request for proposals

CURRICULUM CONSULTANT: JUSTICE NAVIGATORS IN ALBERTA PROJECT

IN BRIEF

The Alberta Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies (AAISA) is seeking a Curriculum Consultant to develop a comprehensive logic model/ competency mapping path on onboarding and professional development training plan for the Justice Navigators in Alberta Project. The Justice Navigator is a frontline, non-legal professional role created to improve access to justice for immigrants and refugees by strengthening service coordination and enhancing the cultural responsiveness of justice-related services across Alberta. Justice Navigators serve as a vital bridge between newcomers and the legal system by providing legal information, navigation support, and connections to both community and legal resources. The training plan will outline a robust, competency-based curriculum that includes both legal literacy and newcomer-serving sector modules. This curriculum path will support the onboarding of new Justice Navigators and provide ongoing professional development to continuously build their capacity to assist newcomers in understanding and navigating the justice system effectively.

ABOUT AAISA

The Alberta Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies (AAISA) is a non-profit umbrella organization that has represented, supported, and advocated for Alberta’s settlement and integration sector since 1980. Collectively, AAISA member agencies offer services to newcomers in over 22 municipalities across the province. AAISA’s mandate is to build sector capacity to serve newcomers by providing access to relevant and meaningful professional development opportunities, engaging the sector on issue-based initiatives, and by undertaking research to build understanding of context and emerging needs.

More info about AAISA: www.aaisa.ca

CONTEXT AND PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Funded by the Alberta Law Foundation (ALF) and delivered in partnership with the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta (CPLEA), AAISA is leading the development of a professional development and training framework to support the implementation of the Justice Navigator role within Alberta’s settlement sector.

Justice Navigators are non-legal frontline professionals who assist newcomers by providing legal information, navigation support, and referrals to appropriate legal and community services. As the project enters the curriculum development phase, the focus is on equipping Justice Navigators with the knowledge, skills, and tools they need to support newcomers in navigating Alberta’s legal system effectively.

In alignment with the logic model, this phase will produce a structured, competency-based training plan and will include onboarding and ongoing professional development components. The framework will be informed by prior consultations and research and will leverage existing training resources developed by AAISA and CPLEA. It will reflect best practices in adult education, legal literacy, and culturally responsive service delivery.

The objectives of this phase of the project must include, but is not limited to, the following:

• Utilize the logic model to map the provided training materials to the competencies, identifying areas of alignment, gaps, and overlaps.
• Review the defined core competencies and knowledge areas for the Justice Navigator role, as well as the training materials provided by AAISA and CPLEA.
• Analyze the mapping results and develop recommendations to enhance the curriculum, including new content and improved delivery methods.
• Design a professional development framework that supports ongoing learning, incorporates legislative updates, and meets diverse learner needs.
• Create an evaluation framework with tools and processes to measure training effectiveness, learner progress, and program impact, including feedback mechanisms for continuous improvement.
• Engage with AAISA, CPLEA, and key stakeholders throughout the process to gather input, validate findings, and facilitate workshops for feedback.
• Act as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) for designing additional courses as needed, based on output from the training outline

SCOPE OF WORK

The consultant will be responsible for the following:

• Define and review the core competencies and knowledge areas for the Justice Navigator role, as well as the training materials provided by AAISA and CPLEA.
• Map the provided training materials to the competencies, identifying areas of alignment, gaps, and overlaps.
• Analyze the mapping results and develop recommendations to enhance the curriculum, including new content and/or improved course modality and delivery methods.
• Design a professional development framework that supports ongoing learning, incorporates legislative updates, and meets diverse learner needs.
• Act as an SME to research, develop, and create additional materials, as and if needed.
• Create an evaluation framework with tools and processes to measure training effectiveness, learner progress, and program impact, including feedback mechanisms for continuous improvement.
• Engage with AAISA, CPLEA, and key stakeholders throughout the process to gather input, validate findings, and facilitate workshops for feedback.
• Prepare a final report documenting findings, recommendations, and deliverables, and conduct a final presentation or workshop with project partners and stakeholders.

TRAINING STRUCTURE

The training for the Justice Navigator role will be mapped and organized according to the competency and qualification framework developed for the position. This framework outlines the core competencies, knowledge areas, and functional responsibilities required of Justice Navigators and serves as the foundation for identifying relevant training opportunities.

The training outline will primarily draw on existing courses and materials from AAISA, CPLEA, and other relevant sources, where available and aligned with the framework. These courses will be in self-paced format and will include five to seven modules, providing approximately ten to fifteen hours of learning.

The recommendations provided by the consultant will inform the training phase as the project progresses.

Training will be delivered in a self-paced format to ensure flexibility and accessibility for learners in a variety of geographic and organizational settings. Participants will engage with the material independently, within a defined period, allowing for consistent access regardless of location.

As continuous learning needs emerge, additional courses and alternate course modality may be identified and recommended to address gaps not initially covered, or to reflect new or evolving areas of competencies, in alignment with the logic model and competency framework. This may include training content that is not currently available through AAISA or CPLEA or and may require the integration of external resources or the development of new materials in the future. The consultant will be responsible for the research, creation and development of additional materials.

This approach ensures that the training structure remains dynamic and responsive, supporting both immediate learning objectives and long-term professional development for Justice Navigators.

