HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESPONSE - RFP - 7623 DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY STAFFING & STRUCTURAL ANALYSISTransmittal Letter
1. Methods and Approach ..................................................................................... 1
2. Scope of Work Deliverables .............................................................................. 4
3. Qualifications and Experience .......................................................................... 5
4. List of Project Personnel ................................................................................... 7
5. Organizational Chart/Proposed Project Team ............................................... 11
6. Availability........................................................................................................ 11
7. Estimated Hours by Task ................................................................................ 11
8. Schedule of Rates and Cost by Task ............................................................. 12
Attachment A – Required Form .................................................................................. 13
May 2, 2014
Mr. Ed Bonnette, CPPB, CPM
Senior Buyer
City of Fort Collins
Purchasing Division
215 North Mason Street, 2nd Floor
Fort Collins, CO 80524
Dear Mr. Bonnette,
The mission of The Novak Consulting Group is to strengthen organizations, for those
they serve and those who work in them. We are dedicated to providing management
consulting services to local government and nonprofit organizations. The firm was
originally established as Public Management Partners in 2001. Since then, we have
been providing our clients with the very best thinking and execution in organizational
design, development, and improvement.
We are pleased to submit this proposal for the Department of Social Sustainability
Staffing and Structural Analysis to the City of Fort Collins. This proposal is based on a
careful review of Fort Collins’ Request for Proposal and our experience completing
previous work for the Department of Social Sustainability.
Our project team for Fort Collins is comprised of skilled professionals, seasoned in local
government with direct experience in process improvement, procedural documentation,
and elections operations. Our team has had significant success working with local
governments, including Fort Collins and many other communities in Colorado, to review
operations and staffing with the goal of improving organizational performance and
compliance. We are confident our customized approach will provide Fort Collins with a
plan for improving the structural and operational efficiency of the Department of Social
Sustainability.
We look forward to the opportunity to serve Fort Collins on this engagement. Please
contact me at (513) 309-0444 or jnovak@thenovakconsultinggroup.com should you
have any questions.
Sincerely,
Julia D. Novak
President
The Novak Consulting Group and its staff have extensive experience working with local
government clients. Our focus is on providing solutions that work within the available resources
and culture of the organizations we assist. The most innovative solutions in the world are
valueless if they cannot be implemented or will not be accepted by the community. We pride
ourselves on our ability to listen, analyze, and work with our clients to find not just a random
selection of best practices taken from a manual, but real solutions that can be implemented
effectively. There is no value to a consulting study that, once completed, occupies shelf space
never to be opened again. We are pleased that our prior engagements have resulted in
corresponding actions by our clients to implement the recommendations that we have jointly
developed.
At The Novak Consulting Group, one of our strengths is the ability to build on existing
capabilities and resources and to help organizations see things from a different perspective. We
do this through listening to our clients and really understanding what they have to say. While
there are books full of best practices, stock solutions to complex problems are rarely effective.
We do not operate with a pre-packaged set of recommendations, and we diligently work to
avoid trying to fit our clients into a standard mold. We do not sell boiler plate solutions.
We recognize that there will always be competing interests between level and cost of service.
Defining "good enough" is a significant challenge aided by knowing that work is both necessary
and being delivered as efficiently as possible. As resources diminish, we often find that
operations become increasingly reactive at a significant cost both to current and future
operations. Maintaining planned, proactive approaches to operations consistently generates a
better, more cost-effective approach, particularly when evaluated over time.
Every organization develops traditions, practices, and routines. To a certain extent, these
provide stability and consistency. It is essential that these be subject to regular review and
analysis to be sure that they continue to represent best practices meeting the needs of the
community and not simply an excuse to avoid change.
The scope of work as presented in the Request for Proposals is best supported through a
comprehensive assessment approach that can quickly identify potential areas of improvement.
This will allow the project team to focus efforts on these areas and best leverage project
resources for maximum organizational and operational improvement for the Department of
Social Sustainability.
