Specifications include, but are not limited to: The State of Maine is seeking proposals for facilitation and meeting support for the Maine Climate Council and its working groups as they work to update the State’s climate action plan, Maine Won’t Wait. Task 1: Facilitate Maine Climate Council Working Group Meetings - 6-8 meetings for each of 6 working groups plus approximately 2 meetings for cross-cutting areas (e.g., land use) between September 2023 and June 2024, ranging from 1.5 to 3 hours. Meetings may be in person, hybrid, or virtual as determined by the co-chairs of each working group. Work with working group staff and co-chairs to co-design meeting agendas to promote constructive interaction, including determining the best virtual/hybrid/in-person options to accomplish meeting goals and ensure participation. Work with working group staff and co-chairs to prepare any materials necessary to support the successful execution of each meeting’s agenda. Facilitate productive conversations at the meetings. Manage virtual and/or hybrid participation in meetings, as needed. This may include serving as Zoom “host” to monitor participants, Q&A and Chat, panelist participation, and troubleshooting. For hybrid meetings, monitor virtual attendees to ensure they can participate. Some meetings may be broadcast for the public to observe. Prioritization and decision-making. As the groups move towards prioritizing and deciding on a package of recommendations, some will need assistance to guide the consensus-building process, weighing options, naming points of agreement, and handling ongoing differences. This assistance might occur at a longer meeting and/or at particularly important working group sessions. Such assistance would come at the request of co-chairs. Develop concise meeting summaries that are shared with all participants Overall support and process design. Work with working group co-chairs to determine areas of focus for each working group. Task 2: Facilitate Maine Climate Council Meetings – 6-8 meetings between September 2023 and December 2024, ranging from 1.5 hours to a full day. Meetings may be in person, hybrid, or virtual as determined by the Steering Committee. Work with GOPIF staff and Council co-chairs to co-design meeting agendas to promote constructive interaction. Work with the Steering Committee and GOPIF staff to prepare any materials necessary to support the successful execution of each meeting’s agenda. Facilitate productive conversations at the meetings. Manage virtual and/or hybrid participation in meetings, as needed, including broadcasting in-person meetings so the public can observe. Develop concise meeting summaries that are shared with all participants. Prioritization and decision-making. Once the working groups have turned their recommendations over to the Council, the 39-member group will seek to reach agreement on a prioritized set of actions that is coherent and meets Maine’s climate goals. Process support at this stage may include: co-designing meetings; assisting to develop materials to support decision-making; guiding problem-solving exchanges; identifying opportunities to resolve tough issues through targeted work with individual members or smaller sub-groups. Task 3: Support Broad Public Engagement – GOPIF is seeking to facilitate broad public engagement to educate individuals on the climate action strategies and build support for the MCC process. GOPIF will seek to provide multiple opportunities for the public to learn about and engage with the plan during the beginning, middle, and end of the planning process. Present up to 4 public webinars throughout the climate planning process from September 2023 to December 2024. Design webinars, together with GOPIF staff, to promote constructive interaction. Assist GOPIF staff identifying materials that should be developed and provided ahead of and during the webinars. Assist GOPIF staff in developing surveys to allow participants to submit feedback following webinars. Develop concise summaries that are shared with all participants. Task 4: Support Targeted Stakeholder Engagement – Each WG will be expected to conduct 2 meetings with key stakeholders relevant to the WG’s areas of focus. Meetings may be in-person or virtual, as determined by WG co-chairs. Facilitate approximately 12 meetings with key stakeholders in relevant industries and affected populations. Work with co-chairs, GOPIF staff and partner organizations to design stakeholder meeting agendas to promote constructive interaction. Assist GOPIF staff and co-chairs in identifying materials that should be developed and provided ahead of and during the meetings. Facilitate productive conversations during the meetings. Develop concise summaries that are shared with all participants. Task 5: Overall Process Design Assist GOPIF staff with design and timeline for overall climate planning process. Support would include providing periodic consultative advice to leadership regarding questions such as steps/sequencing, managing particularly difficult issues, and handling interactions among the Council, working groups and the public. Work may be performed at the bidder’s own facility and at various locations throughout Maine, as determined by GOPIF staff and WG co-chairs.All correspondence must be made through the Vendor Portal.
