APGA Strategic Plan Facilitator

Job Description

Executive Summary

The American Public Gardens Association (APGA) is accepting proposals from individuals and firms to facilitate the development of the organization’s next Strategic Plan launching in January 2025. The successful applicant will facilitate a comprehensive planning process, engaging a wide variety of stakeholders including board members, staff, Association leaders and members, partners, and sponsors to create a robust Strategic Plan to guide the organization for the next three – five years.

About Us

About the American Public Gardens Association

The American Public Gardens Association is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization and is the leading professional organization for the field of public horticulture. We advance the field by encouraging best practices, offering educational and networking opportunities, and acting as champions on behalf of our members and public gardens worldwide. We work together with our members and others to strengthen and shape public horticulture, providing the tools and support industry professionals need to better serve the public while preserving and celebrating plants creatively and sustainably.

Since 1940, we have been committed to increasing cooperation and awareness among gardens. Our members include more than 10,000 individuals at over 600 institutions and corporations, primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as 12 other countries. Our members include, but are not limited to, botanic gardens, arboreta, zoos, historic estates, college and university gardens, display gardens, and research facilities.

In 2022, APGA moved to a 100% remote work organization. Work will be done remotely or at APGA board meetings around the country. Key dates have been identified for these sessions.

Our Vision: A world where public gardens are indispensable.

Our Mission: We champion and advance public gardens as leaders, advocates, and innovators in the conservation and appreciation of plants.

Our Values:

•  Cultivate Passion: We are a community of environmental stewards who love people and plants. We meet all opportunities and challenges with courage, creativity, teamwork, and mutual respect.
• Elevate Our Voice: We champion public gardens by using our collective voice to advance public horticulture and gardens through policy, awareness, advocacy, and facilitating change.
• Collaborate Authentically: We believe sustainable collaborations require transparency, empowerment, and accountability as we challenge one another and ask the hard questions.
• Grow Thoughtfully: We believe in the pursuit of individual and collective fulfillment through connecting, learning, leading, sharing, and problem-solving.

 Current Strategic Plan Goals

Goal 1: Engagement

Grow and nurture relationships with members by offering services and resources that anticipate and fulfill their needs.

Goal 2: Professional Development

Offer quality educational resources and exemplary professional development opportunities to a diverse membership. 

Goal 3: Leadership and Resilience

Lead the promotion of public gardens as cornerstones for resilient, healthy communities. Build capacity and enhance the ability to extol how their work provides solutions to local and global challenges.

Goal 4: Organizational Excellence

Continue pursuit of organizational excellence and a business model that promotes sustainability, resilience, and core IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity, and access) principles.

Duties & Responsibilities

Project Scope

APGA’s current Strategic Plan, the Garden I.D.E.A.L., was launched in 2019 as a five-year plan to guide operational growth and expansion, providing more member resources and engagement opportunities.   Shortly after the plan was launched, the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by an organization leadership change, disrupted the plan’s implementation. In early 2023, APGA staff updated the plan’s objectives by determining what had been completed, what was underway, and what was no longer a priority in the current environment. For more information, please visit https://www.publicgardens.org/about/strategic-plan/.

As we approach the end of the Garden I.D.E.A.L. Strategic Plan, it is time to begin planning for the future with a new 3 – 5 year Strategic Plan. An ad-hoc committee of APGA board members, staff, and others has been formed to work with the consultant(s) on this important project. Key areas of work are as follows:

• Conduct a strategic assessment of the organization and all departments/services, including a thorough review of existing materials, interviews and surveys of key stakeholders (including but not limited to board members, staff, garden members, partners, etc.).
• Create a summary of the strategic review for discussion by the Board that identifies and outlines key concerns and/or opportunities to be addressed by the organization.
• Design and conduct facilitated strategic planning meetings for the Strategic Planning Committee, APGA board, department leaders and key staff to discuss the outlined key concerns and/or opportunities with the goal of reaching consensus on desired outcomes and action plans.
• In collaboration with the Strategic Planning Committee, synthesize the discussions into a 3 – 5 year Strategic Plan approval by the Board of Directors.

Some anticipated project elements and responsibilities include:

• Develop a comprehensive timeline. The project should be ready for board approval by January 2025.
• Develop strategic priorities (3 – 5 year goals), strategies (1-year goals), KPIs, and action plans that align with our vision, mission and values.
• Include a process for APGA to annually review and evaluate goals, report outcomes, and develop new strategies based on the evaluation.

The successful candidate will report to the Strategic Planning Committee Chair and the Association’s CEO. They will work with the Strategic Planning Committee, APGA board, staff, member gardens, partners, and sponsors via phone, MS Teams, email, and at in-person events.

Additional Information

Project Timeline

November 17, 2023: RFP Release Date

December 20, 2023: RFP Deadline

January 12, 2024:      Candidate Selection

February 1-28, 2024: Contract Begins.  Evaluate status of current strategic plan goals and

objectives, finalize planning process goals and objectives, and begin implementation.

April 24, 2024:             In-person strategic planning day at Board meeting in Atlanta, GA

June 25-27, 2024:      Touch point/Member session for strategic planning at Conference, Boston, MA

September 12, 2024: In-person strategic planning day at Board meeting in Upperville, VA

January 2025:            Adopt strategic plan at Board Meeting

February 2025:          Announce to Membership and Rollout Begins

*Please note: virtual meetings will be planned in between in-person meetings.

 Applicant Selection Timeline

• RFP Release Date: November 17
• Questions due by: December 1
• Question responses will be provided on: December 8
• Proposal Deadline: December 20
• Selection Period: December 22 – January 11
• Contract Starts: February 16, 2024

Application Instructions

Submission Instructions

 Submit any questions by December 1, 2024, and a full proposal by EOD December 20, 2024, to  mprovaznik@publicgardens.org including the following:

• Company name, address, email, phone, website
• 3-4 client references
• 3-5 top relevant projects, by industry and/or project type.
  • For relevant projects chosen, include information about why you selected each; what about each project or experience gained from it would assist you with the Association’s Strategic Plan?
• Names of individual(s) that will work on the project, their roles, certifications or accreditations, previous experience, and responsibilities for this project.
• Any additional resources required for support.
• General overview of project launch process and timeline.
• Project management approach
• Project Budget
  • Include a detailed description of project costs and billing, including how changes in scope, and budget overages are addressed.

Contacts

For more information, please contact Michelle Provaznik, CEO at mprovaznik@publicgardens.org

Short-list Selection

Applicants who have demonstrated their capacity to meet our needs will be contacted via phone and/or email to be notified of their selection to move forward in the selection process. Applicants that have not been selected will not be contacted.