The City of Hayward is accepting electronic bid submissions. Bidders shall create a FREE account with OpenGov Procurement by signing up at https://procurement.opengov.com/signup. Once you have completed account registration, browse back to this page, click on "Submit Response", and follow the instructions to submit the electronic bid.

All communication from prospective proposers regarding this RFP must be submitted in the Question & Answer portal within the City's project posting.  Communication by telephone or in person will not be accepted.  Attempts by or on behalf of a prospective or existing vendor to contact or to influence any member of the selection committee, any member of the City Council, or any employee of the City of Hayward with regard to the acceptance of a proposal may lead to elimination of that vendor from further consideration

All questions must be submitted to the Question & Answer portal within the City's project posting by 12:00 pm Friday, December 1, 2023. This will allow sufficient time for any addenda to be issued by the City to all bidders.  

The City reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, to contract work with whomever and in whatever manner the City decides, to abandon the work entirely and to waive any informality or non-substantive irregularity as the interest of the City may require and to be the sole judge of selection process.  The City also reserves the right to negotiate separately in any manner to serve the best interest of the City.  The City retains the right at its sole discretion to select a successful vendor.

• The City reserves the right to select the proposal which in its sole judgment best meets the needs of the City.  The lowest proposed cost will not be the sole criterion for recommending the contract award. The recommended selection of the evaluation committee is final and subject only to review and final approval by the Steering Committee and the City Council.
• The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive technicalities and informalities when such waiver is determined by the City to be in the City’s best interest.  
• The City reserves the right to retain all accepted proposals, including proprietary documentation, regardless of which proposal is selected.  No proposals will be returned to vendors.
• The City reserves the right to request any supplementary information it deems necessary to evaluate proposer’s experience or qualifications.  This may include supplemental financial information, additional interview(s), and/or additional presentation by the proposer.
• The City reserves the right to reconsider any proposal submitted at any stage of the procurement. It also reserves the right to meet with select proposers at any time to gather additional information. Furthermore, the City reserves the right to delete or add functionality (i.e., modules and components) until the final contract signing.  
• The City reserves the right to cancel, in part or in its entirety, this RFP, including, but not limited to:  selection schedule, submittal date, and submittal requirements.  If the City cancels or revises this RFP, all proposers will be notified in writing by the City.
• The City reserves the right to revise the RFP prior to the date that proposals are due.  The City will communicate changes through addendum to this RFP.  All registered proposers will be notified of revisions to the RFP.  The City reserves the right to extend the date by which the proposals are due.  
• The City reserves the right to split the award from this RFP between multiple proposals when such split award is determined to be in the best interests of the City.
• The City reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject any and all proposals and to waive informalities and minor irregularities in any proposals received.  Failure to furnish all information requested or to follow the format requested herein may disqualify the proposer, in the sole discretion of the City.  False, incomplete, misleading or unresponsive statements in a proposal may also be sufficient cause for a proposal’s rejection.
• This RFP does not commit the City to award a contract.  All proposals submitted in response to this RFP become the property of the City and public records, and as such, may be subject to public review.
• The City shall not be liable for any pre-contractual expenses incurred by prospective vendors or selected contractors, including but not limited to costs incurred in the preparation or submission of proposals.  The City shall be held harmless and free from any and all liability, claims, or expenses whatsoever incurred by, or on behalf of, any person or organization responding to this RFP.
• If the successful proposer defaults, the City may award this RFP to the next best proposal and may recover the loss occasioned by the successful proposer against a surety bond, if any, or by suit against the successful proposer.
• The City reserves the right to cancel, in part or in its entirety, this RFP including, but not limited to:  selection procedures, submittal date, and submittal requirements.  If the City cancels or revises the RFP, all interested firms will be notified.
• All proposals submitted in response to this RFP become the property of the City and public records and, as such, are subject to public review.

Should any proposer question or protest the award of the contract, such question or protest must be furnished in writing to the Purchasing Manager within three (3) calendar days after the City notifies all proposers of its Intent to Award. Such submittal must fully explain the basis of the objection supported by all relevant information facts and details.  Letter must be signed by an authorized representative stating specific reason(s) for the protest including all relevant facts (law, rule, regulation, and criteria).

