Invitation
Choices for Youth (CFY) is seeking proposals from qualified consultant(s) with demonstrated experience building data visualization dashboards. The project will focus on the prototyping, developing and implementing of internal and external-facing (e.g. organization website) dashboards to visualize outcome and demographics of youth supported at CFY.
About Choices for Youth
Founded in 1990, CFY is a non-profit social services organization based in St. John’s, NL, committed to building programs, systems, and opportunities that are focused on providing individualized support for young people, celebrating who they are, and working together to unlock their potential to build a brighter future.
CFY supports youth and young families ages 16-29 secure stable housing and employment, while working towards family stability and better health. As an organization, CFY also invests time, energy, and resources to lend our experiences and expertise to important policy and systems change conversations. We do this because we believe that everyone is better off when we design policies, services, and systems to meet the needs of the most vulnerable in our community.
Background
As part of a broader strategic plan related to data collection, usage and governance, and a commitment to data-driven decision making, CFY is dedicated to collecting, managing, and analyzing high-quality data to support program development and data-driven, client-centered decision making.
CFY recently implemented EMHware, a cloud-based SaaS system specifically developed for social service and healthcare organizations, as our primary case management and data collection tool. While EMHware and other systems that CFY uses to collect and store data can produce reports from the data, CFY currently has to manually export data from these systems to allow for further analysis and visualization. Our goal is to move towards a more seamless approach of visualizing outcomes-oriented and demographics data on our website and through internally-facing dashboards that links exported data with clear visualizations.
Project Scope and Deliverables
The following deliverables in this project should be completed by April 30, 2023:
• Design several program data dashboards to visualize data & key demographics (e.g. number of youth housed, changes in access to emergency health supports over time, etc.), beginning with a prototype for CFY review and approval.
• Develop an ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) procedure for exporting data from CFY’s existing systems and into a “data warehouse” which will then be used to create the dashboard(s). This process should be automated where possible.
• Link exported CFY data with design dashboards. CFY will provide the vendor datasets for development and testing purposes (all identifying info removed).
• Develop a “production” dashboard which can be viewed internally at CFY via a web-based interface, as well as a public facing dashboard which can be uploaded and integrated with our existing website choiceforyouth.ca, customized for each program area, as well as displaying some key metrics for the organization overall.
• Include filtering options for data dashboards (e.g. filtering by month, specific type of intervention, etc.)
• Train CFY team members on how to update dashboards (goal is to update data on a quarterly basis).
• Recommend any additional software required to support this process (e.g. Power BI, Tableau, etc.) Work with CFY team to confirm software.
• Transition ownership/maintenance of the dashboards to CFY.
Please note: Data privacy and confidentiality must be always kept at the forefront during this project. The vendor will be required to sign a privacy and confidentiality agreement, and all data used, even anonymized and in the aggregate, is not to be used for any purpose outside the scope of this project (i.e. for portfolio or promotional purposes).
Qualifications and Experience
The consultant(s) should have relevant, demonstrable expertise in data visualization and data warehousing, including experience with business information and data visualization software such as Tableau, Power BI, SAP Crystal Reports, etc.)
Proposal Submission Guidelines
1. Personnel
The company shall identify the staff and project personnel, including third parties (subcontractors) that will be responsible for implementation of the anticipated contract.
2. Components of the Proposal
Submissions must include the following:
a. Corporate Profile
An overview of the company’s services and relevant experience.
b. Team Information
Including current resumes on the level and experience of personnel to be utilized on the project and their relationship to the consultant/consulting company.
c. Work Plan
Full details of the scope of work including general approach or development strategy, activity plans with timelines, types of info, resources and supports that will be required from CFY, and explanations of how RFP requirements will be achieved.
d. Project Costing
A detailed breakdown of the costs associated with both the development and delivery work with the project, for example, labor, soft materials/supplies, subcontracts, travel, taxes, and incidentals. Total project cost should not exceed $40,000 (including tax).
e. Special Considerations
Please identify any unique challenge(s) that you perceive in executing the project, and how you might approach the challenge(s).
Proposal Submission
Electronic PDF copies of the proposal with all submissions must be received no later than 5:00pm (NDT) on Jan 24, 2022. Proposals must be marked with the name and address of the company, and the words “Dashboard Development Project” in the subject line.
Any questions on this RFP must be submitted by email.
Proposals must be emailed to Bob Currie, Data and Evaluation Officer, at rcurrie@choicesforyouth.ca.
Proposal Evaluation
Proposals will be evaluated by the CFY team. A contractor will be chosen on a proponent’s response to the enclosed project requirements and evaluated to the criteria listed below:
- Proposed Work Plan (50%)
- Contractor Experience (40%)
- Project Costs (10%)
Timing
The consultant must be prepared to begin work on the project immediately upon award of contract.
Choices for Youth (CFY) strives towards a culture of inclusion and empowerment, one where there’s a sense of belonging and safety while prioritizing diversity across the organization, including in its Board of Directors composition, employment practices, staff, policies, programming, and services. CFY actively works to support program participants, staff, and volunteers who identify as Indigenous, Black, racialized and/or as members of other equity-seeking and/or religious, cultural and other communities; members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community; people with disabilities; and people from a variety of social and economic backgrounds. CFY is committed to providing support and accommodations to all involved with the organization, including employees, program participants, and volunteers. Should you require support or accommodation(s) to enable your participation within CFY’s programs, and/or during the hiring, selection, or employment process please let us know at any point.