Request for Proposals (RFP): CTA 21010 Equity-Focused Community Engagement

Published: Feb 28, 2022

June 13, 2022 update: The Conservancy has announced an intention to award this contract to Equity and Wellness Institute.


Updated on March 21, 2022. See below for responses to questions received. The deadline for proposals submissions is now April 29, 2022. 


The California Tahoe Conservancy (Conservancy) requests proposals for equity-based community engagement services.

The Conservancy’s mission is to lead California’s efforts to restore and enhance the extraordinary natural and recreational resources of the Lake Tahoe Basin (Basin). The Conservancy’s 2018-2023 Strategic Plan identifies its primary program areas and its strategic initiatives. The Conservancy is committed to achieving racial equity in its operations, investments, and policy initiatives. The Conservancy seeks services to support its work to address racial equity in advancing its mission and strategic plan.

Read the full Request for Proposals [PDF]

Key Action Dates

  • RFP available to prospective proposers February 28, 2022
  • Question submittal deadline March 14, 2022
  • Responses to questions posted March 21, 2022
  • Final Date for Proposal Submission April 4, 2022 April 29, 2022

Responses to Questions

1. You note that “Conservancy staff is developing a racial equity action plan (REAP) to define the actions it plans on taking to move toward racial equity.” What is your progress to date and have you decided on a REAP framework yet?
The Conservancy’s racial equity action planning is underway. Conservancy programs adopt annual operational plans that are designed to advance the goals of its strategic plan. Initial racial equity action planning has involved integrating racial equity actions into its operational plans.

2. Your strategic plan wraps up in 2023 but this contract and development of REAP will go to 2024. Will there be another strategic planning process? How will that inform the REAP? Or vice versa?
The Conservancy expects to begin developing a new five-year strategic plan near the end of the current strategic plan period. The Conservancy expects that a strategic plan would set goals and strategies that would inform continued racial equity action planning, which would be integrated into the agency’s annual operational plans.

3. What are the Conservancy’s long term goals for building relationships with hard-to reach and underserved community members and organizations?
The Conservancy’s long-term goals include ensuring that its programs and initiatives are contributing to the needs of underserved community members and organizations, and that such community members and organizations have a voice in the Conservancy’s governance and decision making.

4. What efforts has the Conservancy undertaken to date to engage such groups?
Most Conservancy community engagement to date has been driven by general public engagement around the business of the Conservancy Board, with its related public meetings, or for specific projects and initiatives.

5. What data does the Conservancy currently have related to racial inequity in the Tahoe Basin specifically (bullet 2j)?
The Conservancy has identified data that other entities have collected, such as the U.S. Census Bureau, California State Parks, and the South Tahoe Unified School District. The Conservancy has not yet independently collected such data.

6. What are your main objectives for introducing a participatory research approach and how do you see that as overlapping or distinct from other potential efforts to engage community-based organizations or individuals representing underrepresented groups?
The Conservancy seeks a participatory research approach as a means of supplementing existing quantitative data, while providing a meaningful framework around which to improve, expand, and measure its community engagement more generally. This approach is both distinct in that the Conservancy intends to take a listening approach with open-ended conversation, and also overlapping in that the Conservancy anticipates that some conversations will produce data and information that will allow it to improve specific policies and practices.

7. Do you have a specific method in mind (e.g, workshop; survey) to accomplish this item: “seek feedback from a representative number of underrepresented visitors to Lake Tahoe” or are you open to ideas?
The Conservancy is open to ideas.

8. Can you please clarify task 2h? It seems like there is a typo between the first and second line.
This was a typo. Task 2h should read as follows: “Engage community members to seek qualitative and quantitative data to support the Conservancy’s strategic and racial equity action planning processes;”

9. For change management purposes – What level of Executive Support is there for this project?
Strong support.

10. Is there a project champion on the Executive Team?
Yes

11. Does the California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) have a learning management system to provide communication, store eLearnings and track completion, etc.? If so, which platform dop you use?
No, trainings are tracked on an Excel spreadsheet.