Questions or protests not furnished in writing as prescribed will not be accepted.

1. Project Overview 
   
   1. Project Goals:

      HPL’s Mission is to deliver equal opportunity in education to Hayward residents, preserve and improve quality of life for all members of the community, and contribute to the ongoing health and success of a thriving Hayward. 
      HPL seeks to reevaluate and update its mission statement if necessary and to develop a strategic plan that aligns all Library divisions with the mission of the Department.
      The strategic plan should establish goals that are grounded in a realistic assessment of existing staff responsibilities, capacity, and morale, and is bold in its approach toward building a responsive, innovative, equitable and inclusive organization that can adapt to continually evolving priorities. The plan must include an engagement element to ensure that employees understand the Department’s top priorities and strategies, as well as their individual roles in achieving them.
      The Consultant must keep in close communication with the Library Director and/or the assigned staff liaison throughout the project to discuss goal, methods, and Library staff support/participation.

       

      Special consideration will be given to proposals that provide an innovative and forward-thinking approach to developing the strategic plan.
      

   2. Desired Scope of Services:

      HPL encourages proposers to submit their recommended strategy, including alternative deliverables as appropriate, with a work plan and set of deliverables that meet the goals stated. Ideally, the Library would like to have the completed plan by March 2024 in anticipation of the FY 2025 budget development in early 2024.

       

      Please identify in the proposal an ideal timeframe for completing the plan, even if it does not meet the proposed timeline. Also, identify whether HPL’s timeframe can be accomplished and the tradeoffs.
      

   3. Project Deliverables:
      1. Initial Priority Setting Session with Library Management Team (LMT)
         Consultant shall facilitate a priority and goal setting workshop with the Director and LMT members as the initial step in the strategic planning process.  This workshop will include revisiting the existing priorities and strategic initiatives as well as beginning the development of the go-forward Mission and Vision Statement for the organization.
      2. Mission and Vision Statement Development
         The Consultant will lead a workshop with the Director and LMT members to evaluate the current department mission statement and create a vision statement and update the mission statement, if necessary, to broadly capture who we are as an organization and identify the desired direction and/or services and programs to be provided by the department.
      3.  Community Needs Assessment
         A community needs assessment for Weekes Branch Library has already been completed by the City. However, the needs assessment for the Weekes branch was largely focused on the building, though some broader aspects were discussed.  The firm/consultant is expected to perform a needs assessment for the Downtown Library and the Mobile Outreach Division and include integrating the Weekes needs assessment and any updated needs as deemed necessary. The final recommendations should include recommendations for the entire system, including the Weekes branch.
      4. Development of a 3 to 5-year Strategic Plan
         The consultant shall develop a framework for HPL and work with all of the Department teams to develop a 3 to 5-year strategic plan, providing measurable, quantifiable goals, and timetables for achievement. The strategic plan should also:
         1. Create a sophisticated approach to assessment and future planning rather than a traditional SWOT analysis.
         2. Assess existing conditions: How well does the day-to-day work of Library staff align to department’s stated priorities? This assessment should include an analysis of existing Library programs and the staff that support these programs to illustrate where the department is currently spending its resources. This assessment should be in partnership with staff, rather than a top-down evaluation of work performance.
         3. Recommend strategies to better align staff work with department priorities and community needs and move staff away from work that is not well aligned.
         4. Review institutional barriers to becoming a responsive and innovative department that can adapt with flexibility as City-wide priorities and library industry trends evolve.
         5. Suggest reasonable performance metrics to help teams maintain alignment with department priorities.
         6. Provide guidance for including employees at all levels in future priority setting and policy development to maximize staff buy-in and alignment.
         7. Project future department demands that could be affected by:
            • Community needs
            • Future trends in technology including AI
            • Trends affecting public libraries in general
            • Community organizations that either supplement or complement Library services
      5. Employee Engagement and Involvement
         1. Consultant shall facilitate the process and approach for gathering employee input and maintaining ongoing engagement with staff.
         2. Consultant shall facilitate meetings with the various HPL teams to assess the feasibility of prioritizing and removing tasks and to troubleshoot institutional barriers to getting work done.
         3. Gathering of data and input must include at least the following surveys, interviews, and community meetings:
            - Community-wide survey in English, Spanish, and Chinese, both online and print (translation support will be provided by HPL staff if needed)
            - One-on-one meetings with the Mayor, City Manager, Chair of the Library Commission and Library Director
            - 2 Stakeholder group meeting
            - Community meetings in both the Downtown branch and the Weekes branch
            - 1 teen group meeting
            - 2 Community meetings in Spanish
            - 1 community meeting in Chinese
            - 2 Staff meetings
            - 1 call for input from youth and children to draw their ideal library/library services
      6. Performance Monitoring
         Consultant shall recommend methodologies for monitoring performance within the framework of the strategic plan that could include the following elements:
         1. Integration of strategic plan priorities and goals within the budget decision-making process. The plan should quantify the financial impacts of the priorities and goals. 
         2. Development of a communications plan for the implementation of the strategic plan.
         3. Recommended performance measurement metrics.

