Request For Proposal
EHS Anniversary Celebration and Conference
Environmental Health Sciences (EHS) has issued a Request for Proposals for an event planner or production company to assist in planning EHS’s 20th anniversary celebration and multi-day thought leadership conference in Houston, Texas in early Q1 (late Jan or Feb) 2024.
Environmental Health Sciences is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and science organization that aims to drive good science into public policy and public discussion on our environment and health, including climate change. EHS believes that high quality science should be the foundation of public health policy, and that progress is never a result of scientific discovery alone; it requires other forces: crusading journalism, advocacy, politics.
We work with and within science and journalism to elevate power within communities and create opportunities so that race, gender, and/or ZIP code do not predict your health or environment. As we unwind the systems that created historic and ongoing inequities, we use stories and journalism to breathe life into tangible impacts of those inequities – and to highlight paths toward a more equitable future.
Project Summary
EHS looks to commemorate 20+ years of work advancing environmental health with a celebratory gathering looking at the work done to date and charting a path forward for the years to come.
Using this milestone as an anchor point, EHS hopes to convene and engage its staff, biggest supporters and key partners and stakeholders, especially future leaders in the field. This event will target influential partners and supporters focused on toxic chemicals, health impacts, national and international policy change and more. This event is meant to be cross-audience, to facilitate high-level learning via working sessions that move the field forward across the fields of environmental health and justice. Outreach will include both friends/peers of EHS and organizations/individuals of interest – and a mix of senior researchers and field leaders and early career scientists and activists.
We are seeking support and guidance from a professional company that is skilled in planning celebrations and conferences. We are particularly interested in those local to Houston, but we will gladly accept proposals from elsewhere. Firms with experience planning events for nonprofit, philanthropic or educational clients are of particular interest.
Event Scope Overview
The event consists of three parts: the celebration dinner, the conference, and a post-conference EHS staff meeting/debrief. The celebration dinner will be held the night before the conference. It will include a networking/cocktail reception, a 60-90 minute program during dinner—including a keynote from a prominent guest speaker—and celebration activities after dinner.
The conference will be one-and-a-half to two days long. A single ‘track’ may be the most effective way to organize the event, though EHS will consider breakout sessions if that format serves our goals. The conference should include networking opportunities, working sessions/roundtables on key topics, and group learning sessions on core concepts. Thematically, the first portion of the conference should focus on “where we’ve been,” while the second portion looks to opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. While EHS is an organization that puts research at the center of its activities, we do not plan to include a call for research paper submissions for this event. We intend to host a small awards ceremony to acknowledge notable accomplishments of the leading scientists and reporters in our field.
The third component is a post-conference staff meeting for 15 to 20 of EHS’ staffers and key contractors.
We intend to host this event in Houston and do not plan to include a virtual component. We anticipate an audience of 50-100 attendees for the anniversary celebration and 50-100 attendees for the conference. We are targeting early Q1 2024 for the event.
RFP Response Requirements
The term of the contract will span from late Q2 2023 through Q1 2024. EHS is ideally targeting late January or February 2024 to host this event; the contract should cover planning, execution, and event wrap-up. Individuals, organizations, associations, or other interested parties may apply for the contract through this Request for Proposals. All interested participants will need to review the RFP to ensure compliance with all requirements. EHS is not responsible for reimbursement of expenses related to submitting a proposal in response to this RFP.
Proposals should include:
- Cover letter
- A description of relevant capabilities and services that can be used to plan and host this event
- Statement of the organization’s qualifications, including any examples of similar projects executed for nonprofit, philanthropy or educational clients
- Background of key personnel who will be involved
- Estimated cost proposal and/or pricing model
- Statement of the organization’s expectations and approach to working with clients on event production projects
- Share your organization’s strategy and initiatives around diversity, equity and inclusion, including how your firm’s leadership demonstrates its commitment and how your staff are supported in these efforts. For example, what initiatives are in place to recruit, retain, and advance a diverse workplace?
EHS expects an open dialogue with the event planning firm, including regular calls and/or written updates on progress (a schedule will be determined collaboratively by EHS and the firm).
Completed proposals must be received at EHS no later than Friday, May 12 at 5 p.m. Mountain Time. No late proposals will be accepted. Submissions must be made by email. We are happy to discuss questions about this proposal and conference; please call EHS Executive Director Douglas Fischer directly at 406-600-8469.
Emailed submissions should be sent to Lorna Scribner (lorna@ehsciences.org). The vendor will be selected and notified by Wednesday, May 24. More information about EHS can be found at www.ehsciences.org.