RFP: Measurement & Evaluation Consultant

Request for Proposals: Measurement & Evaluation Consultant

Campus Action Planning for Civic & Community Engagement (CAP)

Project Summary:

Campus Compact is seeking a qualified measurement and evaluation consultant to lead the development and implementation of the assessment and evaluation strategy for its Campus Action Planning for Civic & Community Engagement (CAP) project. This national initiative supports colleges and universities in creating and implementing adaptive and agile institution-wide strategies for civic and community engagement as well as supporting campuses in the cultivation and advancement of Chief Engagement Officer roles.

Key Responsibilities:

The selected consultant(s) will ensure project process and outcomes are measured and documented to inform both immediate improvement and long-term fi eld impact in the following key areas:

• Process & Performance: Establish metrics, including but not limited to process, performance, and success indicators that align with project outcomes, current research, and effective practices.
• Evaluation Framework Establishment: Development of an initiative-wide evaluation framework.
• Data Collection: Collect mixed methods data across all CAP activities using appropriate tools and methods. This may involve adapting existing data collection tools and/or processes, or developing new ones. These tools and processes will be utilized during the contract period and beyond for continued monitoring, tracking, and evaluation.
• Data Analysis: Analyze mixed methods data across CAP activities to assess process and content efficacy along with the achievement of desired project outcomes.
• CAP Supports Evaluation: Evaluate the CAP experience for innovation cohort and independent campus-community teams.
• CAP Project Team: Assess the engagement and team experience of the CAP Fellows and Coaches as they prepare CAP modules, provide subject-matter expertise, and/or facilitation support.
• Chief Engagement Officer Learning Community: Evaluate the effectiveness of the learning community experience.
• Alignment with the broader Campus Compact Measurement & Evaluation efforts and priorities.

Project Overview:

Term: May 2026 to March 2027 (10 months)

Budget: Up to $40,000

Contact: Alexis Bucknam, Project Director, Campus Action Planning, abucknam@compact.org

Proposal Submission Proposals Due by Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at 11:59 PM PST

Questions regarding the RFP will be accepted until Thursday, April 23, 2026 12:00 pm PDT via email to abucknam@compact.org. Please read the entire RFP before submitting questions.

Submission Instruction:

Please submit proposals of up to 10 pages, single-spaced, twelve point font, by Wednesday, April 29th at 11:59 PDT via this form. https://form.asana.com/?k=J_zbiw18-EbWA1R-tYCIcg&d=282606620554271

Proposals should include the following in a single PDF document:

• An abstract of the full proposal (250 words)
• a proposed assessment and evaluation methodology;
• a work style statement (300 words maximum);
• a proposed timeline;
• examples of previous successful project assessments and evaluations;
• a summary of relevant evaluation experience for participating consultant(s);
• budget and budget narrative (should include travel costs if consultant wants to gather data at one or more in person events); and
• CVs for relevant consultant(s) (CV(s) do not count toward the 10 page limit).

Proposal Evaluation Criteria that will be used for review:

● Previous experience with evaluation in higher education

● Quality of provided examples

● Strength of proposed measurement approach and methodology

● Feasibility of timeline

● Budget/value

Campus Compact Organizational Background Campus Compact is a national coalition of colleges and universities that supports, engages, and challenges higher education to realize its public purpose. Campus Compact empowers colleges and universities to advance their academic and civic missions by partnering with communities to address complex social issues and further equity, justice, and prosperity for all. Founded in 1985, Campus Compact is the nation's largest and oldest national association solely dedicated to advancing the civic and community engagement mission of higher education. Our members make up a force of thousands of presidents, faculty, researchers, students, and civic and community engagement experts.

Campus Compact envisions colleges and universities as vital agents and architects of a diverse democracy, committed to educating students for responsible citizenship in ways that both deepen their education and improve the quality of community life. We challenge all of higher education to make civic and community engagement an institutional priority. Learn more at compact.org.

Summary of Campus Action Planning for Civic & Community Engagement Project:

Campus Action Planning for Civic & Community Engagement (CAP) reaffirms higher education’s public purpose by enabling institutions to leverage institutional power and resources holistically to promote equity, justice, and a thriving democracy.

This program helps colleges and universities center strategic planning, action-oriented decision-making, and accountability, to maximize their capacities to generate social impact. At the heart of this action-planning effort is a commitment to integrating civic and community engagement across institutional functions to pursue community impact that mobilizes the full range of campus assets—from research and teaching to operations and economic influence—to address complex social challenges.

The CAP project reinvigorates a 2016 effort that resulted in over 130 completed action plans. This new iteration focuses on supporting campus-community teams through peer coaching and mentoring, workshops and institutes designed for teams and individuals, and professional development cohorts for team leaders and senior administrators. The selected consultant will ensure project outcomes are measured and documented to inform both immediate improvement and long-term field impact.

Scope of Work:

The consultant(s) will design and implement a comprehensive evaluation framework focusing on process and short-term outcomes, in addition to designing a framework and plan for measuring long-term impact beyond the contract period. The consultant(s) will serve as a key partner to the CAP Project Director, who is the strategic and operational lead, and the Senior Fellow, who is the primary strategic and technical advisor for the project. Other key Campus Compact staff they consultant(s) may interact with are the Senior Vice President, Strategy, who oversees the initiative, and the Senior Manager, Strategic Initiatives, who serves in both a thought partner and supportive capacity for the project.

