Fwd: Boulder Public Library District BoulderReads Evaluation Project Attachments and Q&A
Colorado Evaluation Network
From: Jennifer Phares <pha...@boulderlibrary.org>
Date: Tue, Apr 8, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Subject: Boulder Public Library District BoulderReads Evaluation Project Attachments and Q&A
To: Jennifer Phares <pha...@boulderlibrary.org>
Dear Evaluation Organizations and Consultants,
You received the RFP from the Boulder Public Library to work with our adult literacy BoulderReads team to implement evaluation best practices, update tools and processes for information gathering, and learn to use these best practices and tools to evaluate and report on the impact of the adult literacy programs. We have received several questions previously and one today (#10) about the project. Below are all the questions and responses to date. We will respond to any additional questions early next week after the Monday, April 14 deadline.
The Attachments A and B referenced in the RFP are attached as they were not sent with the RFP.
Thank you in advance for your interest in this project and for considering submitting a proposal.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Phares
Questions Received about the RFP and Responses
- We noticed the proposal deadline is in August. Is there a specific reporting deadline or another key date we should be aware of, or is there flexibility in the timeline?
We would like the core of the work to be done by the end of August. If there are some parts that would be best to have taken place in September, such as the final reporting forms and presentation, that would be okay. We would like to hear from you about what is possible to get done by the end of August.
- Is there flexibility in the budget? If not, would it be possible for library staff to take on a larger role in certain aspects of the evaluation project to better align with the given budget?
$20,000 is the maximum available at this time. We would like to hear from you about what you would propose and what you would be able to complete with this budget so we can understand what the library staff would need to take on.
- Could you please share any data that has already been gathered using the GivePulse system?
Below is the type of data that the BoulderReads Program currently collects:
1:1 Tutoring
- Learner Demographics
- Learner goals
- Monthly reports
- Program hours
- Learner progress
- Volunteer demographics
- Volunteer hours
CIE
- Volunteer Demographics
- Volunteer hours
- Program hours
- Learner attendance
High School Equivalency Classes
- Volunteer demographics
- Volunteer hours
- Drop-in learner attendance
- Program hours
Reading Buddies
- Volunteer demographics
- Volunteer hours
- Which activities within BoulderReads are in scope for this project?
The activities within the scope of this project are our adult literacy programming, which includes:
- Tutoring One-on-One
- English and Spanish High School Equivalency classes
- Conversations in English
- Citizenship Classes
- Writing Center (staff lead starting in late April yet the basic program goals and model are outlined)
It is worth noting that each program is different in terms of size and number of users.
While we will need to develop evaluation tools for our other BoulderReads programs, these programs are not included in this RFP:
- English as Second Language (manager of the project will not start until the end of June and the entire model still needs to be created)
- Reading Children’s programming
- Do you have logic models, theories of change, or any other framework that describes the activities and intended outcomes of BoulderReads (or the activities within it)?
We do not currently have logic models or theories of change, or formal frameworks for our literacy programs.
- A) Can you list the current data collection tools (e.g., surveys, observation protocols, etc.) that will need revision in this project? B) And of these, which do you anticipate you might use to collect data in June/July/August, if we keep the data collection cadence similar?
- As noted in #3 above, we collect this information. Additionally, we:
- Observe high school equivalency classes and conduct post evaluations. We also track who has completed their high school equivalency.
- Tutoring one-on-one, we collect progress towards goals.
The ESL and Writing Center are just getting started this summer.
This summer we hope to use:
- Pre and post surveys
- Possible interviews and observations
- Collect the data noted in #3.
- Can you share what technology tools the BoulderReads team is using to collect, store, and analyze data?
We collect the data in #3 in our volunteer system called GivePulse. The other information is collected in Word and Excel documents.
- As this project is intended to help refine evaluation tools/templates/processes that staff will use going forward, it will be important that some team members are able to be actively engaged in co-designing and testing these resources. How much time do the BoulderReads team members and/or other stakeholders have to contribute to this project? Helpful answers could be along the lines of, “A maximum of one or two hours per week,” “One of our staff can give up to 5 hours per week,” or “This work is 20% of _____ team members’ time.”
The three current adult literacy staff will have up to 3 hours per week to work on evaluation between June and August.
The new WritingCenter staff member will have up to 4 hours per week.
- Is one of the BoulderReads team members comfortable with spreadsheets?
Yes, all the team members are comfortable with spreadsheets.
- New question received 4/8/25 Will the review committee consider evaluation experts outside of the field of adult literacy and will program leads and staff be involved in the development of the strategy and plan over the course of the project?
Yes, we will consider all proposals that are submitted to the Boulder Public Library by the deadline as long as the organization or consultant has evaluation expertise and experience.
And, yes, the staff and program leaders will be involved and work with the consultants on this project in developing the evaluation strategy and plans over the course of the project. Through the proposal, we would like to understand the time expectations for the staff who will be involved in this work.
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