Anti-racism & BCLA

Anti-racism Consultant – Call for Proposals open until January 10th, 2022

BCLA is seeking an anti-racism consultant or consulting group to advise and support the Association’s work toward our goal of becoming an anti-racist organization. We are at the beginning of this journey and hope this relationship will continue in subsequent years as our skills develop and our needs evolve.

Who we are

• We are the professional association of libraries and library workers in British Columbia.
• Our mission statement is Advancing Libraries Together.
• Our values are inclusion & diversity, intellectual freedom, social responsibility, intellectual & ethical integrity, creativity and critical thinking, lifelong learning, privacy and confidentiality.
• We have a small staff (3 part-time employees) and a governance Board drawn from our membership.
• We focus on advocacy, professional development, intellectual freedom, and membership engagement.

In 2022, we hope to work with a consultant on building a foundation for the future

• Gathering information about our members and our sector and assessing our current state
• Increasing Board and staff understanding and competency through training
• Developing a short (2022) and longer term (2023-2026) plan that is concrete, actionable, and incorporates evaluation
• Communicating plan and updates to our members

Essential criteria in our selection of a consultant

• Led by people with lived experience
• An intersectional approach to anti-racism
• Experience working with small nonprofit organizations
• Available to facilitate and/or present both in-person and virtually at the BC Library Conference in Richmond, April 19-22, 2022
• Experience providing successful training and facilitation for a variety of audiences:
  • Board members (10-11 people) – training required annually in summer/fall, as there are new members every year
  • BCLA staff plus 2-3 recurring contractors
  • Association members

Budget

$20,000 in 2022, with estimated annual funding of $10,000 in subsequent years

Timeline

• Proposals are due by 5 pm Pacific on Monday, January 10, 2022
• The selected consultant will be notified by Friday, January 21, 2022
• Consultant’s work will begin in early February 2022

Application process

We ask that interested parties submit a proposal, not to exceed five pages and to include:

• Proposed consulting and training plan
• Project approach
• Training expertise
• Personnel information
• Contact information
• References with contact information (minimum 3 past non-profit clients)

Accommodation

BCLA welcomes proposals from people with disabilities. Should you require accommodations, please contact us and we will be happy to work with you to ensure an equitable process.

Contact

Proposals, as well as any questions, should be directed to Rina Hadziev, BCLA Executive Director via email.