The Health Foundation for Western & Central New York seeks proposals from a team of at least two qualified consultants to develop content and serve as faculty for the first residential session of Cohort 12 of its Health Leadership Fellows program. The session will be held in Rochester, NY, on October 6, 7 and 8, 2025.
Program Background
The Health Foundation created the Health Leadership Fellows program in 2005. Since its inception, nearly 400 nonprofit leaders have participated in the program. The goal of the Fellows program is to develop and strengthen a diverse network of collaborative leaders in organizations and systems that serve young children and older adults in western and central New York.
One of its earliest and longest-running programs, the Health Leadership Fellows program has stimulated collaboration among hundreds of nonprofit professionals throughout the regions we serve. Evaluations conducted with program graduates continually demonstrate the effectiveness of this program and how participation has improved their ability to lead their organizations and collaborate with others.
The Health Leadership Fellows program has been proven to accomplish the following:
- Collective advocacy for improved health care delivery focused on older adults and children impacted by poverty.
- A network of leaders with practiced collaborative and communication skills from common experiences
- Leaders with enhanced self-awareness and improved reflective skill
- A core group of change agents for their respective communities
- New partnerships for managing change and innovation
More information about the program may be found on the Health Foundation’s website.
Expectations of the Selected Consultant
The intensive 18-month Fellows program includes four two- to three-day residential sessions led by faculty on various topics. We are seeking a team of at least two consultants to serve as faculty for the first session, including administering pre-session work, developing session content, and leading the three-day session.
The topic of the first residential session is the Individual as a Leader. The session must be delivered through a racial equity lens, using the principles of trauma-informed care.
Chosen consultants will be expected to develop and administer session content that accomplishes the following:
- Participants should gain knowledge of self and one’s own leadership style and capabilities as a result of feedback from these assessment tools: a Benchmarks 360 evaluation, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and FIRO-B, or other assessments as proposed by the consultant.* Consultants will be responsible for administering these tools and analyzing results prior to the session.
- Participants should gain knowledge of the interrelatedness among all three assessments and how they provide a greater understanding of one’s own leadership challenges and
- Exploration of the topics of leadership, giving and receiving feedback, and how the development of a team around direction, alignment, and commitment can increase team communication and effectiveness.
- Helping Fellows gain self-knowledge as it relates to leadership and authenticity. This may include exposure during the session to experts in leadership, leadership models, and the role of leadership in
- Fellows should begin to develop a personal leadership plan during the session that they will further develop during the intersession period with an assigned executive
*We are open to learning about other assessment tools that may be considered valuable for reaching people who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) or from other marginalized groups. If you are approved to use an alternate assessment tool, you will be required to train Fellows staff on effectively using that tool. If you would like to propose the use of an alternate assessment, please indicate in your proposal how and why you would implement it, including this training requirement.
Request for Proposals
Interested parties should submit a proposal (no longer than four pages) to design and implement the first session of the Fellows program based on the information indicated in the previous section.
Proposals should include information on qualifications of consultants including:
- Demonstrated experience facilitating groups of nonprofit leaders using lecture and experiential learning techniques
- Experience interpreting the results of a Benchmark 360 assessment and the use of MBTI and FIRO-B score to inform and interpret assessment results (or alternative assessments that consultants may propose).
- Experience facilitating racially diverse groups and knowledge of best practices in racial equity
- Knowledge of trauma-informed facilitation techniques
- The consulting team should include people from diverse ethnic, racial, and/or cultural backgrounds and must consist of at least two people
Please include expected consulting fees. Compensation will include payment for time spent designing and conducting the three-day residential session. All travel, food and lodging costs as well as costs for assessments and other necessary materials will be covered by the Health Foundation.
Questions may be submitted to Nancy Blaschak, Program Director for the Health Leadership Fellows, at hlfellows@blaschakconsulting.com. Questions must be submitted by December 13, 2024. Those received before that date will be answered in writing.
Proposals should be submitted no later than Friday, January 3, 2025 to RFP@hfwcny.org
We will review proposals in the month of January, and anticipate making a decision no later than the end of February 2025.
