NC Workforce Development Boards Directors  Strategic Planning Session	
Request for Proposal	
The NC Association of Workforce Development Boards (NCAWDB) Directors Council is seeking a facilitator to lead a retreat planning session that results in short- and long-range goals for excellence in workforce service delivery for NC business and job seeker customers and a blueprint to achieve those goals.	

July 1, 2020

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Facilitator for development and facilitation of a 1-day session (7 hours) on
Strategic Planning

Our goal is to have this meeting as a face to face meeting September.  However, with the ongoing COVID-10 pandemic, we are aware that we may need to push the date out to November (date flexible) or even move to a virtual delivery.  If we do move to a virtual delivery, we would want to work with the selected consultant to develop a virtual schedule which could span less hours per day, but an increase in the number of days for the retreat.

INTRODUCTION
The North Carolina Association of Workforce Development Boards (NCAWDB) is the voice for workforce development in North Carolina. Comprised of 23 local workforce boards with over 500 members, the Association is dedicated to enhancing North Carolina’s workforce by supporting local workforce development boards statewide.  The NCAWDB Director’s Council is comprised of the 23-workforce board executive directors and the executive director of NCAWDB.
Local Workforce Development Boards provide oversight, planning, and administration of the NCWorks Career Centers in North Carolina.  They are business-led and supported by local elected officials. The Boards are charged with bringing together industry, education, labor, community, government, and other stakeholders in workforce to develop demand-driven strategies connected to regional economies and labor markets. Their primary purpose is to ensure businesses in NC have access to a qualified pool of talent to meet their business needs.  As part of the NCAWDB, the Directors Council is instrumental in the NC workforce eco-system to ensure North Carolina’s economic future. 

Retreat planning is being led by a sub-committee of the Director’s Council, the Strategic Planning Committee. In addition to leading the planning for the retreat, this committee also exists to support the Director’s Council executive committee, (President, Vice President, and Secretary), as well as support subcommittees of the council.  

PURPOSE/SCOPE OF WORK
The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit proposals from a qualified facilitator that has the capacity to develop and facilitate a seven-hour strategic planning session that supports the accomplishment of the Director Council’s strategic priorities. 

The Directors Council has identified three priority areas of focus and assigned committees to support each area:

Business Services. Provide leadership, strategy and advocacy for WIOA Business Services with a focus on consistency of engagement, data-driven decision making, and securing the place of workforce development as an economic driver. This committee will assist in influencing the work of the Business Services staff in all LA’s to identify service gaps, ensure a consultative service delivery approach and offer innovation solutions to meet the needs of employer customers.

Future NC Career Center System. Serves to make our public workforce system more valuable to clients and to identify the role of the WDBs in making those improvements. Initially, this Committee will conduct SWOT and gap analyses, but other tasks will include research on successful practices and policies within and beyond NC.

Youth.   Provides leadership, strategy and advocacy for WIOA Youth LEADS with a focus on program impact and strategic direction for the NC NextGen system. The Directors will influence the work of the Youth Leads to identify service gaps to ensure service delivery is designed to provide youth/young adults with necessary skills, credentials for workplace and personal success.

Chairs from each committee serve as a member the Strategic Planning Committee to ensure goals and objectives for all sub committees are aligned and meet the overall objectives of the Director’s Council and the needs of our workforce system in NC.

The Strategic Planning committee has done preliminary work to identify priority areas that will support the accomplishment of its strategic priorities:  
•	Position local Workforce Boards as drivers of the workforce system throughout NC, and to develop a framework to better align services and relationships. 

•	View Workforce Boards as leaders in workforce and Boards and Directors taking a leadership role in their regions. 
  
•	Identify common themes to our collective work and build camaraderie.

•	Strategically share challenges, find commonalities and to frame responses/actions to those challenges.

•	Find alignment around where Boards and Directors can make the biggest impact as a council, i.e. impact measures, policy, advocacy, thought leadership and a go to source for workforce solutions.

It is anticipated that this session will be highly interactive and engaging and results with solidified strategic priorities and a blueprint to accomplish priorities.

CONTRACTOR DELIVERABLES 
Deliverables will include 1) preparatory materials for the retreat including the retreat agenda and any pre-work, 2) advance meeting with the Strategic Planning Team, 3) execution of the Seven (7) hour training on site, 4) and a Summary document including recommended next steps (within 15 days of the last day of the planning session).

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS: 
•	Experience facilitating retreats of a similar nature.
•	At least 2 references
•	Retreat agenda
•	Session outline including planned exercises

DIRECTORS COUNCIL RESPONSIBILITIES: 
The Directors Council will provide the space, lunch, and reasonable A/V or other supplies needed for presentation, as available and agreed upon in advance.  
 
LOGISTICS: 
The retreat will take place at the Hilton Garden Inn, 5353 North Virginia Dare Trail in Kitty Hawk, NC.  Retreat dates are September 21-22, 2020.  The first day of the retreat starts at 9:00 am and ends at 5:00 pm.  The Strategic Planning session will begin at 2:00 pm on day one and continue on Day 2 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.  A Workforce Innovation and Opportunity (WIOA) session is also scheduled with another consultant on day 1, from 9:00am to 1:00 pm.

DRAFT AGENDA:
This is a draft agenda to provide a high-level overview of the planning session expectations.  We expect the proposals to provide the final agenda.

September 21
9:00 - 9:15 am 		Welcome and Opening 
9:15 - 1:00  pm  		WIOA Review (Facilitator already identified for this session)
1:00 – 2:00 pm		LUNCH
2:00 -3:30 pm 		Strategic Planning
3:30 - 3:45 pm		BREAK
3:45 - 5:00 pm 		Strategic Planning 
5:00 – 5:30 pm 		Wrap-up 
September 22
8:00 - 8:30 am		BREAKFAST BUFFET
8:30 – 9:00 am 		Check in and Review in –Previous Day
9:00 – 1:00 pm		Strategic Planning

BUDGET:
The anticipated contract type: price up to $3,000 (includes travel, hotel, and expenses).  
 
Unless stated otherwise in the statement of the work, the Contractor is responsible for providing equipment and/or supplies required to perform the services.  
  
All deliverables provided to the NCAWDB Directors Council must be furnished for the use without royalty or any additional fees. 

EVALUATION CRITERIA AND SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: 
 
NCAWDB Directors Council strategic planning team will accept the proposal that presents the best value.  All proposals will be evaluated against the following Evaluation Criteria.  Each proposal must contain the items listed in the Submission Requirements column in the following chart. 

Evaluation Criteria		    Submission requirement		Weight
Proposed process and approach	A maximum 3-page written proposal explaining the process the Contractor will use to carry out the scope of work, including a sample retreat agenda  	30%	
Experience	A brief description of prior similar work and 2-3 professional references from similar past projects with phone and email contract information  	30%	
Total fixed price  	Total fixed price for all activities  	15%	
Qualifications of proposed individual(s)  	CV/Resume of proposed individual(s) to work on this activity	25%	

All applicants are required to be registered and authorized to perform the scope of work in the place of performance.   
 
PROPOSED TIMELINE: 
 
July 1, 2020			Release of RFP 
July 27, 2020 	Completed proposals must be delivered electronically to Pat E. Sturdivant pat.sturdivant@wakegov.com  by 5:00 pm EST
August 7, 2020 			Final decision and notification
August 15-30, 2020		Virtual Discussion with Strategic Planning Team
September 21-22, 2020	Retreat Dates 

(Please note it is our best intent to comply with the above timeline, but unavoidable delays may occur)