12. For data mapping, what current data collection systems are in use? What gaps need to be filled? What is the intended outcome for data mapping?
The Conservancy uses Enterprise ESRI Licenses to collect/manage its mapping data. Currently the Conservancy does not collect or manage data on racial equity. Finding reliable data sources and building out applications to better inform decision makers would be the intended outcome for the Conservancy GIS team.

13. Is there an existing outreach list or data regarding BIPOC CBOs, visitors, etc.?
No

14. What is the status of the REAP developed by the CTC’s California Collective on Race and Equity (CCORE) Team?
The Conservancy’s racial equity action planning is underway. Conservancy programs adopt annual operational plans that are designed to advance the goals of its strategic plan. Initial racial equity action planning has involved integrating racial equity actions into its operational plans.

15. Will the successful bidder be provided access to the work completed and data collected by CTC’s CCORE team, including all worksheets, assignments, root cause analyses, etc.?
The Conservancy will work with the successful bidder to describe and share relevant work completed by the CCORE team.

16. DVBE – Does the minimum 3% participation for DVBE pertain only to bidders who seek consideration under DVBE program or does it apply to all bidders?
The State of California has a mandate to meet a 3 percent DVBE participation for procurement. To meet this goal we have built a DVBE of requirement of 3 percent minimum into this contract.

17. Does CTC currently contract with any organization conducting Implicit Bias training?
The Conservancy doesn’t have a have a contract for Implicit Bias training. CalHR offers Implicit Bias training for state staff and the Conservancy employees can participate in the training.

18. If CTC has a current training program in place, what employee data will the winning bidder be able to access from the previous training?
No, CalHR training is not available to outside vendors.

19. If CTC has a current training program, what are the existing goals set forth? How are these goals being tracked?
Goals have not been established at this time.

20. What is the current level of psychological safety and maturity around talking about DEI, race, equity and culture across the organization? With leadership?
The Conservancy’s cohort of employees who participated in CCORE included a representative for each of the Conservancy’s programs. Further, the Conservancy’s CCORE cohort has conducted two all-staff trainings for Conservancy employees on racial equity. The Conservancy’s leadership has supported and prioritized advancing racial equity in the Conservancy’s operations and policies.

21. What is the CTC’s training delivery preference, online, in person, or blended?
Blended.

22. What is the impetus for this initiative (in response to a specific issue(s) vs. wholistic organizational approach)?
This initiative is in response to the general problem of racial inequity, not a single issue.

23. How many individuals within CTC are anticipated to participate in the trainings during the contract period?
The Conservancy wishes to have its entire staff participate in training. Expect up to 40-50 participants.

24. Are there particular leaders/program areas where your organization believes implicit bias training, development, implementation, and enhancement will be a challenge?
The Conservancy generally expects this work to be challenging, but has not identified specific program areas of concern.

25. As CTC will respond to questions on March 21, will CTC consider extending the proposal submission date?
Yes. The new proposal submission deadline is April 29, 2022.

26. How many employees within each division will require DEI training?
There are approximately seven to fifteen staff in each division. The Conservancy intends for its entire staff to participate in trainings.

27. Of the employee base, how many are staff board members?
Members of the Conservancy Board are not Conservancy employees. There is more information about the Conservancy Board here.

28. What is your preferred length of training class? (i.e. 1 day, 2 days, other?)
The Conservancy has not predetermined a length.

29. Do you already have a DEI training consultant that you have previously worked with? If so, who?
Some Conservancy staff participated in the 2020-2021 iteration of the Capital Collaborative on Race and Equity, facilitated by the Government Alliance on Race and Equity and its partners.

30. What other awarded bids are available for public review that have occurred within the CA Tahoe basin?
All State contracts can be viewed on the Cal eProcure website. You can search by department, keyword, UNSPC classification, etc. Link to website: California State Government Marketplace