Data-driven Storytelling Consultant

New applications are no longer being accepted. Check this page for updates about this initiative.

Focus:

Consulting, Education, Ready To Learn

Eligibility:

Open to all applicants.

Deadline:

May 10, 2024

Request for Proposals

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (“CPB”) intends to contract with a Consultant (“the Consultant”) with the goal of increasing public media stations’ capacity to effectively communicate to funders and state-level partners, including state agencies and nonprofits with statewide reach, the impacts of their work to improve young children’s school readiness and early school success.

CPB, with support from a Ready To Learn programming award from the U.S. Department of Education and in partnership with the Public Broadcasting Service (“PBS”), is working with twenty public media stations to maximize the impacts of Ready To Learn resources through collaborations with state agencies and other organizations with statewide reach in early childhood education (“RTL State Project”). The Ready To Learn program aims to improve school readiness and school success in early grades for all children and especially for children in low-income households. The goal of the RTL State Project is to scale access to, and high-quality use of, educational children’s media, family engagement programs, educator professional learning courses, and other resources developed by CPB and PBS and designed to improve children’s educational outcomes.

The Consultant will develop and offer training workshops and coaching to support leadership teams from participating stations to identify, select, and use data to effectively communicate the impact of the RTL State Project to funders and state-level partners, including state agencies and nonprofits with statewide reach.
The Consultant will collaborate with CPB and PBS in summer 2024 to develop and lead approximately 6-8 hours of virtual training. Training will take place approximately during July – December 2024 and may occur over multiple sessions with approximately 90-110 participants. The Consultant will respond to follow-up requests from participating stations between sessions and for up to two months following the last session.

Respondents should demonstrate relevant expertise, and organizational and proposed staff experience, in these areas:
- Effective strategies for identifying and selecting data and developing concise, engaging data-driven narratives about organizational impacts
- Effective communication with leaders and staff of state agencies and nonprofits, and other stakeholders, especially related to improving educational outcomes for young children in low-income families
- Experience leading and developing similar trainings, knowledge of adult learning principles, and experience in asset-based approaches
- Knowledge of education and education policy, particularly in early learning through early elementary grades
- Knowledge of public media for children, family and community engagement, and community partnerships.

The RTL State Project is funded through a Ready To Learn Programming grant by the U.S. Department of Education for a project entitled, “Learn Together: Connecting Children's Media and Learning Environments to Build Key Skills for Success” (PR Award No. S295A200004/ CFDA No. 84.295A). The total amount of funds available for the Consultant’s work is $49,560.

Please download the Request for Proposals below for detailed information, including application requirements.
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PDF icon Request for Proposals286.24 KB

Questions from Potential Respondents, with CPB Answers:

FAQ Topic: 
General
FAQ: 

1. What is the connection between this training and the resources that have already been created by EDC?

EDC is an RTL research partner, responsible for conducting context and implementation studies as well as large-scale randomized controlled trials for the CPB-PBS Ready To Learn Initiative, in partnership with SRI. Related to the state collaborations, EDC’s work aims to help stations communicate the evidence base of RTL-supported children’s media and related media. This RFP focused on helping stations communicate the impact of their work using those resources in their communities and regions.

2. What is the preferred cohort size?

There is no preferred cohort size. In proposing to divide participants into smaller groups, please take into account the budget and the implications for CPB and PBS staff who plan to participate. Please make the rationale for the design clear in the proposal.

3. Is there a requirement that the training be for all 90-110 folks together, or are you open to separate sessions for the individual station teams?

There is no requirement that all participants must be trained together. In proposing to divide participants into smaller groups, please take into account the budget and the implications for CPB and PBS staff who plan to participate. Please make the rationale for the design clear in the proposal.

4. Does the 6-8 hours of virtual training session need to be delivered in one single day or will it be split up in two different sessions of 3-4 hours each on different days?

Six to eight hours is an estimate of the total training time. CPB asks applicants to propose the approach they deem best to allocate approximately that amount of time among the topics. Please make the rationale for the design clear in the proposal.

