Oregon State University Libraries is seeking proposals for a qualified consultant to submit Proposals for an agency to provide consulting services for OSU Libraries.  Background information, a statement of work and additional details for the proposal request, including the Requested Products/Services section are provided below.

#Background

#Statement of Work

#Proposal Request

FAQ

BACKGROUND

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

OSU Libraries is uniquely positioned at the heart of the university, and the collective efforts of its 100 faculty and staff reach across traditional boundaries between colleges and disciplines, students and faculty, the academy and the public. The Library’s resources — in the form of collections, spaces, services, and personnel — support learning, world-class research, and scholarship in all disciplines. The University Libraries are dedicated to serving all students, faculty and staff. We enhance and support the university’s instructional and research programs with traditional and innovative services and collections.

As stated in our 2018-23 strategic plan, we advance the University’s mission by contributing to learner success, scholarly excellence and community engagement, and by respectful and proactive stewardship. This plan articulated four broad goals and priorities we expect to pursue. It provides the details of work that our eight departments carry out to advance our mission and vision. The plan also expresses our commitment to openness, inclusion, diversity, and equity of access and our aspiration to prioritize these commitments in our daily work.

OSU Libraries represents the second-largest research library in Oregon with these co-locations: The Valley Library at the Oregon State campus in Corvallis and the Marilyn Potts Guin Library at the Mark O. Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport.  Since June 2007, the OSU Press has been a department within the OSU Libraries. As of 2019, the library operates with 31 tenure-track faculty, 27 professional faculty, 41 classified staff and approximately 100 student workers (~32 FTE). Two other library locations, OSU-Cascades Campus Library (Bend, OR) and the McDowell Veterinary Medicine Library (Corvallis) also provide services to the campus community. However, their personnel report, respectively, to the OSU-Cascade campus administration and the dean of the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine. We partner with other Oregon State units as well as other academic and research libraries with whom we share common issues and goals. Such partnerships include the Undergraduate Research and Writing Studio and the Graduate Student Commons located in The Valley Library; the Orbis Cascade Alliance, an important regional library consortium, and Oregon Digital, a digital collections platform jointly developed with the University of Oregon.

 

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1868, Oregon State University is a comprehensive, research-extensive, public university located in Corvallis. Oregon State is one of only two American universities to hold the Land Grant, Sea Grant, Space Grant and Sun Grant designations. Oregon State is also the only Oregon institution to have earned Carnegie Foundation classifications for both Highest Research Activity and Community Engagement, a recognition of the depth and quality of its graduate education and research programs. Through its centers, institutes, Extension offices and Experiment Stations, Oregon State has a presence in all of Oregon's 36 counties, including its main campus in Corvallis, the Hatfield Marine Sciences Center in Newport and OSU-Cascades Campus in Bend. Oregon State offers undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees through 11 academic colleges, the Honors College, Graduate School and online Ecampus, enrolling more than 31,000 students from every county in Oregon, every state in the country and more than 110 nations. While OSU students predominantly hail from Oregon, over one third come from across the nation, and over ten percent come from around the globe. A quarter of the student body comes from US minority populations. Nearly half of new high school graduates attending OSU are high achievers, and nearly a quarter of all undergraduate students identify as first generation college students. OSU carries out its educational and research missions to make a difference in everyday lives at two campuses, a marine science center, via a highly-regarded online program, at thirty-five extension offices, and at fifteen experiment stations.

 

STATEMENT OF WORK

Oregon State University Libraries (OSUL) seeks to identify potential areas of change, growth, and development not only for the entire organization as a whole but also for individual departments and units. OSUL has worked with consultants previously.  We have collaborated with consultants to direct the development of our five-year strategic plans (2007, 2012, 2017) and to facilitate conversations about next steps following a 2017 climate survey. In 2011, we also engaged with a consultant to discuss and make recommendations regarding the merger of two existing units: University Archives and Special Collections into one unit, the Special Collections and Archives Research Center.

Even with a strong history of planning and the aim to continue developing in this arena, our work must evolve to meet our established strategic priorities. We recognize that setting upon a strategic path means we must address  financial, operational, administrative, and workload impacts. These impacts are critical to address if we are to achieve and maintain work-life balance and support authentic and meaningful engagement in our daily work and future goals. Other key drivers motivating this examination of our effectiveness, our culture, and our work practices include:

  • Anticipated changes in leadership within the Libraries and on the OSU campus;
  • Desire to balance finite resources with aspirations to be a responsive, caring, inclusive, and innovative organization;
  • The evolving landscape of higher education (especially funding), technology, and the library and archives professions;
  • Accountability to our stakeholders, principally OSU students, faculty, and staff;
  • Demographic shifts in populations we serve and in our own staffing.

We seek a consultant with experience assessing organizational needs, processes and structures, and work cultures. The consultant will guide our exploration of ways to build and maintain an organization that respects work-life balance, supports innovation and creativity, and practices reflection and inclusiveness.

