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Evaluation of Joint Working Group Effectiveness

INTRODUCTION

The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is a national advocacy organization that works to advance the collective aspirations of First Nations.

The AFN hosts at least two Assemblies each year where mandates and directives for the organization are established through resolutions directed and supported by the First Nations in Assembly, (elected Chiefs or proxies from member First Nations.) The AFN is also guided by an Executive Committee consisting of elected National Chiefs and Regional Chiefs from each province and territory.

The Government of Canada and AFN have been working to co-develop programs, policies and programs to address First Nation housing issues. One manner of working together is through the development of joint working groups.

The Joint Working Group on Housing (JWG) focuses on First Nation housing policy issues of national concern. Its members are from the AFN, Indigenous Services Canada, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Infrastructure Canada (now being merged with another department under the leadership of the Minister of Housing, Diversity, and Communities), and one or two First Nations housing technicians from each region.

The JWG meets regularly since its inception in 2017 and has been successful in developing a First Nations Housing Policy Reform Framework (2017), a National First Nations Housing and Related Infrastructure Strategy (2018), overseeing a national First Nations-led housing survey (2018-19) and other important First Nations policy related work. More recently, it has been focused on federal initiatives including Closing the Infrastructure Gap by 2030 (CTIG) and the Urban Rural and Northern Indigenous housing strategy (URN Strategy).

This Project is to perform a comprehensive evaluation of the JWG and its effectiveness as a process for Canada and First Nation co-development of housing programs, policies, and initiatives.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to select a bidder to provide a high quality of professionalism, integrity and confidentiality in carrying out the work on the JWG Review.

The successful proponent will be determined through a competitive bidding process with the deadline of submission being February 16, 2024.

The objectives of evaluating the JWG effectiveness include:

  1. Assess Effectiveness: Determine how well the JWG is meeting its intended goals and objectives.
  2. Improve Performance: Identify areas for improvement and implement changes to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
  3. Inform Decision-Making: Provide insights to guide future decisions, resource allocation, and strategic planning.
  4. Demonstrate Accountability: Demonstrate accountability to stakeholders, funders, and the public by showcasing the impact and outcomes achieved.
  5. Facilitate Learning and Development: Facilitate learning by understanding what works and what doesn’t, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
  6. Enhance Transparency: Enhance transparency by openly communicating results and findings to stakeholders.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Both Canada and the AFN have agreed to co-develop policy initiatives and strategies with respect to First Nation Housing and Infrastructure. The First Nations in Assembly passed the following resolutions:

  • Resolution 27/2017 “Development of a First Nation Housing and Infrastructure Strategy;”
  • Resolution 57/2018 “National First Nations Housing and Related Infrastructure Strategy;”
  • Resolution 60/2022 “First Nations Involvement in the Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy;” and
  • Resolution 66/2023 “Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Funds Management in Breach of the UN Declaration.”

The common thread of these resolutions is to call upon the Government of Canada to respect the rights and jurisdiction of First Nations and to co-develop distinction-based programs, initiatives, and policies that impact First Nations housing and infrastructure.

SCOPE OF WORK

The JWG evaluation will provide an assessment of the strategic current and ideal future state for JWG performance and overall effectiveness; recommendations for continued evaluation and improvement and key strengths and weaknesses. The review will help to identify how best to align and structure the JWG for optimum success.       

Project Requirements

The JWG evalution of effectiveness requires reviewing background documents including Terms of Reference, conducting interviews with stakeholders, updating the AFN on progress, and developing a final report describing the results of the review that considers, but is not limited to, the following topics:

  1. Context and Stakeholders
  • Outline the organizational context in which the JWG operates.
  • Identify key stakeholders and their expectations.
  1. Scope and Objectives
  • Clearly define the scope of the review, specifying the aspects to be evaluated.
  • Outline the overarching objectives of the review.
  1. Governance and Structure
  • Assess the governance structure of the JWG.
  • Examine the roles and responsibilities of members.
  1. Goals and Objectives of JWG:
  • Evaluate the clarity and relevance of the JWG’s goals and objectives.
  • Assess alignment with organizational objectives.
  1. Communication and Collaboration
  • Evaluate communication processes within the JWG.
  • Assess collaboration mechanisms and the sharing of information.
  1. Performance and Outcomes
  • Analyze the JWG’s performance against defined metrics.
  • Evaluate the outcomes and impact on organizational goals.
  1. Feedback
  • Examine mechanisms for collecting feedback from JWG members.
  • Assess how feedback is used to drive continuous improvement.
  1. Documentation and Reporting
  • Review documentation practices, including meeting minutes and reports.
  • Assess the effectiveness of reporting mechanisms.