To meet this need in the review of the Department, The Novak Consulting Group proposes to
use our “Six R” approach. This involves soliciting and collecting information about the
Department’s Responsibilities, Resources, Requirements, and Results in order to identify
possible organizational and operational Revisions with an associated Roadmap to implement
positive change. This approach is depicted in the following graphic:
Responsibilities
Federal Law
State Statute
Local Ordinance / Code
Vision / Mission
Goals / Objectives
Annual Plan
Resources
Time
Human / Staffing
Management
Financial
Contractual
Technological
Physical
Requirements
Law / Code
Policies / Procedures
Position Descriptions
Grant Agreements
Past Practice
Results
Appropriate
Adequate
Efficient
Effective
Revisions
Tactical
Strategic
Systemic
Product
Or
Service
Quantity / Quality
Timeliness
Roadmap
Responsibility
Prioritization
Phasing
Schedule
Responsibilities refer to the sources and level of mandate / direction for Department
services. These may derive from Federal/State mandate, direction from the City Council
through ordinance or resolution, and/or internal direction derived from annual vision, goals,
and objectives. We will review all Department services to determine source and level of
mandate in order to better understand service level constraints and opportunities for
change.
Resources refer to all assets available to the Department to achieve its respective
responsibilities. These resources may include the following: time; human resources and
available Department staffing; management capacity; financial position; contractual and
volunteer services (as internal service supplement or replacement); technological assets
(hardware, software, communications, training); and physical assets (buildings, equipment
– office as well as electoral equipment).
Requirements refer to the sources of direction to Department management and staff
regarding service approach and methodology. These sources provide staff with direction on
how they should approach their respective tasks and complete their assignments. These
sources may derive from formal law/codes or adopted policies and procedures to less formal
mechanisms including continuation of past practice through initial or on-the-job training.
We will review and assess Department service and process requirements to better
understand existing business processes and opportunities for positive change.
Results refer to the service yield derived from the provided services. These services are
the result of rationally developed process requirements applying available resources in
pursuit of prioritized fulfillment of Department responsibilities. The results phase links
current operations with future planning through measures of adequacy, efficiency and
effectiveness through management reporting to provide operational information resources
for better management decision-making.
Revisions refer to the depth and breadth of continuing change necessary to support
improved performance as indicated from results and performance reporting. This change
can range from a high level involving holistic or systemic issues to strategic issues to tactical
issues.
Roadmap refers to the plans to implement revisions in order to improve service delivery,
procedural quality, and regulatory (i.e. State and Federal) compliance, while managing
costs. The Roadmap provides an action plan for the Department that identifies
recommended priorities, responsibilities, effort phasing, and an expected schedule to reach
milestones, being closely mindful of the elections calendar.
Our tested approach continuously focuses effort on developing the information required to
answer the City’s concerns regarding optimal staffing and structure of the Department of Social
Sustainability. The Novak Consulting Group has created a scope of work for this engagement,
as described below.
Task 1 – Begin Engagement
The Novak Consulting Group will begin this engagement by requesting and reviewing all
relevant background information about the Department. We will meet with the Director of
Social Sustainability and Service Area Leadership to discuss and review the project scope,
schedule, and expectations.
Throughout the engagement, our project team will regularly update the City on the progress of
our work. We will provide status reports to ensure the schedule and anticipated deliverables are
being achieved as promised.
Task 2 – Conduct Field Work and Benchmarking Research
In order to make informed recommendations, it is essential that we understand the
management system, current operations, workloads, work practices, and the resources
available to support them. Therefore, we will interview Social Sustainability staff, including the
Director of Social Sustainability, and Service Area Leadership to hear their perspective about
their work and the staffing and structure of the Department. Additionally, we will ask existing
staff to complete a desk audit questionnaire so that we can gain an understanding of their daily,
weekly, monthly, and annual workload.
We will seek to understand the strengths and weaknesses of departmental structure, workload,
and staffing levels. We will review available workload and performance metrics as provided by
the City, along with the completed desk audit questionnaires. Based on our review of existing
and future anticipated workloads, we will make recommendations regarding organizational
capacity and identify and assess any unmet needs.
To further inform our analysis, we will conduct benchmarking and best practice research.
Comparable jurisdictions may be those organizations known for optimal staffing and structure
with characteristics similar to Fort Collins. Once the benchmark research is complete, summary
information will be prepared and incorporated into our analysis.
Task 3 – Prepare Analysis and Findings
The Novak Consulting Group will review the information provided by the City as well as the data
gathered during interviews and field work and begin our analysis of existing workload, staffing,
and structure. We will identify recommendations for operational and staffing improvements and
review our findings and recommendations with the City. Follow up analysis will be conducted
as needed.
