Request for Proposals: Credible Messenger Academy Delivered to the City of Philadelphia Office of Policy and Strategic Initiatives for Criminal Justice and Public Safety

THIS OPPORTUNITY IS NOW CLOSED. 

Questions about this RFP should be submitted to cityfund@phila.gov and sara.autori@phila.gov by November 3, 2023.

Proposals must be received no later than 5:00 PM Philadelphia, PA, local time, November 20, 2023. A pdf version of the proposal must be emailed to: cityfund@phila.gov and sara.autori@phila.gov.

The Philadelphia City Fund and the Philadelphia Office of Policy and Strategic Initiatives for Criminal Justice and Public Safety seek qualified professional firms to design and implement a Credible Messenger Academy (CMA) for programs that address gun violence administered by the City of Philadelphia municipal government and its partners. The CMA will train Credible Messengers—staff with lived experience who are conducting outreach to individuals with high risk of involvement in gun violence—and aims to professionalize the field within the city.

The Office’s objective for this project is to design and implement the credible messenger academy (CMA), including the development of curriculum and conducting the CMA. The curriculum should include subjects related but not limited to conflict resolution, mediation, trauma-informed care, public speaking, data entry and analysis, and related topics. The selected Vendor will conduct research on existing CMA models and conduct focus groups and/or interviews with individuals currently working in the field to design the curriculum. The resulting CMA will include multiple learning modalities, such as on-site, experiential learning. The selected Vendor should explore opportunities for the curriculum to result in a certification and for participants to receive accreditation and continuing education credits. The contracted party will propose the size of the cohort(s) and timeframe for CMA operation, ideally serving 65-70 individuals in a cohort model and should begin and conclude within the 2024 calendar year.

Further information about the scope of work and process for submitting proposals can be found in the full RFP.