Because we expect

  • to consider existing practices, workloads, and positions as they align with established priorities and available albeit finite resources, expertise, and assets;
  • to ask questions such as: What services and work need to be prioritized? What critical connections (relationships) need to highlighted and/or bolstered?
  • to pursue additional resources and training to lead, manage, and sustain any potential change and growth,

we seek a consultant who is able

  • to facilitate honest, respectful conversations across the organization’s levels of hierarchies;
  • to direct an inclusive process that builds trust and investment in eventual agreed-upon objectives;
  • to guide OSUL toward making informed, inclusive decisions leading to sustainable organizational growth and development.

We commit to

  • assistance when scheduling meetings with stakeholders;
  • providing comfortable meeting space with refreshments, necessary media, etc.
  • arranging access to office space and or cubicle space for 1:1 meetings and conversations as well as quiet reflective work within The Valley Library;
  • payment of invoices in a timely manner
  • providing background materials (strategic planning materials, departmental profiles).

 

PROPOSAL REQUEST

April 20, 2020

Dear Potential Supplier,

  1. OSU Libraries is seeking proposals for a qualified consultant to submit Proposals for an agency to provide consulting services for OSU Libraries. Additional details are included in the Requested Products/Services section below.
  2. This is a best value procurement, which includes the evaluation of factors in addition to or other than price. OSU may select the supplier who, in OSU’s opinion, best meets the description of products/services; qualifications and certifications, as applicable; and price as determined through the evaluation process which may include, but is not limited to: a) Scoring or Ranking; b) Discussions and Revised Proposals; c) Interviews and Demonstrations; d) Site Visits; or e) Negotiations.
  3. OSU reserves the right to select a portion or all of the work, or cancel the request, as determined in the best interest of OSU.
  4. OSU is not liable for costs incurred by the supplier during this process. Upon completion of this process, information in all proposals will become subject records under the Oregon Public Records Law.
  5. Changes to this Proposal Request will be provided in writing from the Proposal Request Contact identified below.
  6. Submit proposals by Monday, June 1, 2020, 5PM Pacific to the Proposal Request Contact below.

Proposal Request Contact:

Name:                  Faye A. Chadwell

Title:                     Donald & Delpha Campbell University Librarian

Telephone:          541-737-7300

E-Mail:                 faye.chadwell@oregonstate.edu

  1. Deadline for questions/clarifications: Monday, May 18, 2020, 5PM Pacific.  Please direct questions to the Proposal Request Contact listed above.  Email is preferred.
  2. Requested Products/Services:

The consultant will engage with all library employees to:

  • Become familiar with existing organizational culture, work practices and objectives, structures, and relationships, by meeting with various groups and reading background materials.
  • Develop and facilitate inclusive processes to gather input about potential areas of organizational growth, development, readiness to make changes, including forming and/or working with a small group of representative stakeholders to support a fully inclusive and engaged process.
  • Analyze and share insights and perspectives gathered at regular intervals as determined by OSU Libraries to inform potential changes made in the context of stated mission, values, goals, priorities. This will include in-person and virtual presentations and written reports. 
  • Recommend potential areas of organizational growth and development and explain why and how these were chosen in a written report and via presentations.
  • Facilitate conversations at regular intervals with employees at OSU Libraries about recommendations that build ownership and investment in change across organization;
  • Collaborate on creating a plan and timeline for communicating and implementing agreed upon changes.
  • Recommend resources for supporting and sustaining change implementation (training, professional development, or coaching).
  • Term of contract anticipated to be six (6) months with option to renew for two (2) additional three (3) month periods.
  1. Requested Qualifications/Certifications:

Proposers should demonstrate the requested qualifications below.

  • Three (3) years’ experience as a consultant to the non-profit, higher education, and/or government-funded sectors in the area of organizational change or development
  • Experience in advising non-profit, cultural heritage, or higher education agencies/organizations of similar size and complexity—with varying job categories and statuses; multiple management levels at more than one physical location; and complex work processes and systems reliant on technical expertise.
  • Understanding of and experience with organizational change efforts in an academic, cultural heritage, or nonprofit environment
  • Proven commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, and ability to engage and inspire others to practice these same values
  • Evidence of ability to
    • work collaboratively with and through others
    • facilitate difficult conversations across a large complex organization
    • assess the effectiveness of organizational changes
    • design and implement internal communications plans
  1. Submittal Documents:
    1. 2-3 pages that address philosophy/approach to work in this area and briefly describes one client or project
    2. CV and/or cover letter with detailed information about how the proposer meets the Requested Qualifications/Certifications.
    3. Description of how the services to be offered specifically satisfy the Statement of Work.  Proposal should demonstrate understanding of objectives and outcomes; describe possible facilitation strategies; and an outline of potential tasks needed to succeed and the identification of hours allocated to each task.
    4. A case study or sample of work with academic libraries or similar non-profit organizations to include:
      1. Any report or outcome
      2. 1-2 paragraphs about the process
      3. Contact information for the client
    5. Annotated client list providing an additional 2-3 clients’ contact information (current names, addresses and phone numbers) and a short paragraph about the project, the group size and the time period of when the work occurred.