Task 4 – Prepare Deliverables
Once we have received feedback from the City, we will prepare the project deliverables. The
draft report will include our methodology and approach and a thorough description of all
recommendations for the Department. The draft report will be presented to the City for review
for factual accuracy and to discuss content and approach. We will prepare and present the final
report, based on feedback from the City.
Once a notice to proceed is issued, it is anticipated that completion of the above tasks will take
approximately 14 weeks. We expect to refine this with the City during our initial discussions.
As described in the previous section, The Novak Consulting Group will provide the City a draft
project report that details our approach, methodology, research, analysis, and individual
recommendations for the optimal staffing and structure for the Department of Social
Sustainability.
Once the City has reviewed the draft report, The Novak Consulting Group will modify as needed
and provide to the City a final project report.
Since 2001, a highly respected management consulting firm named Public Management
Partners helped a variety of organizations function more effectively. Through the years the firm
built a sizeable client base of predominantly local governments and nonprofit organizations in
the Midwest. Projects ranged from those as small as conducting community workshops to those
as sweeping as analyzing the operational efficiency of entire departments within a city or
county.
In 2009, Julia D. Novak acquired Public Management Partners and founded The Novak
Consulting Group, staffed by consultants with decades of collective experience. With The Novak
Consulting Group, Julia built on Public Management Partners’ reputation for innovation and
results while expanding the company’s services nationwide. Her company meets a wider range
of needs, consulting with governments in the areas of public works, public safety, human
resources, finance, planning, IT, and more. We provide our clients with the very best thinking
and execution in organizational design, development, and improvement. Our services include:
Performance Audits
Organizational Assessment and Optimization
Process Management
Performance Measurement
Organizational Development
Community Outreach and Engagement
Facilitation and Training
Executive Search
The Novak Consulting Group provides unparalleled service to our clients. Leaders in local
government and nonprofit communities have come to rely on The Novak Consulting Group for
high caliber advice developed through subject matter expertise and customized project
approaches.
Focused expertise. Our expertise lies in strengthening two kinds of organizations:
local governments and nonprofits. We’re consulting specialists rather than generalists,
focusing our strengths to do a highly effective job for a very specific group of clients.
Flexibility to serve you better. We employ a core staff of senior-level consultants,
and draw from our pool of subject matter experts when their expertise can help us to
serve you better. This approach results in a more responsive and efficient project
providing the services that you desire and the results that you need.
Decades of collective experience. Our associates and subject matter experts have
decades of experience in strengthening local governments and nonprofit organizations.
They’ve served in a wide range of positions, from city manager to public works director
to director of management information systems.
Personal service from senior-level consultants. You appreciate it when deadlines
are met, phone calls are retuned, and your challenges are given in-depth, out-of-the-
box thinking. While a large firm may assign your business to junior-level people, our firm
and approach provides exceptional levels of personal service from senior-level
consultants.
The Novak Consulting Group is a woman-owned firm led by President Julia Novak. The firm is
staffed with local government professionals, including full-time associates and subject matter
specialists. The firm is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio and our staff is based in Washington,
D.C., North Carolina, Kansas City, New York, and Wisconsin, in addition to Ohio.
The Novak Consulting Group has assisted numerous local governments across the country with
organizational evaluations, workflow analyses, and procedural documentation of technical
government processes including development review, communications, and grant processes.
Our firm also has significant experience with localities throughout the state of Colorado
including:
Adams County
City of Aurora
City of Boulder
City of Fort Collins
La Plata County
Routt County
City of Westminster
The following is a summary of relevant engagements. We would be happy to provide additional
information about these or any of our prior projects.
La Plata County, Colorado first engaged The Novak Consulting Group in 2013 for multiple
organizational assessments. Work completed to date includes staffing analyses for the La Plata
County Sherriff’s Department and the Human Services Department. Currently, the firm is
currently completing a review of the Clerk and Recorder’s Office.
Kelli Ganevsky, Human Resources Director
(970) 382-6361 Kelli.Ganevsky@co.laplata.co.us
Boulder, Colorado has engaged The Novak Consulting Group in multiple engagements
including a structural review of the City’s Finance Department and assessment of how the
Budget and Purchasing functions were staffed. The City of Boulder was highly decentralized,
and tremendous capacity existed within operating departments to serve their own needs, but
the central offices (Budget and Purchasing) are unable to provide appropriate service levels and
support the City Manager. Resources were reassigned to create a more robust Budget Office,
and additional resources were made available to the Purchasing function to better meet
customer expectations. Subsequently, a similar review was completed for the City’s Human
Resource Department. The firm was recently engaged to assist with the development of a
financial planning model.
