Request for Proposals (RFP) to Serve as CIMPAD Secretariat

Submit by by June 30, 2023

Background

The Consortium for International Management, Policy, and Development, Inc. (CIMPAD), is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt, nonprofit, nonpartisan educational association of individuals and organizations. The mission of CIMPAD is to inspire and promote collaborative working relationships towards the advancement of knowledge in public administration, public management, and public policy among practitioners and academicians in Africa, the United States, and around the world. Further, the mission is to enhance capacity building for good governance and sustainable development, and to promote linkages and networks among civil societies.

Opportunities for CIMPAD Secretariat

Conceptualized in 1974, the (CIMPAD) has amassed a reservoir of experiences, contacts, and good will in 11 African countries. These experiences, contacts, and goodwill reside with the CIMPAD Secretariat and serve as opportunities for:

1. Research
2. Travel
3. Internships
4. Joint funding for international development
5. Participation in International development projects
6. Organizing international conferences and workshops
7. Publishing
8. Networking with international leaders
9. Working with CIMPAD’s distinguish officers, board, and members
10. Grantsmanship and mentoring

Working in partnership with African governments, educational institutions, and nongovernment organizations, CIMPAD has helped provide an array of professional development activities and support for community-based initiatives. These activities and initiatives also represent opportunities that reside with the CIMPAD Secretariat.

Request

CIMPAD has determined a need for administrative capacity beyond that provided by its volunteer board members and is seeking proposals from an academic institution, a team of academic institutions, or a non-profit organization interested in serving in the position of a Secretariat. The activities to be performed by the office of the Secretariat are listed and described as follows:

Expected Activities of the Secretariat

The office of the Secretariat is expected to fulfill multiple roles including secretary, archivist, and operations manager. The Secretariat is expected to maintain relationships with CIMPAD partners and facilitate the day-to-day operations of CIMPAD. Specifically, the Secretariat performs the following roles, and the response to this RFP should detail how the host plans to meet these expectations.

Leadership and Membership

• Maintain a list of the current executive committee and committee chairs. This list should include name, mail address, phone numbers, and email addresses.
• Share updated email lists with the newsletter editor as needed.
• Maintain CIMPAD membership records. The Secretariat will work with CIMPAD’s membership chair to monitor membership changes. The Secretariat will correspond from time to time with: new members to welcome them; current members by sending renewal notices when needed; and lapsed members by encouraging membership renewal with reinstatement letters.

Operations and Governance

• Establish, in coordination with CIMPAD leadership and newsletter editor, an annual schedule of planned tasks, such as conference updates, elections, and timing of newsletter content.
• Establish, with CIMPAD leadership, a policy for retaining records that includes what to retain, where to store it, and for how long.
• Ensure that all members of the executive committee are notified of the date and time of each executive committee meeting at least one week in advance followed by a reminder several hours before the meeting.
• Attend and produce minutes of all CIMPAD executive committee meetings, at the biennial conference, as well those conducted online and/or by telephone or teleconferencing. Produce minutes within a week of meetings. Archive all meeting minutes electronically, following review by the CIMPAD executive committee.
• Receive and maintain quarterly financial reports, including donation records.

Communication

• Manage the flow of content through CIMPAD’s website with particular emphasis on: notifications regarding the biennial conference; highlighting CIMPAD members’ blogs, Twitter feeds, or other social media content; links to the CIMPAD newsletter or other relevant partner newsletters; other relevant content. Note that the Secretariat is not expected to create content, but rather to review and facilitate publication on the website content created by CIMPAD members.
• Review and recommend updates to the website monthly. This will include: updating the roster of board members and advisory board members; work with the treasurer in submitting board invoices to unpaid members; scheduling orientation of new board members at a time convenient for them, the current chair, and former chairs of CIMPAD, providing technical support to the newsletter editor in completing fall, winter, summer spring issues and posting to the website. Attend and take notes of monthly executive and full board meetings.
• Coordinate with newsletter editor so that material is also updated in the newsletter and delivered electronically to members in a timely manner, ideally quarterly, and especially in the weeks prior to the biennial CIMPAD conference.

