Background
Public Services Health & Safety Association (PSHSA) is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and works with Ontario’s Public and Broader Public Sector employers and workers, providing consulting, training, and resources to reduce workplace risks and prevent occupational injuries and illnesses.
PSHSA is committed to serving its market of over 10,000 firms and 1.67 million workers across the province’s health and community care, education and culture, municipal and provincial government, and public safety sectors. For more background on PSHSA and where we’re going, see our 2021-24 Strategic Plan and latest Annual Report.
Marketing & Communications Team
PSHSA has a small, nimble, and capable marketing team that typically executes on deliverables internally. However, additional support and capabilities outside the team’s current capacity are required at times on certain projects to meet our standards and deliver on client expectations.
In these instances, PSHSA’s marketing team will work in partnership with external agencies and vendors. This work has included website design and development, creative design services (e.g., digital and print advertisements, reports, branding, and logo development), tradeshow materials and supplies, promotional products).
The Opportunity
This RFP has been prepared to seek prospective Proponents’ background information and pricing quotations to be PSHSA’s Vendor of Record (VOR) for PR and communications services.
PSHSA is seeking the services of one or more qualified firm or agency to provide writing, copywriting, and PR related services for an ongoing period of three (3) years, with the potential for an extension.
Expectations of VOR
The successful Proponent(s) must have all the required experience, resources and trained personnel or contractors necessary to perform the work specified in this RFP.
The selected Proponent(s) is also expected to familiarize themselves and their teams with PSHSA’s business, the sectors it represents and its funder for a sound understanding of Ontario’s health and safety system and its priorities as it relates to occupational health and safety within the province’s public and broader public sector. It is important that our partners understand Health and Safety strategic priorities and can work effectively balancing requirements from the marketing team, perspectives of subject matter experts and direction from PSHSA’s senior leadership team.
PSHSA’s marketing/communications activities often require review and approval by multiple parties. These review processes can be lengthy but are necessary to ensure we capture the nuances of health and safety and Ontario’s health and safety system. These review and feedback cycles will need to be taken into consideration by the Proponent(s) when planning projects, key milestones, and timelines.
While some projects will be planned in advance, the services related to this RFP will typically be requested on an ad hoc basis. This will depend on new and emerging priorities at PSHSA, resources, budgets, events calendar, and other variables that can make planning in advance difficult. The successful Proponent(s) must be flexible, resourceful, and creative to meet these demands.
The successful Proponent(s) is also expected to make themselves available for video meetings and conference calls when required.
Scope of Potential Services
Communications and editing
PSHSA will look to the successful Proponent(s) to plan, draft, write and finalize larger articles to highlight the value of health and safety and/or PSHSA’s new products and services:
Examples of communications may include:
- Articles for print and digital publications including paid partnerships.
- Content for our website pshsa.ca
- Articles for our own site or others
- Sales enablement materials such as digital flyers about new or emerging research, product, or service.
- Internal communications: primarily to support new product/service launches but scope may expand to other areas of the business where required.
Copywriting
In most instances, bad copy or drafted articles will be provided by PSHSA. Though there may be cases where we look to the selected proponent to ideate creative outlines, particularly when it comes to product or program-based projects.
PR
Examples of PR services may include:
- PR strategy: campaign and media
- Press releases
- Media coordination for larger product/service launches and priority messages
- Source and develop submissions for service awards.
Annual Report writing
PSHSA will look to the successful Proponent(s) to plan, outline and write the content for PSHSA’s annual report. Our annual report is a PR opportunity that allows us to highlight and summarize our past, current, and future work, how we are investing our funding and moving health and safety forward in Ontario through new and innovative products and services.
Examples of annual report services may include:
- Planning possible themes based on strategic themes.
- Interviewing key stakeholders
- Developing proposed articles
- Developing article outlines and writing the articles.
- Managing feedback and requested edits from key stakeholders.
- Giving direction on possible layout and imagery
- Managing a detailed project plan to account for timelines and approvals in order to complete on time.
- Coordinating with our internal teams and external vendor
Account Management
PSHSA requires an individual contact from the selected vendor to work in collaboration with our marketing team on all projects. This individual will work closely with PSHSA to manage team performance with respect to quality of work, identify gaps, manage project timelines, and budget and oversee overall project coordination according to the objectives set at the briefing stage.
Out Of Scope
The following services are considered out of scope for the purposes of this RFP.
- In the course of marketing and communications activities, PSHSA engages various stakeholders for approvals and signoffs. These subject matter experts ensure content credibility, appropriate use of language and imagery, and validation for all content concerning our sector-specific audiences. PSHSA will manage any and all review cycles, handling distribution internally and externally to the various stakeholders/subject matter experts and gathering any feedback, approvals, and signoffs.
- Though the selected Proponent(s) may be asked to develop content for social media use, all PSHSA owned social media channels and community management continues to live with PSHSA.
- SEO
- Search engine marketing
- Social media marketing