Jane Brautigam, City Manager
(303) 441-3090 BrautigamJ@bouldercolorado.gov
Fredericksburg, Virginia engaged The Novak Consulting Group in 2012 to complete a
comprehensive organizational study of the City government, which included all City
departments under the purview of the City Manager. The purpose of this study was to improve
organizational performance, as well as assess staffing needs so that capacity could be added
strategically in the organization as resources become available. Several core processes were
mapped to identify improvement opportunities.
Beverly R. Cameron, City Manager
(540) 372-1010 brcameron@fredericksburgva.gov
Dublin, Ohio has retained The Novak Consulting Group for a number of projects since 2009.
In 2013, The Novak Consulting Group conducted a review of the organization’s structure and a
specific analysis of operating departments. This work resulted in a City-wide reorganization to
improve efficiency and effectiveness of operations.
Marsha Grigsby, City Manager
(614) 410-4400 mgrigsby@dublin.oh.us
Sample reports from similar engagements are included with this proposal.
Our project team is made up of senior-level consultants with direct local government
experience. What sets our project team apart is our ability to explore and relate to local
community values while at the same time investigating realistic approaches for cost-effective
solutions.
President Julia Novak – Julia will serve as engagement director. From 2003 to 2009, Julia
served as a Vice President for a national consulting firm. Julia has over 25 years of experience
working with and for local governments. She is a consultant, trainer, and facilitator who has
worked with numerous organizations and community groups. During her local government
career, she worked in Fort Collins, Colorado; Lexington, Massachusetts; Rockville, Maryland;
and was City Manager of Rye, New York.
Associate Michelle Ferguson – Michelle began her consulting career in 2005 following 10
years of direct experience in local government management, which included serving as
Assistant County Manager in Arlington County, Virginia. Michelle excels at helping local
governments continuously improve their organizations and enhance service to the public. She
is skilled in project management, process improvement strategies, performance measurement,
consent building and public process design. Her special expertise is performance measurement,
capital budgeting and financing, project implementation, and process re-engineering.
Haley Kadish, Analyst – Haley will provide research and analytical support to our project
team. Complete resumes for each of our project team members are included.
All members of our project team are employees of The Novak Consulting Group; no
subconsultants will be used to complete this engagement.
Julia established The Novak Consulting Group in September 2009 when
she acquired Public Management Partners. A full-time consultant for the
past 11 years, she previously served as Vice President for a national local
government consulting firm. Julia has more than 25 years of experience
working with and for local governments. She is an established consultant,
trainer, facilitator, and thought leader who has worked with over 200
different local government and nonprofit organizations across the country.
Prior to consulting, Julia worked in the cities of Fort Collins, Colorado;
Lexington, Massachusetts; Rockville, Maryland; and was City Manager of
Rye, New York.
Julia has extensive experience as a facilitator and trainer. She has worked
with elected and appointed officials and nonprofit board members across
the country to conduct goal setting, develop strategic plans, and prioritize
service delivery.
As a consultant, Julia has led a broad range of projects, including
organization-wide assessments of nonprofit organizations and
communities that serve populations as large as 1,000,000 and as small as
12,000. She has conducted focused departmental reviews in virtually
every municipal service from accounting to zoos.
Julia has established herself as a thought leader in the area of governance
and administration. In April 2002, Julia was one of 20 practitioners
involved in the International City/County Management Association (ICMA)
sponsored symposium on the future of local government administration.
Her response to Dr. James Svara’s paper City Council, Roles, Performance,
and the Form of Government is included in the ICMA-published book The Future of Local Government
Administration. In 2009, she co-authored an article with Dr. John Nalbandian in Public Management
Magazine titled Preparing Councils for Their Work. In 2010, the article she co-authored with City
Manager Steve Burkett, Permission to Manage, was the featured article on the cover of Public
Management Magazine, stressing the importance of being intentional in managing organizations and
using performance measures as a part of a management system.
In 2000, ICMA awarded Julia its Assistant’s Excellence in Leadership Award for work she did building
community and increasing organizational capacity as Deputy City Manager of Rockville, Maryland.