Programmatic Interventions:

Campuses may engage in CAP either as part of a cohort or through participation in one or more independent activities, designed to help with the details of planning and implementation of a CAP process.

The consultant(s) are responsible for developing assessment and evaluation processes, protocols, and instruments for the following CAP Activities:

1. CAP Framework: Document designed to support campus-community teams develop a CAP for their local context.
2. CAP Resources: Curated resource hub to support planning and implementation.
3. Call to Action Symposia: Virtual and in-person Events designed to increase interest and engagement from campus leaders and community engagement professionals in completing a CAP.
4. Institutes: Two-day in-person events for campus-community teams to begin developing and refining their CAP strategy and approach.
5. Innovation Cohort: A facilitated experience for 20 institutional teams that includes participation in a CAP Institute, monthly virtual convenings, individual team coaching calls, webinars, and access to curated resources.
6. Coaching Calls: Tailored guidance in small groups or 1:1 provided by fi eld experts with previous experience with campus action planning for civic & community engagement.
7. Reporting Metrics: Development of a set of ongoing standardized reporting metrics for CAP development and implementation.
8. Webinars: Topical sessions offered to both Innovation Cohort and Independent Campus Teams.
9. Chief Engagement Officer (CEng) Learning Community: A peer learning community for cabinet and cabinet-adjacent level engagement leaders. Participants will co-create a guide focused on the increased development of these types of roles at institutions and what is needed to further support them once they are in their position. .
10. Fellowship and Coaching Experience: Team of expert scholar-practitioners (Fellows and Coaches) partnering with Campus Compact to develop and implement the CAP initiative.

Projected Timeline:

(Timing may vary depending on project progress)

April 2026

• Complete Fellows recruitment and start and complete recruitment of Coaches
• Innovation Cohort recruitment

May 2026

• Selection of M&E Evaluator
• Fellows Retreat (Virtual)
• Fellows begin developing CAP modules and curriculum
• Call to Action Symposium #1 & Release of CAP Framework (Virtual)
• Innovation Cohort selection begins
• Recruit CEng Learning Community Facilitators
• CEng Learning Community Recruitment

June 2026

• Innovation Cohort Orientation #1 (Virtual)
• CAP Core Team Retreat (Fellows, Coaches, & CC Staff) (In Peron)
• Coaching Calls (Virtual)
• CEng Learning Community Meeting #1 (Virtual)

July 2026

• Innovation Cohort Orientation #2 (Virtual)
• Coaching Calls (Virtual)
• CEng Learning Community Meeting #2 (Virtual)

August 2026

• Institute #1 - Innovation Cohort (In Person)
• Coaching Calls (Virtual)
• Webinar #1
• CEng Learning Community Meeting #3 (Virtual)

September 2026

• Innovation Cohort Monthly Convening #1 (Virtual)
• Call to Action Symposium #2 (In Person)
• Coaching Calls (Virtual)
• Webinar #2
• CEng Learning Community Meeting #4 (Virtual)

October 2026

• Innovation Cohort Monthly Convening #2 (Virtual)
• Call to Action Institute #3 (In Person)
• Institute #2 (In Person)
• Coaching Calls (Virtual)
• CEng Learning Community Meeting #5 (Virtual)

November 2026

• Innovation Cohort Monthly Convening #3 (Virtual)
• Webinar #3
• Coaching Calls (Virtual)
• CEng Learning Community Meeting #5 (Virtual)

December 2026

• Innovation Cohort Closing Session (Virtual)
• Institute #3 (In Person)
• Coaching Calls (Virtual)
• CAP Innovation Cohort Submissions
• CEng Learning Community Meeting #6 (Virtual)

Specific Deliverables:

The consultant(s) are responsible for delivering the following:

• Evaluation Plan and data collection tools for the multiple aspects of the project.
• CAP Interim Process and Evaluation Reports.
• CAP Process and Outcome Evaluation Reports on both the Innovation Cohort and independent campus-community teams that undertake CAP outside the cohort experience and access one or more of the supports offered by Campus Compact (e.g. symposia, institute) . Request for Proposals: Measurement & Evaluation Consultant • Page 5 of 6
• Future oriented CAP Impact Measurement Framework and Reporting Templates for implementation tracking.
• Dashboard for ongoing CAP monitoring and tracking
• CEng Learning Community Evaluation.

Expectations:

As consultant(s) with Campus Compact, we hope that you will strive to represent and live Campus Compact’s Shared Values & Commitments in both how you show up for and engage with Campus Compact, its staff, other consultants, partners, and communities. Additionally, consultant(s) are expected to engage in the following ways and should explicitly showcase these in their proposal:

• Collaborative Strategy: Work closely with the Project Director and Director of Measurement & Evaluation to ensure evaluation aligns with project implementation, funder expectations, and broader organizational M&E strategies.
• Ongoing Communication: Meet regularly with the Project Director and relevant CAP Team members to develop a shared understanding, seek consultation, and report on progress.
• Adaptable: Remaining agile and adaptable throughout the project as priorities, timelines, and outcomes shift based on feedback from team members and the funder.