5. Is there flexibility to incorporate asynchronous elements or is there a requirement that all training be live?

CPB is open to a range of training designs but please keep in mind station staff are likely have limited time. Please make the rationale for the design clear in the proposal.

6. Are you looking for a larger company or organization to do this work, or are individual contractors/ single-member companies eligible as well?

The RFP is open to all applicants, including individuals and larger organizations.

7. How is RTL currently defining impact and success? More specifically, what research, data resources, indicators, and outcomes/metrics are stations currently utilizing as evidence of RTL’s impact in improving school readiness and early school success? The RFP mentions research from EDC as a key element in assessing the success of RTL. Besides EDC research reports, what other data and research resources are made available to stations for reporting impact to their stakeholders? How are impact and success defined by funders and state-level partners? (Is that different in any way?)

The CPB-PBS Ready To Learn Initiative reports to the U.S Department of Education per measures established for the Ready To Learn program under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), drawing on national reach metrics for content and other information contributed by the project and participating stations. Further, EDC, in partnership with SRI, conducts randomized controlled trials to assess whether and how much learning results from use of RTL-supported children’s media resources. CPB and PBS oversee an evaluation of the Learning Neighborhood network that measures implementation and perceived impact in terms of outcomes for children, parents, and educators, as well as changes in capacity of participating stations and organizational partners. However, the RTL state project is new. Participating stations, and CPB and PBS, are still learning how state-level partners define impact and success.

8. What is currently expected of stations, in terms of impact reporting? For example: Are there specific metrics they’re required to report? Would we have access to review the application and understand better the grant request form/process for a station to be funded for RTL?

State project stations submit narrative reports to CPB and PBS. Reporting requirements currently focus on planning and implementation. Fourteen of the 20 participating stations began their state project work in April 2024.

9. In what ways are stations currently socializing their successes and failures with RTL? Do they share best practices with one another? Do they meet regularly and collaborate?

Participating stations share questions, resources, information, and successes in an online community and in monthly virtual meetings facilitated by CPB and PBS, as well as in other meetings. In addition, most of the state project stations had collaborated previously as Learning Neighborhood stations.

10. Does CPB have established examples of “gold standard” research/impact communication reports that funders and state-level partners found most valuable? If yes, would we have access to both those reports and those station contacts, as part of this initiative? Similarly, are there case studies of successful RTL programs, that we would be able to use to anchor the training?

While the RTL Initiative has many research and evaluation reports publicly available for review, the RTL state project is new and will be forging novel approaches to reporting impact to state level collaborators and stakeholders

11. What are some of the adult training programs you’ve found most successful in professional development, whether funded by CPB or another organization? What made them successful, in past experience?

Please see characteristics of successful trainings noted in the RFP’s guidance for proposals.

12. The RFP mentions requirement of a signature. Is this signature embedded into the grant system, or will we need to provide a digital signature within the proposal itself?

Please provide the signature within the proposal.

13. As training will take place approximately July – December 2024, do you anticipate ongoing training to go through January & February 2025? If so, should this be accounted for in the available funds?

CPB does not anticipate training will take place into January and February 2025, but asks the consultant to remain available in those months to respond to follow-up questions from participating stations.

14. Who/how many primary contacts from CPB will be on the working team for materials approvals, etc. and could they be available for weekly or bi-weekly meetings during the first 6-8 weeks of engagement?

The consultant will have one CPB point of contact, who will coordinate approvals. Typically, four to six people from CPB and PBS may provide input. Yes, key people can be available for weekly or bi-weekly meetings during the first 6-8 weeks of engagement.

15. Do you anticipate any need for consultant travel for this project? If so, should this be included in the total available budget?

No, we do not anticipate any need for consultant travel.

16. Where (city/state) are the participating 20 public media stations located?

The 20 stations are listed in this April 30, 2024, press release: https://cpb.org/pressroom/CPB-and-PBS-Partner-14-Stations-Extend-Impact-Ready-Learn-Funded-Early-Childhood-Education

17. Will national partners (NAEYC, Parents as Teachers and the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation) be included as part of the training program and/or working group?

We often invite national partners to participate but participation in this training is optional.