Document and Website Management

• Maintain and preserve a variety of digital documents, both current documents and archives, to be housed at CIMPAD’s website and off-website. This includes: all relevant organization documents such as the bylaws, appointment letters, policies, and timelines; conference papers; syllabi and other teaching materials; and other relevant documents. Archival documents include conference programs, quarterly newsletters, meeting minutes, and financial records.
• Create mechanisms to share archival information with CIMPAD officers as they transition year to year. Develop and maintain a process for sharing and backing up and updating archives.
• Perform routine technical maintenance of CIMPAD’s website. This includes regular updates to security protocols; new site functionality as needed; adding storage capacity and other capacity as needed. If necessary, the host institution should plan to contract with web design/maintenance professionals for these services. If the host institution intends to contract, the RFP response should describe that potential contracting relationship.

Elections

•  Arrange for the election for new members of CIMPAD’s executive committee and officers in accordance with the CIMPAD Bylaws using the membership list which will be provided by the membership chair.

Conference Activities

• Provide plaques for the conference awards including for the outgoing chair and for any other new awards. Have the plaques ready for the biennial conference.
• Attend the biennial CIMPAD international conference and pay the registration fee.
• Oversee conference activities including: online registration, proposal submissions; sponsorship communications; and on-site conference activities.
• Coordinate preparation and printing of conference program and preparation of signage for conference with chair-elect and conference chair (may be done by conference host or volunteer).

Tentative Work Plan

• Hours: An estimated 20 hrs./mo.
• Work Plan
  o Updating rosters on website (2 hrs./mo.)
  o Invoicing and following up with board members (2 hrs./mo)
  o Orientation of new board members (2 hrs./mo.)
  o Meeting with newsletter editor and identifying content experts to contribute (2 hrs./mo.)
  o Attend executive committee meeting (1 hr.), board meeting (1 hr.) advisory committee (1 hr.) transcribing and disseminating minutes (2 hrs.)
  o Disseminating self-assessment instruments and other documents to the board (1 hr.)
  o Reaching out to inactive board members, reminding them of upcoming meetings (1 hr.)
  o Other duties as assigned (5 hrs.)

Other

• Coordinate with successor Secretariat for a smooth and comprehensive transition.
• Perform other duties as assigned/requested by thechair and/or the executive committee.

In each of the above expectations, the RFP response should be clear on the extent of the host’s commitment (e.g., financial and staff resources).

Principal Contact

The host institution of the Secretariat should name the principal contact person and contact information for the duration of this agreement.

Time Period

The response to this RFP should indicate the commitment to enter into an agreement for the host site to serve as the CIMPAD Secretariat for a period of three years, with renewals subject to a new RFP. The parties to the agreement can expand the terms upon mutual agreement.

Financial Commitment

The RFP response should indicate how the host will provide administrative resources to handle these responsibilities, such as through the allocation of a portion of the time of full-time administrative staff, graduate assistants, and/or faculty. Administrative costs of the Secretariat should be shared by the host and CIMPAD as negotiated in response to this RFP.

Submission Date, Time, Process and Address

Institutions responding to this RFP must do so by June 30, 2023, in a .PDF file submitted to CIMPAD at [email protected]. Please direct any questions regarding this RFP to the CIMPAD Chair, Dr. Peggy Valentine at [email protected]. A target decision date is August 01, 2023, to allow transition and commencement of the new contract on September 1, 2023.

The Applicant Information Form included with this RFP must be completed and signed by an authorized representative of the organization submitting a proposal in response to this RFP.

We must receive your application by 06/30/2023. You must submit your application electronically to [email protected] no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date. Applicants are encouraged to submit their application before the closing date to minimize the risk of late receipt. We will not accept applications sent by hard-copy, telegram, or facsimile (FAX).

Submission Format

To ensure consideration, the components of the application must be saved as a .pdf file. If submitted in any other format, the applicant bears the risk that compatibility or other issues will prevent CIMPAD from considering the application. We will attempt to open the document but will not take any additional measures in the event of problems with opening.
Hardcopy Submission No applications submitted in hardcopy by mail or hand delivery (including overnight delivery) will be accepted for this opportunity.

Projected Timeline

May 1, 2023 -Release of RFP
May 12, 2023 – Deadline for vendors to submit written questions
May 19, 2023 – Questions with written answers provided to vendors
June 30, 2023 – 11:59 pm EDT – deadline for submitting proposals
August 1, 2023 – Finalists notified