Freelance Graphic Designer – Canada

Description of the offer

1. Introduction

This Request for Proposals has been issued by the College of Naturopaths of Ontario (the College) which is seeking the services set out in this RFP.

The College of Naturopaths of Ontario (the College) is a statutory health regulatory College established under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 and the Naturopathy Act, 2007. The College regulates Naturopathic Doctors in the public interest, ensuring that they provide safe, ethical, competent care to Ontarians. Members registered with the College are regulated health professionals and are entitled to use the title Naturopath or Naturopathic Doctor (ND) and to perform a series of restricted or controlled acts.

As a public entity, the College issues Requests for Proposals or Requests for Quotes to ensure it receives necessary quality services at appropriate costs.

2. Background

The College regulates naturopaths in Ontario in the public interest. Our mandate is to support patients’ rights to receive safe, competent, and ethical naturopathic care.

The College performs four key functions related to the regulation of the profession.

• Registering Safe, Competent, and Ethical Individuals – We establish requirements to enter the profession, set and maintain examinations to test individuals against these requirements, and register qualified individuals – individuals who have demonstrated that they can practise naturopathy safely, competently, and ethically.
• Setting Standards – We set and maintain standards of practice that guide our Registrants to ensure they provide safe, competent and ethical patient care and inform the public about what to expect from their naturopath.
• Ensuring Continuing Competence – We create and manage a variety of continuing education and professional development programs to ensure naturopaths maintain their competency as a means of assuring the public that they will receive safe, competent and ethical naturopathic care.
• Providing Accountability through Complaints and Discipline – We hold naturopaths accountable for their conduct and practise by investigating complaints and concerns and determining appropriate solutions, including disciplining naturopaths who have not upheld the standards.

In support of the College’s communications and marketing activities, the Communications Department has identified a need to engage a graphic design firm or an independent graphics designer for the purposes of designing, developing, and producing graphics-oriented marketing collateral on behalf of the College.

3. Objectives

The purpose of this RFP is to individuals or consultancies to develop and deliver graphics design collateral for various College outputs, including but not limited to reports, marketing products, infographics, and website content, supporting the College’s activities.

4. Scope

The scope of this RFP includes the necessary qualifications of the successful firm or candidate, as well as the necessary criterion for evaluation of proposals.

4.1.1 Identified Tasks

The graphics to be developed, on behalf of the College, must reflect the College’s brand, style, and represent the College in a professional and positive manner to internal and external stakeholders. These designs will be used for marketing and communication activities..

These products can include but are not limited to:

–       Reports

–       Infographics

–       Website content

–       Newsletters and brochures

–       General marketing products

4.2 Remuneration

The College will be remunerating presenters at a rate commensurate with the product delivered, meeting budgetary restrictions.

OR STATE THE FOLLOWING

·      Any costs associated with the development of a proposal and delivery of a presentation or any meetings as part of the selection process will be at the expense of the firm or the individual and not the College;

4.3 Qualifications

Any firms or  individuals bidding in response to this RFP must meet the following qualifications in order to be considered for the awarding of a contract:

1.    They must be a qualified graphics designer through either education, experience, or a combination of the above.

2.    They must possess the creative utilities required of a graphics designer to fulfill tasks and projects, including relevant software applications and hardware, and the skill set to successfully use these utilities to deliver competent products.

3.    They must furnish a portfolio of previous graphics design work to the Communications Department of the College for review, in order to demonstrate their knowledge and proficiency.

4.    They must possess the ability to effectively manage time while working on multiple projects and meet deadlines, as well as strong organizational skills to manage multiple aspects of the project in both College languages (i.e. English and French).

5.    They must have a close attention to detail to ensure the delivery of products that reflect the College brand, are free of errors, and meet our guidelines and specifications.

6.    They must possess an adaptable and creative mindset and should be able to propose fresh ideas for new projects as well as existing collateral.

7.    Their process must be flexible to allow for College review processes and amendments suggested by the College to products.

5. Correspondence and Questions

As part of this RFP process, the College is inviting potential firms and individuals to submit any questions that they may have about the RFP. All questions will be collected, and responses sent to all individuals that indicate an intent to submit a proposal.

These questions, and any future correspondence should be addressed to:

Ian D’Costa

Senior Communications Officer

ian.d’costa@collegeofnaturopaths.on.ca

6. Intent to Submit

As this RFP is being sent, unsolicited, to several individuals and firms, those interested in submitting a proposal are asked to indicate so by email no later than [8-25-2023] at 5:00 p.m. (EDT). Any recipients of this RFP that do not indicate their intent to submit will be presumed to not be available for this work and will receive no further communication from the College on this matter. We thank all of you for your consideration.

7. Proposal Format and Contents

Firms or individuals who are bidding on this RFP must include the following information in their proposals.

A.   Resume – An updated resume featuring qualifications, contact information, and experience or Relevant experience and qualifications of the office and the individuals from the firm to be assigned to this work.

b)Portfolio – An outline with selected examples of past products delivered as a graphics designer on behalf of organizations and individuals.

c)Name and contact information for up to three references that might be relied upon to provide a reference.

d)The proposed fees and fee structure of these services (hourly or block rates)

8. RFP Schedule and Proposal Deadline

The following deadlines and schedule apply to the RFP:

·      Release of the RFP: [8-22-2023]

·      Receipt of Intent to Bid: [8-25-2023] @ 5:00 pm

·      Receipt of any questions: [8-26-2023] @ 5:00 pm.

·      Response to questions: by [8-27-2023] 5:00 pm.

·      Submission of Proposals: by [8-28-2023] 5:00 pm.

·      Interviews of shortlisted individuals: [8-28-2023 through 9-1-2023]

·      Selection of graphics designer announced: [9-4-2023]

For clarity, all proposals must be received by 5:00 pm on [8-28-2023]

9. Conflict of Interest

As this project involves direct work with the regulatory authority governing naturopathic doctors, individuals must indicate any potential for a conflict of interest. A conflict of interest may exist where the individual is providing similar services to a professional association, either in naturopathy or another profession, or with another organization that may have a relationship with the College.

Providing similar services to other health regulatory Colleges in Ontario or other jurisdictions would not be considered a conflict of interest.

10. Proposal Evaluation Process and Criteria

10.1 Evaluation Process and Contract Award

Proposals will be reviewed by the Communications Department and Senior Management Team of the College, who will evaluate the proposals based on the criteria set out below. Should the College award the contract, the winning individual will be expected to sign an agreement provided by the College.

10.2 Evaluation Criteria

The College will evaluate all proposals based on criteria and scoring:

1.    Overall fit of the firm or individual with the College (5 points).

2.    Soundness of the proposed approach of the firm or individual and its consistency with the College’s expectations (10 points

3.    Relevancy of the experience and qualifications of the individual (s) assigned to the work (10 points).

4.    The overall experience and expertise of the individual (10 points).

5.    Proposed costs (5 points will be awarded based on the lowest costs)

6.    Feedback provided by references (10 points)

How to apply?