Communications RFP For The College of Alberta Dental Assistants Request for Proposal Communications Review
Deadline for Submission: August 31, 2023, 11:59 PM
Project Summary and Background
1.1 Project Summary
The College of Alberta Dental Assistants (the College) is currently accepting proposals for a Communications Review. This project will include comprehensive research, review, assessment, and analysis of the existing Communications Program. It will also include research of communications in regulatory organizations, progression and trends in communications, and recommendations for improvement to College communications.
The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit proposals from various candidate organizations, conduct a fair and extensive evaluation based on criteria included in this RFP, and select a candidate who best meets the College’s requirements for this project.
Project Purpose and Description
2.1 Project Purpose
The Problem We are unsure of the impact of our communications program for each of our stakeholder groups. We need to establish baseline and ongoing measurement tools, and develop a plan to improve engagement with registrants, applicants, the public, and the rest of our stakeholders, both external and internal. We also need to evaluate the tools we are using and receive recommendations to enhance existing tools or identify more effective tools.
The Main Goal of this Review is to establish a clear baseline and improve our communications program so that it:
• ensures regulatory oversight and protection of the public
• aligns with our Mission, Vision and Values
• includes a communications plan that is measurable and manageable for the College
• identifies our audiences and defines key considerations for reaching each audience with language, messaging, methods and timing appropriate to their needs
• ensures our messaging and information is accessible and inclusive
The Purpose of this Review is to:
• Perform a comprehensive review, assessment, and analysis of the existing College communications
strategy, style, practices, policies and tools to:
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• define and address gaps within the communications
to ensure public protection
to engage College registrants
• assess alignment of our communications practices with our guiding documents
• assess alignment of other College resources
• acknowledge what the current communication tools and practices do well
• Complete a review of communication practices in health profession regulatory bodies.
• Summarize perspectives gathered in discussion with registrants and stakeholders through focus groups,
interviews, and surveys performed during the review.
• Recommend improvements for College communications strategy, style, guiding documents, tools and
other College resources that meet the project goals.
• Provide advice and guidance on the use of new and emerging tools that may meet project goals.
• Integrate research into all components of the review, validating all Recommendations.
2.2 Project Description
The College is seeking a provider to perform a comprehensive review of the Communications Program.
The provider will be expected to meet the following project goals:
1. Review all current communications strategies, tools, resources, goals and expectations.
2. Analyze demographics of Alberta dental assistants to ensure all communication resources addressvariations in age, gender, language, culture, education.
3. Perform various focus groups, interviews, and/or surveys gathering perspective from a representative
group of dental assistants and stakeholders.
4. Recommend improvements to College communications that meet the main goals of this project.
5. Integrate current research and trends in communications into all recommendations and improvements.
6. Maintain report parameters within the mandate of the HPAi and Dental Assistants Profession Regulation.
7. Ensure recommendations and suggestions fall within the constraints of PIPA, PIPEDA and CASL.
8. Suggest potential tools for communications, keeping relevant legislation in mind.
3 Proposal Guidelines
This Request for Proposal represents the requirements for an open and competitive process.
Proposals will be accepted until 11:59 PM on Thursday, August 31, 2023. Any proposals received after this date and time will be returned to the sender. All proposals must be signed by the official agent or representative of the organization submitting the proposal.
If the organization submitting a proposal outsources or contracts any work to meet the requirements of the RFP, they must clearly state this in the proposal, including the name and description of the organizations being contracted.
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All costs must be itemized to include an explanation of all fees and costs, including associated outsourced or contract work.
Terms and conditions of an engagement contract will be negotiated upon selection of a winning bidder for this RFP.
The College of Alberta Dental Assistants reserves the right to choose any proposal or none of those received, based solely on criteria established by the College, regardless of proposed budget.
4 Project Scope
The successful organization will be responsible for planning, conducting, and finalizing the Communications Review.
The following criteria must be met to achieve a successful project:
• A clear and concise written Report that articulates review of all goals for the Communications Review and aligns with our Mission, Vision and Values.
• Evaluation of the current communications style, strategies, and tools and recommendations forenhanced communications.
• Detailed analysis and description of gaps in communications strategies and recommendations for
improvement.
• Identified challenges anticipated in achieving the main goal of this project.
• Comprehensive research and trends summary that:
• examines changes, if any, to how regulatory communication is viewed
• describes a plan to examine current College communications data
• validates all suggested recommendations and improvements
• Suggested evaluation tool(s) for the College to measure and monitor communications results.
• Detailed recommendations that outline improvements to the communications program.
• A map that defines sequential activities to achieve all recommendations.
• Ability to work closely with the College team assigned to oversee the Communications Program Review.
• Willingness to clarify any areas of the Report that are unclear.
• Availability to present a summary of the Report, either online or in person.
