Developing a School Safety Project, Part II

In a previous installment, the various reasons for needing a consultant were described.  After identifying why you need a consultant on your school safety project, the next step is to begin a Request for Proposal (RFP).

The RFP allows vendors to bid for the job you've posted.  When you post the RFP, you will have a span of time in mind, which is communicated in the RFP.  As you get them in, don't look at them.  You don't want an early look to sway your opinion unfairly over later RFPs.

A basic breakdown of an RFP includes a pre-assessment, the main part of the project, and a post-evaluation.  Often the pre-assessment is done internally, as part of the creation of the RFP, sometimes you want a professional to do it.  The same is true of the post-evaluation.  What you want to avoid is having the same vendor do the pre-assessment and the post-evaluation, as this can lead to a conflict of interest, leading to a less than honest result.  A vendor that does both may fudge one or the other to their advantage, costing you money you could use elsewhere.

Where possible, the vendor chosen for the main part of the project should be different from the assessment or evaluation, again to prevent a conflict of interest.

We have used a "blind" approach to selecting a vendor.  This approach takes the packets received from a vendor and redacts all mention of the vendor from the packet.  Then, a panel of people, who are with your company but not associated with the RFP, judge the proposal against the project goals and the budgetary constraints.  They then make a recommendation to the Project Director, who makes the final decision.

Something else needed is a grievance procedure, in writing, to deal with vendors who feel slighted, or who may have a legitimate concern with the process.

While this does not guarantee a great selection, this process should go a long way in preventing the pitfalls often found with the RFP process.  Having a written process may prevent grievances, and having a written grievance process will provide a viable framework to deal with complaints.

The key is to have a written framework, and to follow that framework.  Stay away from "good old boy" deals and arrangements.

Good luck!

Safe Havens, International

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Developing a School Safety Project

The field of school safety consulting can be a dog-eat-dog affair as consultants vie for ever-diminishing dollars.  In many regards, this is good, as competition in the free market creates better products and services for the clients.  However, choosing the right consultant from the number available can be quite the chore.

The first step is to understand why you need a consultant.  A threat assessment is vastly different from a physical assessment, which is vastly different from doing a climate assessment.  Be specific.  Establish goals for your intended project, and plan out how the thing you want to do will be done. Through this process, you will identify what it is you will need.  Typically in school safety, consultants provide assessments, training, a system, or a combination of all three.

You will need to know how much money you will have available for the project.  This amount is the ceiling on your project.  The bidding process, if done properly, should provide you with a consultant who will bid under that ceiling, leaving you a cushion to cover any unexpected expenses.

You will also need to know the time frame of your project.  Will it take days, weeks, months, and how will that time frame fit into your district's budget time frame?  Make sure to provide enough time to evaluate your project at the end.

Developing a Project
1. Identify what you need to have done.
    a. Assessment?
    b. Training?
    c. A new system?
    d. A combination of all the above?
2. How much money is available for the project?
3. What is the time frame of your project?

Write this up in narrative form, and get it approved by your school district's Business Officer.

In the next installment, the Request for Proposal process will be detailed.

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