Educopia Institute, partnering with six members of the Digital Preservation
Services Collaborative (APTrust, CLOCKSS, Chronopolis, Lyrasis,
MetaArchive, Texas Digital Library), is leading an IMLS-funded planning
project [LG-252340-OLS-22] around values-driven, community-supported
distributed digital preservation service options (read full proposal
<https://www.imls.gov/grants/awarded/lg-252340-ols-22>). We seek a
Consultant or consultancy agency to support our team in proposing a service
model for collaboration that ensures the authority, sustainability, and
viability of these options.

Scope of Work

Project Overview & Background

Led by Hannah Wang (Project Director), in partnership with six
values-aligned digital preservation service providers, this planning
project is focusing on exploratory activities that will study the needs for
and feasibility of a collaborative community-supported digital preservation
service. The project seeks a Consultant who can bring an understanding of
the current digital preservation landscape, including a variety of needs
across the cultural heritage spectrum (public libraries, academic
libraries, archives, special collections, etc). Combined with the input of
the stakeholders, the Consultant should be able bring this knowledge to
bear in the proposal of a broader and more sustainable collaborative and
multi-tiered service model for distributed digital preservation.

Project Key Goals

   -

   Recruit a diverse set of stakeholders, including advisors, service
   users, and funders, to provide input and feedback during planning and
   implementation
   -

   Design a collaborative and multi-tiered service model for distributed
   digital preservation


Project Workstreams and Consultant Responsibilities

   -

   Workstream I: Recruitment (October 2022 - January 2023). This phase of
   the project will focus on identifying two major stakeholder groups for the
   project and later implementation phases: the Advisory Board and the Service
   User Group. The Advisory Board will serve as a critical feedback mechanism
   for the project, checking partner assumptions and data underlying
   decision-making and prioritization. The Service User Group will consist of
   practitioners and decision-makers from organizations that currently use
   partner services, organizations that are currently using for-profit vendor
   services, and organizations for whom digital preservation may currently be
   out of reach, including small- to mid-sized cultural heritage organizations
   and community-based archives. During this workstream, the Consultant
   will assist the partners with identifying potential invitees that will best
   advance the goals of the project.
   -

   Workstream II: Requirements Gathering (October 2022 - August 2023). In
   this phase of work, the project team will conduct research to gather
   requirements for the planned service model through surveys and analyses of
   stakeholders and partner service offerings. The Consultant will engage
   our Service User Group in gathering requirements for a distributed digital
   preservation service model, in partnership with the Project Director.
   -

   Workstream III: Service Model Planning (June 2023 - January 2024). During
   this phase of work, the project team will develop a design for a future
   collaborative digital preservation service model. The Consultant will
   draw on their expertise, knowledge of the cultural heritage field,
   familiarity with business and service models, as well as requirements and
   feedback gathered throughout the project to assist the partners in creating
   a service model design. At the conclusion of the project, the Consultant
   will also complete a summative evaluation measuring effectiveness,
   efficiency, quality, and timeliness of the project’s activities and results.


Timeline and Desired Schedule

The project team wishes to begin the 16-month consultancy no later than
October 17, 2022, with completion by the end of January 2024.

Proposal Requirements

All proposals must adhere to the following outline and provide the
information requested for each section.


   -

   Organization/Consultant Background and Experience
   -

      Provide information around your consultancy and its suitability for
      this project. In particular, please explain and detail your consultancy’s
      experience with organizational development, service model design,
      conducting qualitative research, and facilitating groups through complex
      decision-making processes.
      -

      Provide the lead consultant’s name, briefly describe their background
      and experience, and a full CV/resume.
      -

   Work Plan and Deliverables
   -

      Provide a detailed work plan that follows the above phases and
      timeline, providing more detail on how you will complete each
step. Include
      specific deliverables for each phase and total estimated hours for each
      phase.
      -

   Budget and Costs
   -

      Provide a detailed project budget that clearly specifies each phase
      cost. Specify your rates, your billing process, and if any up front
      payments or retainers are required.
      -

      The maximum budget for all work needed is $30,000.


Submission Schedule and Process

   -

   RFP Distributed: August 24, 2022
   -

   RFP Deadline: September 19, 2022
   -

   Submit one (1) PDF of a written proposal clearly addressed with “DPSC
   Consultant RFP” in the subject of the email no later than September 23,
   2022 to [log in to unmask]
   -

   Please submit any questions regarding this proposal via email to
   [log in to unmask] by September 9, 2022.
   -

   The project partners may conduct interviews in order to help determine
   the selection of the consultant.
   -

   A final decision is expected on October 7, 2022.




Caitlin Perry
Communications and Data Manager
Educopia Institute <https://educopia.org/>
Follow us on Twitter <https://twitter.com/Educopia>!

She/Her
Working from Oyster Bay, NY