful applicant will design and implement professional development training for early childhood professionals based on an understanding of Deaf/hard of hearing culture. This training should apply the principles of inclusive teaching and learning practice to better equip professionals with knowledge and skills to effectively support Deaf/hard of hearing children and families in child care centres throughout B.C.
The successful applicant will provide:
- Evidence of access to, or ownership of, professional training/learning opportunities in the field of early learning and child care in B.C.
- Training or professional learning with a minimum 20 hours of course material
- Training or professional learning that is culturally relevant
- Training or professional learning that is reflective of the values and vision of the B.C. Early Learning Framework or Play Today: B.C. Handbook and supports the policies of the Community Care and Assisted Living Act
- Training or professional learning delivered in-person and/or online, which may include asynchronous or synchronous components
- Learning opportunities that include synchronous components, including in-person or online
- Evidence of the ability to meet the unique accessibility needs of Deaf, hard of hearing, and Deaf-Blind persons in all areas of B.C. in the language and mode of their preference, including but not limited to
- Registered visual language interpreter
- CART captioning or other means of closed/open captioning
- Deaf-Blind intervenor
- Accessible handouts and PowerPoint slides
- Evidence that the existing training/professional learning will support DHH persons to (1) receive training in Early Childhood Education, thus creating employment opportunities for DHH persons in the field of ECE, and/or (2) the training will provide DHH educators with increased knowledge, skill or certification so they are better prepared to support a diverse population of children and families in early learning centers.
- Signed certificate of participation for all registered participants that includes
- Name of participant
- Number of professional development hours
- Name of organization/persons delivering training
- Dates of training
- Learning outcomes
7. Service Requirements and Deliverables
The successful applicant’s operational capacity to assess accessibility needs and deliver service deliverables outlined in this contract must include a minimum of two Deaf/hard of hearing staff. At least one person must be culturally Deaf with ASL fluency at Proficiency Interview level 3 (level 4 preferred). Where applicants are unable to meet staffing requirements, partnerships and/or contracts with other persons/organizations are encouraged.
Personnel may include the following:
- Teacher of the Deaf/hard of hearing or Deaf-Blind
- Master’s degree with a focus in Deaf or Deaf-Blind education
- Active membership in good standing of the Canadian Association of Educators of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
- Minimum ASL Proficiency Interview level 3 (level 4 preferred)
- Experience with Deaf/hard of hearing children birth to age five
- Registered visual language interpreter
- Member in good standing of West Coast Association of Visual Language Interpreters
- Minimum two years’ experience
- Experience working in the field of education or early childhood
- Deaf interpreter
- Demonstrated background and understanding of ASL/English linguistics
- Member in good standing of West Coast Association of Visual Language Interpreters and Canadian Association of Visual Language Interpreters
- Experience in curriculum development
- Minimum two years’ experience as direct instructor
- Other relevant Deaf professional consultant
- Demonstrated background and understanding of ASL/English linguistics
- Experience in curriculum development
- Understanding of child development and/or childhood experience
- Technology professional
- Understanding of CRTC guidelines and protocols for live and prerecorded media
- Understanding of NER guidelines
- Other relevant staff
- Willingness to receive training in Deaf culture and awareness of learning development needs of Deaf/hard of hearing persons who are English as a second language learners
- Background in early childhood development
The contractor is responsible for ensuring access to appropriate technology to deliver a full array of service requirements or evidence of the ability ˙to contract with appropriate agencies.
The contractor is responsible for providing accessible training or professional learning that meets the following guidelines:
- Captions with 100 percent accessible accuracy for all prerecorded course material:
- CRTC guidelines https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2012/2012-362.htm
- Web content accessibility guidelines https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/quickref/?showtechniques=126¤tsidebar=%23col_overview#principle1
- NER guidelines https://nercanada.ca/ner-guidelines
- Closed captioning standards and protocol for Canadian English language broadcasters, 2004 https://dcmp.org/learn/static-assets/nadh20.pdf
These standards include but are not limited to:
- Spelling, including proper nouns, words used in other languages, slang, local acronyms
- Spacing and text attributes
- Punctuation and grammar
- Indication of speaker and dialogue
- Descriptive captions
The contractor is responsible for providing ASL interpretation for all components of the training by a registered visual language interpreter and/or Deaf interpreter. All components include:
- Live sessions
- Prerecorded sessions
- External resources (e.g., YouTube videos, podcasts)
- Courses that are text-based translated to ASL
8. Requirements for Proposal
Proposals must include the following required information.
| Component | Required information |
| Cover letter |
|
| Business description |
|
| Key staffing | Provides a list of key personnel, described individually, who will manage, develop, and implement the required services:
|
| Budget | Provides detailed financial breakdown of anticipated costs, including
|
| Technology | Describes the applicant’s experience with technology required to conduct proposed service deliverables:
|
| References | Provides a minimum of two professional letters of reference that include the authors’ contact information |
9. Proposal Format
Applicants should ensure they fully respond to all requirements in the call for proposal to receive full consideration during evaluation.
Proposals must be submitted in one of the following formats:
- Written English
- Video submission in ASL
- Video submission in spoken English
Note: Proposals will not be evaluated based on format of submission.
Proposals must be submitted by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, February 17, 2023, via email to projects@bccampus.ca, with the subject line RESPONSE TO: CFP TITLE.
Proposals must include all items described in Section 7 of this document.
10. Call For Proposal Time Lines
| Date | What is scheduled |
| January 3, 2023 | Notice of call for proposals |
| January 9, 2023 | Call for proposal open house |
| January 11, 2023 | Fully accessible applicants call for proposal workshop |
| February 17, 2023, 4:00 p.m. | Deadline for receipt of proposals |
| February 27, 2023 | Contract award announcement |
| March 10, 2023 | Anticipated contract start date |
Please consider attending a fully accessible open house with live ASL translation to ask questions about submitting your proposal.
A virtual call for proposal workshop will be available to Deaf/hard of hearing applicants. This workshop is designed to guide applicants to submit a successful proposal.
Please email jorr@bccampus.ca to register for these events.
11. Evaluation Committee
A committee of representatives from the Ministry of Education and Child Care, BCcampus, and the Deaf/hard of hearing education community will be responsible for evaluating the proposals. The committee will include a minimum of 50 percent representation of Deaf/hard of hearing community members. Proposals will be evaluated on how well they meet the deliverables outlined in Section 7, specifically the cover letter, business description, key staffing, financial plan, technology used, and references.
12. Payment Schedule
| When it is paid out | How much is paid out |
| Contract amount, including GST | $40,000 |
| Amount to be awarded on signature of contract | $10,000 |
| Amount to be awarded on submission and approval of workflow plan | $20,000 |
| Amount to be awarded on delivery and ministry approval of final training and all associated materials | $10,000 |
13. Contact Information
Proposals must be submitted by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, February 17, 2023, via email to projects@bccampus.ca, with the subject line RESPONSE TO: CFP TITLE.
Questions about this call for proposals can be addressed to Jonathan Orr at jorr@bcccampus.ca.
To learn about other supports for submitting a proposal, please visit https://bccampus.ca/collaborate-with-us.