Project Timeframe:

The work shall be completed between contract signing and March 31, 2024.

Project Deliverables:

The consultant will provide a final report by March 31, 2024.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

All proposals shall be received by the AFN no later than February 18, 2024.

All proposals will clearly identify the name of the proponent and the note “RFP for Evaluation of Joint Working Group Effectiveness”.

Individuals shall indicate whether they identify as Indigenous and what Indigenous community acknowledges their membership. Corporate entities shall do the same for the ownership of the entity and for those who will conduct the work.

Late submissions will not be accepted and will be returned unopened without exception.

Submissions are to be sent electronically to Clayton Cunningham  [email protected]

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

All proposals shall include the following information:

  1. An Executive Summary outlining the background information of the proponent’s company, including the contents of the proposal.
  2. A statement and description of the physical and human resources required to complete the background research, stakeholder engagement, analysis, and writing, including software and intellectual material;
  3. Project Organization: Identify the composition of the proposed project team, if any, including:
    • Project team members,
    • Description of the roles of the team members,
    • Level of experience of the team members specific to organizational reviews.
  1. Cost Breakdown: The Proponent shall provide a detailed cost breakdown for the proposed services, showing the total cost for the performance of all services, expenses, materials, deliverables, and software/hardware costs (if applicable), to be used for completion of the work. Total cost shall be in Canadian dollars and inclusive of HST.
  2. Qualifications/Experience
    • Proponents should possess the following qualifications:
    • expert-level knowledge of performing organizational reviews with First Nations or First Nations-led organizations.
    • trained in, and have, rigorous data custodial practices governed by OCAP® Principles.
    • Other experiences related to the Project.
  1. Client References: the names of three (3) references who have used the services of the bidder as a consultant performing organizational reviews. References to include the client name, title, contact information.

 

RIGHTS OF THE AFN

The AFN reserves the right to:

  1. reject any or all proposals received in response to this Request for Proposals;
  2. enter into negotiation with one or more bidders on any or all aspects of their respective proposals;
  3. accept any proposal in whole, or in part;
  4. cancel and/or re-issue the modified version of a given RFP requirement at any time;
  5. award one or more contracts;
  6. verify all information provided with respect to a given RFP requirement, including the right to request a confirmation of the bidder’s legal status and signed documentation; and
  7. award contracts without competition for follow-up work, if any, to the selected bidder for a given project requirement.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The AFN will select the Proponent(s) which, in the AFN’s sole discretion, best serves the needs of the AFN. The following is a summary of the general considerations that will be used to determine the Proponent(s) that will be selected:

Overall Experience and Demonstrated Results 20%
Budget Approach and Cost Effectiveness 20%
Experience in research/evaluation, organizational development, governance and strategy development, project planning, and performance management. 15%
Indigenous Organization / Individual 10%
Strategic Thinking and Planning Approach 35%

 

TIMETABLE

The following dates are set forth for informational and planning purposes and may be changed at the AFN’s sole discretion prior to the Proposal Submission Deadline.

Description of Deliverables

 

Due Date

RFP Posted

January 18, 2024

Deadline for Questions

February 2, 2024

Deadline for Submission of Proposals

February 16, 2024

Contract Start Date

Upon contract signing

 

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Price

Contractors must provide a firm fixed price, including administrative fees, travel, material costs, translation, printing of draft concepts and HST.

AFN will evaluate proposed systems and related costs in a separate process, with recommendations from the successful bidder.

Confidentiality

Responses to this RFP will be considered as confidential information by the AFN and will be used solely for the purposes of selecting the successful bidder.

Clarification/ Questions

All on-time proposals will be acknowledged.

Requests for clarification and/or questions regarding this RFP should be directed to:

Clayton Cunningham, Senior Policy Analyst, Housing and Homelessness
Assembly of First Nations
55 Metcalfe Street, Suite 1600 Ottawa, ON K1P 6L5
Telephone: (613) 241-6789 extension 345
Facsimile: (613) 241-5808
Electronic Mail: [email protected]

Responses/ Submission

Only those submissions that meet the deadline will be considered.

Responses to this RFP must be received by the close of business (5:00pm EST) on February 16, 2024.

Responses may be sent by email to:

Clayton Cunningham, Senior Policy Analyst, Housing and Homelessness
Assembly of First Nations
55 Metcalfe Street, Suite 1600 Ottawa, ON K1P 6L5
Telephone: (613) 241-6789 extension 345
Facsimile: (613) 241-5808
Electronic Mail: [email protected]

 

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