(Apologies for cross-posting)

To:  Evaluators in the Chicago area

From:  Melissa Williams, Assistant director of Education, Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL

Re:  Request for proposals
       

• Evaluation of a three-year $485,000 IMLS-funded program (BOSS Project) to increase audience relevancy of museum education programs
• Time frame is January 2008 to December 2010

 
Background

At Shedd Aquarium, animals connect you to the living world, inspiring you to make a difference.  This mission is realized by four educational program divisions through a diverse range of learning opportunities serving the community, adults, youth, family, students and teachers.   

The Big Open Source Strategic Project, or “BOSS Project” is a new Education Department strategic initiative to increase audience input through effective and sustainable collaboration between Shedd and the diverse learning communities we serve. The goal of this demonstration, beginning November 2007, is to measure the effect of an “open source” approach to connecting learning communities and aquarium collections. The BOSS Project is designed to address two current needs:

• increased relevancy between Shedd and its learning communities
• more accessible connections to Shedd’s content and collections+

Shedd’s Community Engagement Strategy, initially funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in 2004, is a program that currently connects communities and collections. Over the past three years, Shedd’s existing Community Advisory Council has become a critical element in the success of its engagement strategy. However, through continual program evaluation, a distinct gap between current program partnerships and the type of community involvement necessary for open sourcing (collaborative innovation) has been identified.

Internal program evaluation across audiences has also revealed a link between increased community involvement and relevancy for participants. This has prompted Shedd to adapt the engagement strategy concept to other learning communities composed of teachers, community members and aquarium guests. Through the BOSS Project, Shedd will encourage audiences to become active partners in the planning, development and evaluation of all education programs. By the third year of the project, audiences will be in position to directly influence strategic education planning at Shedd.

Evaluation

This project seeks to identify the lessons learned from past community engagement efforts and apply them on a larger scale within all four program divisions. The project also makes use of a new context, the proliferation of open-source products and processes as well as the recent rise of user-generated content. The evaluation process for this project takes place on (3) three levels:

1. Literature review of best practices in community engagement to identify additional potential metrics
2. Documentation and analysis of relationships developed during the project
3. Addressing the outcomes illustrated by the programs produced under the new structure and assessing the impact of those programs on end users

Grant Activities

Year 1:  Revise and build learning community advisory councils (teachers, members, community), attend regular meetings, plan three large-scale program events to occur in year 2

Year 2: Implement large-scale program events, with concurrent strategic planning for education programs in year 3 during continued regular meetings

Year 3: Implement second round of large-scale events, work with education staff to implement a new or revised suite of program offerings as a result of the BOSS collaboration during continued regular meetings

Evaluation Tasks and Deliverables

We are searching for an outstanding evaluation partner that can provide the following services:

• Conduct a literature review of best practices in community engagement
• Work with program managers to develop a BOSS project logic model
• With program managers, create an evaluation plan for the duration (3 years) of the contract
• Create data collection tools as necessary to analyze the relationships developed during the project as well as the outcomes of participants in the education programming (quantitative & qualitative)
• Collect, clean & analyze data as appropriate
• Provide interim data analyses for reporting to IMLS and to help program managers make data-driven decisions
• Constructively work with program managers to understand the analyses, implications of the analyses and determine next steps to address these implications
• Produce a summative report at the end of the grant period

Qualifications:

1. Experience working with non-profits, especially museums or community organizations
2. Experience working on grants from government agencies, especially IMLS
3. Experience examining the effectiveness of relationship-building or community engagement strategies
4. Experience in educational program evaluation
5. Use of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies
6. Ability to work in a situation where several languages other than English may be the primary language

Next steps:

Please fill out the enclosed questionnaire and return it by December 15, 2007 to [log in to unmask]
        Melissa Williams
        Assistant Director of Education, Shedd Aquarium.
 Finalists will be asked to come to Shedd for an interview as part of a selection process.

Evaluation Partner Questionnaire

Maximum of five pages, due by 12/15/07

1. Profile



Your style

1. Describe your philosophy and approach to working with clients.
2. What distinguishes you from your peers in evaluation?



Your view on evaluation

1. How would you define effective evaluation?
2. How do you gauge the effectiveness of a project/client relationship?
3. Please define the word collaboration as it relates to your approach.



Examples of your work

Please provide samples of….

• A project plan
• An evaluation report with recommendations for further action
• An example of how your company has provided research to study the effectiveness of community partnerships

    2.    Relevant Experience

     Work
    

1. What experience have you had working with IMLS, NSF or similar governmental agencies?
2. Are you currently working with other museums or cultural organizations?  Which?
3. When have you used qualitative methodologies to examine the nature of relationships between organizations and individuals?  When have you used quantitative methodologies to evaluate audience outcomes?
4. Have you ever worked on a project that has had significant program/personnel changes?

Your team

1. Please provide information on each member of the team that would handle our project.
2. Do you foresee staffing challenges?

3.    In Closing

Please provide any additional thoughts as to why Shedd Aquarium should choose you. 
Please list two or three of your current clients that we may contact about your work.

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