Julia has been a speaker at national conferences for ICMA, National League of Cities, and American
Society of Public Administrators. She has been a featured speaker/trainer for many state associations,
including those in Ohio, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Minnesota, Washington
State, the Metropolitan (D.C.) Association of Local Government Administrators, and the Illinois Assistant
Municipal Managers Association.
Julia earned a bachelor’s degree in government and politics from George Mason University and a master’s
degree in public administration from the University of Kansas. Julia was in the first class of individuals
certified by ICMA as Credentialed Local Government Managers and maintains that designation. She is a
Master Facilitator of the popular Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator and is also certified to
administer several level-B psychological assessments, including the Apter Motivational Styles Profile and
the Strength Deployment Inventory. She is experienced with several level-A assessments, including the
Thomas-Killman Conflict Modes Inventory and the Human Element-B.
Michelle has over 18 years of management experience in local
government, and she currently serves as the organizational
effectiveness practice leader for The Novak Consulting Group,
having been with the firm since its inception.
Michelle began her consulting career in 2005 following 10 years
of direct experience in local government management, which
included serving as Assistant County Manager in Arlington
County, Virginia.
Michelle excels at helping local governments continuously
improve their organizations and enhance service to the public.
She is skilled in project management, process improvement
strategies, performance measurement, consent building, and
public process design.
As a consultant, Michelle has completed detailed organizational
reviews of entire jurisdictions and recommended improvements
to processes and departments across the country. Specific
department reviews have included the functions of development review, parks and recreation,
public works, human services, human resources, capital budgeting, and collections. Additionally,
she has provided customized training in the development and use of performance measures to
assist numerous organizations continuously improve service delivery.
Michelle is also a skilled facilitator, able to bring diverse groups of people together to articulate
shared visions and priorities. She has lead strategic planning engagements at the community,
organizational, and department levels, and she has facilitated numerous staff and governing
body retreats.
During her tenure with Arlington County, Michelle was responsible for the daily management
and implementation of the County's $500 million capital program. She also led the organization-
wide performance measurement initiative establishing their Balanced Scorecard. Prior to
Arlington County, Michelle served as Assistant City Manager in Overland Park, Kansas.
Michelle earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Loyola University-Chicago and a
master’s degree in public administration from the University of Kansas. She is a member of the
International City/County Management Association. She also served as the president of the
Metropolitan Association of Local Government Assistants in Washington, D.C and has presented
at state and national conferences on topics such as strategic planning, effective governing
bodies, and council-staff relations.
Haley has experience in both the public and private
sectors. Prior to joining The Novak Consulting Group, Haley
served as an ICMA Local Government Management Fellow in
Catawba County, North Carolina. As a fellow, she improved the
talent recruitment and selection process, developed
departmental performance measures, assisted in the
development and implementation of a community food
sustainability plan, and improved operations by researching and
analyzing options for many special projects throughout the
County.
Haley started her career in the private sector as a virtual
solutions subject matter expert for Procter & Gamble. During
her tenure, she launched and managed virtual consumer
research services in multiple product categories and led a
global team.
While in graduate school at The Ohio State University, Haley
served the Franklin County, Ohio Child Support Enforcement Agency as a program analysis
intern. She also served as a public affairs intern for the U.S. State Department in Zambia.
Haley earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from University of Texas at
Austin and a master’s degree in public administration from Ohio State University. She is a
member of the International City/County Management Association. Haley is an accomplished
artist and her analytic and technical skills are complemented by her design skills.
Below is an organizational chart depicting our project team and their primary roles for this
engagement. Each member of our project team will be involved in all tasks outlined in our
scope of work.
Julia Novak
Engagement Manager
- Client Relations and Quality
Control
Michelle Ferguson
- Interviews, Analysis, and
Recommendation
Development
Haley Kadish
- Research and Project
Support
Each of our project team members is available to begin work immediately upon issuance of a
notice to proceed by the City.
A breakdown of hours for each task is included below.
Task Hours
1. Begin Engagement 10
2. Conduct Field Work and Benchmarking 32
3. Prepare Analysis and Findings 22
4. Prepare Deliverables 20
Total 84
The total not to exceed fee to complete the scope of work as identified in this proposal is
$14,995.
A breakdown of hours for each task is included below. Our weighted hourly rate for our project
team is $179.
Task Fee
1. Begin Engagement and
2. Conduct Field Works and Benchmarking
$ 5,381
3. Prepare Analysis and Findings 4,587
4. Prepare Deliverables 5,027
Total $ 14,995