HPL encourages proposers to submit their recommended strategies for achieving the items outlined above, including desired support from HPL staff. Additionally, proposers may include alternative deliverables as appropriate. Should the vendor’s proposal include additional services that similar organizations have undergone in this process, please list as separate tasks in the proposal.

1. Consultant Selection:
   1. The purpose of this RFP is to solicit proposals to provide all of the above services.
2. Schedule:
   1. The following provides milestones in the consultant selection process for City of Hayward Library Strategic Plan:
      1. Electronically submit completed proposals to City of Hayward Library Services at 5:00 pm on Tuesday, December 12, 2023 to https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/hayward-ca/projects/68441.
      2. City contact short-listed firms on Thursday, November 16, 2023
      3. Scope and fee negotiation: TBD
      4. Contract approval by City Council on TBD
3. Proposal Requirements:
   1. The proposal shall be organized in the following sections:
      1. Cover letter. The cover letter should identify the primary contact person for your team.
      2. Team. Identify key members and their qualifications, the primary location where work will be done, and your proposed team organization.
      3. Experience. Provide descriptions of relevant projects conducted by personnel proposed to work on this project. For each project, identify the client and the client contact for reference, start date, project duration, number of meters, geographic description of service and fee.
      4. Approach. Identify key project issues in each phase of the project and how they will be addressed.
      5. Proposed Scope of Services. The proposed scope of services should describe tasks and identify deliverables for the feasibility study as outlined above where applicable. 
      6. Workplan. The workplan should show tasks that you consider important for this project and your estimate of the professional labor hours each month. The workplan shall be presented in tabular form, and is not subject to the 8½ x 11-inch page size limit (but is subject to the 30-page limit).
      7. Proposed Schedule of Charges. Provide a schedule of charges for labor and expenses that you propose to charge the City on this project. Also, identify labor rates for the particular professional staff you propose will work on this project. The proposed schedule of charges is subject to negotiation prior to contract execution.
      8. Proposed Budget. Provide the proposed budget based on the workplan and proposed schedule of charges. The proposed schedule of charges is subject to negotiation prior to contract execution. Pricing must be submitted on a “not to exceed” basis. Do not use “TBD” or similar annotations for cost estimates.
      9. Resumes. Provide resumes for key personnel in Appendices.
      10. Disclosure. List any vendors that your company has a relationship with in Appendices.
4. The page limitation applies to sections “b” through “g” of the Proposal Requirements. The proposal cover, divider sheets, resumes and disclosure are not subject to the page limitation. Resumes of key personnel shall be provided in an appendix bound with the proposal.
5. If any portion of the City’s standard Professional Services Agreement is unacceptable to your firm, please identify the particular clause(s) in a separate letter to the City submitted with your proposal.

Interviews will be scheduled if necessary and the format and duration has not been determined. Firms being invited to interview will be informed of the interview format after Tuesday, December 12, 2023