A Request for Proposals has been released by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), which is looking to hire a consultant to assist the agency in making changes in the organizational culture and climate.
The RFP reads, “VTA’s workforce has suffered extreme trauma and setbacks from multiple crises, starting with the COVID pandemic in early 2020, followed by a crippling cyber-attack and the tragic mass shooting on May 26, 2021. This was compounded by the long-standing and previously known structural problems called out by the VTA Board of Directors in a referral to administration on Sept. 2, 2021.”
The authority explains a $20 million state funding initiative, spearheaded by California State Sen. Dave Cortese (D-15), led to the creation of a union-management partnership tasked with a collaborative approach to decide how the funds should be used.
Santa Clara VTA says the funding provides “the opportunity to make sustainable, structural changes that will improve the internal support system for VTA employees and enhance the work environment to enable all VTA employees to feel respected, safe and confident to do their jobs providing essential public transit service to the residents of Santa Clara County.”
At minimum, interested entities should have:
- Experience in a public-sector setting and an understanding of the union environment.
- Experience with trauma-informed approaches to communications and culture change systems.
- Ability to offer ongoing coaching services.
- Experience conducting organizational survey outreach.
- Experience conducting interviews and focus groups exploring challenges and opportunities for improvement.
Santa Clara VTA is asking interested parties to apply on its website after registering as an agency vendor. The deadline to submit proposals is Jan. 31, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. Pacific.
A link to the RFP is provided for convenience; interested entities should follow the process outlined by the authority to submit proposals.