COMPONENTS

The following components will be reviewed and documented as part of the curriculum mapping process to assess how existing training aligns with the competency and qualification framework. While new course development is not planned at this phase, these elements will help identify strengths, gaps, and areas for future enhancement:

• Development of course mapping in alignment with the logic model
• Course titles and descriptions, including stated learner outcomes
• Alignment of learner outcomes with the competency framework
• Addition of evaluation methods such as quizzes, case studies, or assignments
• Inclusion of digital learning materials (e.g., slides, documents, videos, audio)
• References and source materials used within each course

DELIVERY TIMEFRAME

The course mapping should start in October 2025. It is expected that the deliverables will be submitted by the consultant no later than January 2026.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Proprietary right to all data, materials, documentation and products originated by and prepared pursuant to the contract shall belong exclusively to AAISA and partners. The contractor will acknowledge and agree that any Product and/or Deliverable created shall be considered a “work made for hire” and all rights to said Product and/or Deliverable shall belong exclusively to AAISA. The contractor will be prohibited from disseminating products and information developed.

PROJECT DELIVERABLES

The SME (also known as the “consultant”) will be responsible for:

• Review summary report of core competencies, knowledge areas, and existing training materials
• Curriculum mapping matrix aligning training materials to competencies, identifying gaps and overlaps
• Recommendations report for curriculum enhancements, including new content and delivery improvements
• Development of new course materials, if necessary.
• Professional development framework supporting ongoing learning, legislative updates, and diverse learner needs
• Evaluation framework with tools and processes to measure training effectiveness, learner progress, and program impact
• Documentation of stakeholder engagement, including consultations, workshops, and feedback summaries
• Final report documenting findings, recommendations, and deliverables, plus a final presentation or workshop for partners and stakeholders

AAISA will be responsible for:

• Providing access to the competency and qualification framework and related course mapping templates to guide alignment of existing training materials
• Providing access to AAISA and CPLEA courses as agreed upon by AAISA and CPLEA
• Coordinating and facilitating collaboration with consultants and stakeholders throughout the mapping process to ensure accurate alignment and feedback
• Managing the AAISA Learning Management System to support the delivery of self-paced Justice Navigator training courses, including registration, enrollment, and access to course materials created and maintained by AAISA
• Organizing virtual orientation sessions with the consultant to familiarize them with the learning management system and the delivery format for self-paced training
• Supporting ongoing communication with consultants and stakeholders to gather input, validate mapping results, and facilitate feedback workshops

PROPOSAL

We require a detailed proposal with a cost estimate and projected timelines for the project that includes the above deliverables. PLEASE NOTE that the proposal is between $6,000 to $8,000 depending on if SME is creating any new courses.

The proposal should include:

• Project design: proposed activities, cost estimates, and timeline for the various components (approach to curriculum mapping and/or analysis, learning goals, development of professional development and evaluation framework, etc.) of the project
• Resume of the Project Leader responsible for the development and coordination of the project
• List of curriculum development and mapping, competency framework development and/or related projects developed and delivered previously
• Two references of people whom you have developed/delivered course or workshops previously and their contact information

SELECTION CRITERIA & PROCESS

The following are the criteria we will use in the selection process:

• Detailed plan and timeline (including projected costs for each component).
• Demonstrated expertise in curriculum development, curriculum mapping, adult education, instructional design, and related fields
• Knowledge and/or experience in the newcomer serving sector and/or the legal sector, and support navigation or case management is considered an asset
• Demonstrable experience in facilitating learning and development workshops, trainings, courses with adult learners
• Familiarity with online learning platforms preferred (e.g., Moodle, Blackboard, D2L etc.)
• Familiarity with online webinar platforms preferred (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.)
• Compliance with deadline(s)
• Fluency in English, both written and verbal. Fluency in French would be an asset
• In your proposal, please identify the following information:
• Learning goals and competency outcomes
• Key focus questions
• Main areas of awareness and attitude

The proposal will be reviewed in detail according to the above criteria. Shortlisted candidates may be asked to provide portfolios of their work or examples of previously designed and developed courses and/or workshops, as well as to participate in an interview. All applicants will be promptly notified when a selection has been made.

Both individual and collaborative proposals will be considered.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Please send an electronic submission on Collage including the following: letter of intent, resume, plan, examples of past work, and proposed fees. Please ensure that your name or your organization’s name appears in the file name.

Your electronic submission should be sent by Friday, OCT 10, 2025 @ 5PM MDT.

If you would like to email rather than submit on Collage, please submit your electronic submission to rsaxena@aaisa.ca with the email title: “RFP Submission: Justice Navigators in Alberta Project

Qualified applicants will be added to AAISA’s network for notification of future opportunities.

If you have any questions, please contact rsaxena@aaisa.ca.

AAISA is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we work to sustain anti-discrimination and anti- racism practices in our workplace. We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression, age, physical or mental health, religion or beliefs, or any other status protected by law. Harassment or discrimination is not tolerated at AAISA. All aspects of employment including the decision to hire, promote, discipline, or discharge, will be based on merit, competence, performance, and business need

PLEASE NOTE: AAISA is not obligated to accept the lowest cost proposal. In addition, AAISA need not accept any of the proposals. All decisions of AAISA shall be final and binding.