GHI-X Event and Communications Coordination

Request for Proposals

Global Health Impact Exchange (GHI-X) Event and Communications Coordination 

1. Summary and Background

The Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH) is accepting proposals to deliver event and communications coordination for its upcoming event, the Global Health Impact Exchange (GHI-X) taking place February 8, 9 and 11, 2021.

Appropriately scheduled during Canada’s International Development Week, the GHI-X – CanWaCH’s annual flagship event – offers an important moment for CanWaCH, its members and the Canadian global health community to reflect on 10 years of leadership in advancing women and children’s health through a lens of learning amid the challenges that have come with 2020. The themes for the conference are: Innovation. Creativity. Diversity.

The GHI-X will take place on three stages over three days across three different cities. Stage programming will be professionally produced and broadcast via livestream from 12 pm to 2:30 pm EST in order to accommodate all Canadian time zones during a standard business day. Please see draft schedule in Appendix A. Portions of the event will be pre-recorded and broadcast during the event days. Simultaneous translation (English and French) will be provided for all live and pre-recorded sessions. The entire program will be recorded for later viewing on the CanWaCH website in both languages. 

With these objectives in mind, CanWaCH is seeking a consultant to deliver event coordination and communications support for the event beginning late November to mid-February culminating with a final report.

2. Project  Description and Scope

CanWaCH is seeking a provider for:

Event Coordination

• Support CanWaCH event program leads in confirmation of speakers and sessions through the ongoing development of the program.
• Coordinate logistics and provide liaison with Audio-Visual/Broadcast vendor, including for broadcast registration portal, etc.
• Logistics and liaison with three venues: Ottawa (50 Sussex), Montreal (TBD) and Calgary (TBD).
• Source and coordinate contracting with studio/venues in Montreal and Calgary to accommodate camera crews and in-person speakers 6 feet apart plus space for minimal support staff.
• Speaker liaison, coordination and contracting (if required) for both in-person speakers and pre-recorded sessions.
• Liaise with CanWaCH staff on simultaneous translation needs, logistics and issues.
• Coordinate speaker travel and accommodations including for CanWaCH CEO and any other required staff.
• Maintain ongoing communication with CanWaCH senior management and event partners (Plan Canada, World Vision Canada, MediaStyle) and provide information to support updates by the CanWaCH Operations Team to Global Affairs Canada.
  
  Communications

• Prepare a Communications Plan with associated timelines and workback schedules for the entire GHI-X, before, during and after.
• Draft a Speaker’s Guide to the GHI-X including all details and instructions surrounding their participation in the event, as well as best practices for each speaking format and background (e.g. in studio, pre-recorded via zoom, etc.).
• Draft all communications deliverables, allowing for translation timelines, including outreach to promote registration once open, the event itself and the conference app via Mailchimp, Neon CRM, social media posts (with possible paid targeted audiences (by interest and region)) and web content liaising with the with CanWaCH’s Communications Officer who will post/deploy the content.
• Plan and populate Whova conference app content, including networking opportunities and schedule messaging to app users leading up to, during and after the event.
• Support logistics virtually during the broadcasts and troubleshoot registrant tech issues, etc.
• Prepare a post-event report that includes all relevant outcomes as well as metrics for registration, engagement, social media engagement, etc.

3. Project Timeline

Activities related to event coordination and communications outputs to begin as soon as contracting arrangements are finalized (end of November). 

Notable milestones include:

• Communications Plan to be completed by December 10 with promotional emails, social media posts and website copy underway as soon as possible (CanWaCH will have commenced this work in the weeks leading up to a vendor being selected.
• Registration to open mid-December (in coordination with broadcast firm registration platform).
• Venue selection for Montreal and Calgary to be finalized by December 18.
• Pre-recorded sessions to begin as soon as sessions are finalized (late December to mid/late January).
• Full program released no later than January 8, 2021 with portions and highlights of sessions and speakers released in the weeks leading up to that final publication.
• Final report to be delivered by February 26, 2021.

4. Budget

4.1 All proposals must include proposed costs to complete the tasks described in the project description and scope. 

In submitting a budget, please note that CanWaCH will provide the following:

• All costs for written and simultaneous translation across all aspects of the event
• All costs related to registration, A/V broadcasting, venue costs, speaker fees and travel expenses(if applicable), staff travel (if applicable), onsite expenses, signage (if required) digital platforms (e.g. conference app, social media, etc.), recording and video editing costs.

4.2 All bidder costs and fees must be clearly described in each proposal. If the organization submitting a proposal must outsource or contract any work to meet the requirements contained herein, this must be clearly stated in the proposal. Additionally, all costs included in the proposals must be all-inclusive to include any outsourced or contracted work. Any proposals which call for outsourcing or contracting work must include a name and description of the organizations being contracted. Note: please indicate whether these services will be delivered completely virtually or if travel will be required. Due to COVID-19 restrictions and an effort to keep onsite speakers and essential support staff (e.g. camera crew) to a minimum, it is strongly recommended that proposals consider that logistics at the venues on the days of the events will be carried out virtually.

5. Bidder Qualifications

Bidders should provide the following items as part of their proposal for consideration:

• Experience and expertise in event coordination/management including vendor and venue contracting and relations, speaker coordination and support, travel and accommodations coordination, etc.
• Experience and expertise in writing copy to promote event registration for deployment across multiple digital (website, conference app) and social media channels. 
• Specific examples or portfolio of relevant events you have coordinated and communications materials that you have developed that attest to your specific skills and expertise in this subject matter area.
• Testimonials from previous clients.
• List how many full time, part time and contractor staff in your organization.
• Anticipated resources you will assign to this project (total number, role, title, experience)
• Confirmation that you will be able to meet all deadlines outlined in Section 4. 
• Project management methodology, including all planning and consultation with CanWaCH staff.

6. Proposal Evaluation Criteria

CanWaCH will evaluate all proposals based on the following criteria. To ensure consideration for this Request for Proposals, your proposal should be complete and include all the following criteria:

• Overall proposal suitability: proposed solution(s) must meet the scope and needs included herein and be presented in a clear and organized manner;
• Organizational Experience: Bidders will be evaluated on their experience as it pertains to the scope of this project;
• Previous work: Bidders will be evaluated on examples of their work pertaining to the delivery of public engagement strategies and/or plans, as well as client testimonials and references;
• Value and cost: Bidders will be evaluated on the cost of their solution(s) based on the work to be performed in accordance with the scope of this project;
• Expertise and experience: Bidders will be evaluated based on descriptions and documentation of staff expertise and experience.

7. Submitting a Proposal

7.1 All proposals in response to this RFP are due no later than Monday, November 23 at 3:00 PM EST. Any proposals received after this date and time will be returned to the sender. All proposals must be signed by an official agent or representative of the company submitting the proposal.

7.2 The selection decision for the winning bidder and to bidders who were not selected will be made no later than Wednesday, November 25, 2020. 

7.3 Upon notification, the contract negotiations with the winning bidder will begin immediately. Contract negotiations will be completed by Monday, November 30, 2020.

7.4 Bidders should submit their proposal to: 

Charmaine Crockett
Director, Stakeholder Engagement
[email protected]