Request for Information: Strategic Planning

February 13, 2024

In 2024, the Library Association of Alberta will work with a consultant to revisit our Vision, Mission, Values and Strategic Direction. Our first step in this project is to advertise for a consultant to lead us in this work.

Attached is a Request for Information for proponents interested in working with the LAA. The opportunity is posted to Alberta Purchasing Connections and will be disseminated via listservs. We are hopeful that our membership will pass the RFI along to any contacts who might be interested.

Thank you for supporting the LAA!

Hailey McCullough
Communications Officer
Library Association of Alberta

Request for Information
Vision, Mission and Strategic Planning Consulting Services

Invitation to Proponents

The Library Association of Alberta is seeking a consultant to assist us in revising and articulating our mission, vision, and guiding values and to lead us through a strategic planning process to develop new strategic directions for the Association.

About Library Association of Alberta

Founded in 1930, The Library Association of Alberta is a nonprofit, independent, voluntary association registered under the Societies Act. Our members include librarians, library personnel, library trustees, institutions, and other individuals interested in libraries. We believe that libraries are fundamental to the cultural, educational, recreational, and economic well-being of the people of Alberta, that libraries are strengthened by a united voice linking those working in the library community with governments, other organizations, and library users.

LAA’s mission is to strengthen the library community in Alberta by providing responsive member services, advocating for libraries, and collaborating with partners.

For more information about us, visit us at www.libraryassociationalberta.com.

Requirements

Mission, Vision, Values

The consultant will coordinate workshops with the LAA Board to help us articulate where LAA is going in the future (vision statement) and how we will get there (mission statement), as well as defining what we believe in and how we act in pursuit or our mission and vision (organizational values). The consultant will compile workshop feedback and work with the Project Lead and Executive Committee to solidify the library’s vision, mission, and values, which will ground the Strategic Planning work to follow.

Strategic Planning

Following Mission and Visioning work, the consultant will plan and coordinate consultation with internal and external stakeholders to build a new strategic direction for the LAA. This will include consultation and engagement with the following identified stakeholder groups:

• LAA Board of Directors
• LAA membership (149 individual members, 65 institutional members)

Consultant Responsibilities

The consultant will be required to:

• Prepare material for stakeholder consultation sessions or surveys, presented in a medium appropriate for the size of the audience and the venue.
• Compile feedback and data from all engagement sessions or surveys and summarize findings.
• Assist the Board in translating data into a final vision, mission, values, and a strategic direction.

Submission Requirements

Interested parties should submit an electronic response. Responses should include:

• Proof of qualifications: a summary of qualifications and a resume, if applicable
• Statement of the services you or your company is able to provide
• A detailed budget outlining the cost for the scope of work
• One reference from a similar organization, i.e., non-profits of a similar size to LAA

Timeline

The Board would like to have this project completed by December 31, 2024.

Submission Guidelines

Interested parties are asked to submit responses via email by 5:00PM MST on March 15, 2024 to:

Laura Winton, 1st Vice President, LAA
1stvicepresident@libraryassociationalberta.com

This is an open and competitive process for qualified service providers. Responses must be signed by an authorized officer or agent of the group making the submission. Responses will only be accepted electronically to 1stvicepresident@libraryassociationalberta.com

Please direct any questions to Laura Winton, 1stvicepresident@libraryassociationalberta.com.

The LAA reserves the right to reject all submissions at its sole discretion, accept a submission based on considerations other than cost, and waive or modify any provisions of this request for information.

(Via Library Association of Alberta)