Request for Proposals: Removing Barriers Initiative

Note the Deadline for Submissions was extended from October 28th, 2024 to November 8th, 2024.

BC ELN is seeking a consultant or consultancy to lead its Removing Barriers Initiative. View the full Request for Proposals.

Project Background and Goals

BC ELN is seeking to better understand the information and resource needs of post-secondary Indigenous students, educators, and researchers in B.C. Additionally, BC ELN recognizes a need to investigate barriers that might be impeding the consortium from serving and supporting Indigenous post-secondary students. BC ELN is seeking a strategy to foster relationships with and remove barriers to participation for Indigenous-led post-secondary institutions interested in joining the consortium.

This work supports BC ELN’s mandate to equitably meet the information needs of the province’s post-secondary learners, educators, and researchers. Furthermore, this work advances the following BC ELN strategic goals:

• Review services to ensure they are steeped in a culture of continuous improvement and inclusion.
• Reach out to Indigenous communities to build respectful relationships in support of Indigenous information needs.

In relation to BC ELN’s mandate, project goals include:

• Building relationships with post-secondary Indigenous-focused organizations such as the Indigenous Adult and Higher Learning Association (IAHLA), the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC), Métis Nation British Columbia, and the First Nations Technology Council.
• Listening to and learning from Indigenous-led institutions about the needs and barriers Indigenous students, educators, and researchers face with regards to information access, preservation, and control.
• Raising awareness of BC ELN services and identifying where barriers to joining the consortium exist for Indigenous-led institutions.
• Recommending actions that will remove barriers to consortial participation for interested Indigenous-led post-secondary institutions and increase their membership in BC ELN.

Application deadline

Proposal requirements are outlined in the Request for Proposals.

Proposals are due November 8th, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

Please submit proposals to office@bceln.ca, quoting ‘RFP# 2024-001 Removing Barriers Initiative’ in the subject line.

Questions can be submitted via email to Leah Hopton (leahh@bceln.ca). BC ELN reserves the right to seek clarification on any proposal submitted by a proponent to assist in making its evaluation, without notifying any other proponent of such. BC ELN reserves the right to not award the contract.