3 - CMHO Strategic Planning

Proposed Request for Proposals for Strategic Plan

Purpose:

Children’s Mental Health Ontario seeks a consultant to support the conceptualization, facilitation process, and creation of a new three-year organizational strategic plan.

Context:

Children’s Mental Health Ontario (CMHO) represents 85 of Ontario’s community-based, publicly funded child and youth mental health agencies in Ontario.  CMHO’s primary goal is to promote a coordinated and high-performing system of care so that young people and their families get the mental health supports they need to thrive. We focus on advocacy, partnerships, and member support to achieve our objectives, and in recent years, we have initiated education and training programs for our members.

Advocating for policy and funding to support a quality, high-performing and equitable system of publicly provided community-based care is critical to achieving our mission to ensure all kids and young people get the mental health treatment they need.

Our agencies currently serve about 140,000 infants, children, youth and their families. They provide this care through various services and partnerships with primary care, child welfare, hospitals, and the school system.  The Ontario Child and Youth Mental Health System is struggling with many of the same issues facing Ontario’s health system, more broadly, including health human resources challenges, staff burnout, and insufficient funding, but also face unique challenges such as wage parity with other sectors, as well as increased demand for services and acuity of need, particularly since the pandemic.

CMHO’s previous strategic plan, Children and Families First, was drafted in 2020 for 2022-2023.  With an additional year added, CMHO is ready to move forward on developing its next 3-year strategic plan.

Scope of Work:
Proposals should consider:

• Initial consultation/confirmation of direction with CEO, relevant staff, and Board Chair.
• External scan, including stakeholder engagement, with a focus on system partners, children, youth, and families. Facilitate stakeholder input, such as stakeholder surveys and interviews.
• Engage with member associations to identify priorities and assess internal and external challenges and opportunities.
•  Organize and facilitate a strategic planning retreat for board members. CMHO to support the process.
• Provide a draft strategic plan with the opportunity for edit and review with the Board & CEO.
• Other items you consider relevant.
• Provide a final copy of the Strategic Plan no later than February 29th, 2024.

• Prior experience creating strategic plans (experience in mental health and addictions field and/or community settings considered is an asset).  
• Experience working with non-profit organizations is preferred.
• Experience working with member-based associations is preferred.

• Consultant’s RFP contact: full name, business address, email address, and telephone number.
• An introduction and background of the Consultant (and their team, if relevant).
• Ensure to identify how prior experience ties to the scope of services required for this RFP.
• A clear statement that the Terms and Conditions of this RFP have been read, are understood and agreed to in their entirety and confirming that the information provided in the proposal is accurate.
• A clear statement noting that the individual signing the proposal has the
• authority to bind the Consultant’s company.

• Roles of the Consultant and CMHO.
• Tasks, highlighting decision points required by CMHO.
• Deliverables (including reports and key recommendations).
• Timelines.
• Detailed plan of engagement with members, partners, and people with lived experience of the system.

• Organization name, client contact name, position, phone number and email address.
• Brief description of the services provided.

• Overall quality and completeness of proposal
• Detailed & concise workplan (tasks and timelines included)
• Experience with similar projects in health or related sectors in Ontario

• To be eligible for consideration, consultants must submit the following by email in electronic format using Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat: 
  • One (1) proposal document.
  • Additional documentation that speaks to the experience and skills of the consultant is welcome and optional; however, these should be separate documents.
• The Consultant must also ensure that if retained, they do not have any conflict of interest representing CMHO in this matter and that the company’s partners, associates, employees, and agents will ensure that the services to be provided would be provided free of any conflict of interest. If retained, the partners, associates, employees, and agents shall not engage in any work or services for another client that could reasonably result in a conflict of interest. Should the services provided by a Consultant to any other client of the Consultant create an actual or potential conflict of interest, the Consultant will be required to immediately advise CMHO and CMHO, in its sole discretion, may terminate the contract if, in our opinion, the conflict cannot be mitigated appropriately.
• CMHO reserves the right to alter any dates in this RFP or to cancel this RFP at any time without liability cost or penalty to CMHO.
• All Respondents and Proposals must comply with any law, including all legislation and regulations that may be applicable to this RFP and the services provided.
• Any agreement that results from this RFP will be subject to the laws of the Province of Ontario and Canada.
• All costs associated or incurred with preparing and presenting the Respondent’s Proposal to this RFP shall be borne by the Respondent.