COTA is seeking a qualified and experienced consultant to lead the COTA Board of Trustees, Staff, and key stakeholders through a process of developing/updating the organization’s strategic 5-year plan. The plan will include measurable outcomes to guide and track performance. The purpose of the document is to define and communicate COTA’s vision over the next five years (2025 -2030) and present how COTA will achieve this vision. COTA is embarking on several large initiatives, including the implementation of the LinkUS program which will increase COTA’s service by 45% over the next 25 years, with significant growth planned by 2030. Experience with public agencies or transit is preferred. The consultant shall outline a process in their proposal that includes: • A SWOT analysis identifying the challenges and opportunities facing COTA and the transportation industry, including in central Ohio, and documenting those in the final report; • Engaging COTA Board of Trustees, COTA staff; and key stakeholders in the community with an interactive process to review and update the following: o Vision o Mission o Values o Goals o Strategies o Objectives • Workshops/focus groups with COTA Board of Trustees, Leadership Team, Management and Administrative employees along with key stakeholders (utilizing existing COTA committees and groups); • Peer transit agency comparisons who are going through rapid growth and expanding service offerings; • Mobility industry comparisons, including but not limited to service providers, trends in manufacturing, technology, marketing and communications industry, and infrastructure policy/development; • Trends in emerging technologies and external forces (i.e., rideshare, autonomous vehicles, technology, construction market, remote work, etc.); • Implementation and schedule development including benchmarking and tracking of goals, strategies and objectives; • Evaluation of continuing relevance of current strategic plan and core objectives; • Identification of best practices for metrics or performance indicators as compared to other transit agencies; • Analysis of plan implementation opportunities and challenges; • Communication plan for internal and external rollout. The consultant will identify how various existing plans and initiatives impact COTA and can be incorporated into the strategic plan. During the process the consultant is expected to facilitate strategic planning workshops to provide an opportunity for employees to learn about or contribute to the strategic planning process, present to the COTA Board of Trustees at various stages, and to deliver a comprehensive strategic planning document complete with any updated Vision, Mission, Values, Goals, Strategies with metrics and trackable performance measures. The consultant will create evaluation criteria to assess new and current projects, initiatives and practices that relate to achieving COTA’s mission. SCHEDULE The consultant should advise on the schedule from time of contract execution to delivery of the final document to COTA. It is expected that routine briefing meetings/calls will be held by the consultant to keep the Leadership Team (President/CEO and Chiefs) apprised of the progress. And at a minimum, the content, including a draft status report, will be presented at the midway point of the process for the Leadership Team to review and comment on, and a draft final report submitted for review a minimum thirty (30) calendar days prior final report preparation. The consultant will also be expected to attend, participate and lead strategic planning conversations during one (1) day Board of Trustees retreat (April 14, 2025) and one (1) day Leadership Team retreat (TBD). DELIVERABLES During the strategic planning process, it is expected that several deliverables will occur at various stages through the process. The consultant will facilitate and document the strategic planning workshops, one on one or stakeholder meeting summaries, and provide written reports and PowerPoint presentations as the process develops. The deliverables at a minimum will include: • Proposed Project Plan and Schedule • Resource commitment calendar • Comprehensive information requests at the commencement of the contract • Summary documents • Strategic Planning Board Workshops • PowerPoint Presentations at various stages of the project as needed • Draft Strategic Plan • Final Strategic Plan that includes: o Mission statement o Vision statement o Values description o Goals for the Authority Outcomes from which to measure progress Establishment of Report Card • Description of the role of each division within COTA and how each division achieves the mission and vision of COTA • Workshop presentations, reports • Opportunities and Challenges in Central Ohio including transportation, land use and population and employment growth • Peer agency comparisons, identifying the best-in-class examples to model COTA towards similar performance • Industry trends/comparisons • External forces awareness • Comprehensive, agency wide schedule with benchmarks for identified projects and tasks • Executive Summary of Strategic Plan, including vision, mission, values and major projects with goals, strategies and objectives • PowerPoint presentation of final document • Strategic Planning Material for public use in multiple formats, including but not limited to print, electronic (examples, video, brochures, one-pagers, PowerPoint, Prezi, digital to be incorporated into website, app, or digital displays) • Implementation Strategy including training staff for both development and implementation • Template and structure for annual reporting • Communication Plan for both internal and external use
