27OECPJ1 - Attachment A - Final.docx

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Attachment A

Alternate ID #: 27OECPJ1 COMMBUYS Bid #: BD-27-1026-DOE02-DOE01-131184

Background:

Massachusetts Early College programs are designed to increase college access and success for students while intentionally prioritizing outreach, recruitment, and support for students who have been underrepresented in higher education. MA Early College Designated Programs work to blend elements of high school and college to provide students with the opportunity to experience and complete supported college-level academic coursework on a clearly articulated pathway and simultaneously gain exposure to a variety of career opportunities. Because of their innovative design, early college programs reduce the time and expense of earning a college credential while increasing the likelihood of completion.

Early College programs are designed to increase the number of students, particularly underrepresented students in higher education, who will pursue and persist in higher education. Therefore, programs are expected to support high school students, through thoughtfully designed scaffolding and support while delivering access to authentic college level coursework.

To receive designation as a Massachusetts Early College program, applicants must demonstrate, with evidence, a capability to effectively implement all five of the guiding principles as established by the Boards: equitable access, guided academic pathways, enhanced student supports, connection to career, and effective partnerships and their corresponding designation criteria.

This spring Massachusetts established an ambitious statewide goal of enrolling 100,000 students in Early College by 2036. In her January 2026 State of the Commonwealth address, Governor Healey positioned Early College as a cornerstone of the Commonwealth's education strategy and a key driver of college access and success.

Since launching the statewide initiative in 2018, Massachusetts has built a strong foundation, growing Early College to serve approximately 10,000 students through 75 designated partnerships. Achieving the 2036 goal, however, will require more than continued growth—it will require a deliberate strategy for scaling the model while preserving its quality and equity-focused mission. The next phase of the work must define a practical pathway from 10,000 to 100,000 students, identifying the policy, operational, and financial conditions necessary to support sustained expansion.

Scope of Service:

The Commissioners of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and of the Department of Higher Education (DHE) seek the services of a qualified consultant or consulting firm to develop a comprehensive Statewide Early College Growth Plan that establishes a practical, evidence-based roadmap for expanding Early College participation from approximately 10,000 students today to 20,000 students, 40,000 students, and ultimately 100,000 students by 2036.

The Awarded vendor will provide project management, strategic planning, research, facilitation, stakeholder engagement, systems analysis, financial modeling, policy development, and implementation planning to support state leadership in designing and creating action steps for a scalable, equitable, and sustainable Early College system that will serve100,000 students.

The Awarded vendor will work collaboratively with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), the Department of Higher Education (DHE), the Executive Office of Education (EOE), the Early College Joint Committee (ECJC), school districts, institutions of higher education, employers, and other statewide stakeholders. Oversight and management of this work will be provided by the Office of Early College at DESE in partnership with DHE.

Structure of the engagement. The work is organized as one ongoing workstream (project management and stakeholder engagement) and three sequential milestone phases aligned to the Commonwealth's scale targets: 20,000 students (Phase 1), 40,000 students (Phase 2), and 100,000 students by 2036 (Final Growth Plan). Each phase concludes with a review by the Commissioners and the ECJC. This phased approach provides two clear checkpoints before finalizing the long-term roadmap, making it easier for DESE and DHE to review, approve, and implement the strategy incrementally.

Guiding Policy and System Design Questions The Final Growth Plan, and the analyses that build toward it in each phase, must answer the following interdependent policy and system design questions:

Scale definition:

· What does it mean both quantitatively and operationally to reach 100,000 high school students through Early College, retaining equity at the forefront?

· What will it mean for/require of individual high schools and of the higher education system?

· How can the Commonwealth ensure that expansion meaningfully increases access for historically underserved students while maintaining program quality and outcomes?

· What are feasible benchmarks?

· What are the impacts of this rapid growth for existing programs and students?

Pathway integration:

· How should Early College integrate with or complement other pathway initiatives to eliminate silos and create a cohesive college-for-career experience?

Higher education capacity & delivery:

· How can MA address instructor pipeline constraints, delivery modalities, and staffing models to enable growth without compromising rigor?

Funding architecture:

· How should the Early College funding model be designed to support predictable, sustainable, and quality-centered expansion and continued success of existing programs? How much additional and total state funding is necessary on a year-by-year basis over the next 10 years to reach the 100,000-student goal?

Systems incentives & accountability:

· How should Early College be integrated into graduation requirements, accountability systems, and current performance measures stated in policy to create durable incentives for districts and higher education institutions?

Program authorization & designation:

· Are any structural changes required to the current designation process to enable regional models that oversees multiple sites/programs in which IHE that service as a hub for the K12 programs or other models that support scale?

Additional policy considerations:

· What is the current policy, why is it important, and what are the implications of changing it? What aspects of the analysis of our current policy, conducted by EY Parthenon in 2023 and informed by findings collected during our internal policy review in SY 2024–2025, can be used to determine the next steps? What additional institutional, regulatory, or state policy shifts are necessary to support scale and ensure quality, equity, and long-term impact?

Ongoing Workstream: Project Management and Stakeholder Engagement Throughout the engagement, the Awarded vendor shall manage the overall project, serve as the lead strategic planning partner, and design and implement a statewide stakeholder engagement and consensus-building process.

Activities include: developing and maintaining a project management plan, governance and decision-making protocols (for the Commissioners approval), detailed timeline, and risk register; coordinating communications and logistics among project partners; preparing meeting agendas, presentation materials, summaries, and action logs; and conducting stakeholder engagement — interviews, focus groups, listening sessions, surveys, regional convenings, and leadership workshops — with state agencies, school districts, institutions of higher education, community organizations, students and families, and regional partnerships. The Awarded vendor shall synthesize engagement findings and facilitate consensus among participating organizations.

Deliverables: Project Management Plan (including timeline); Communications Plan; Stakeholder Engagement Plan; Monthly Progress Reports; meeting agendas, materials, and summaries; a Stakeholder and Consensus Findings Report (incorporated into each phase's deliverable package); and executive briefing materials for each ECJC checkpoint.

Phase 1 — The Path to 20,000 Students Deliverable package due October 23, 2026, for the December 2026 ECJC meeting.

Phase 1 focuses on creating the conditions to double current participation. Building on prior strategic work (including the EY Parthenon analysis and the internal policy review), the Awarded vendor shall complete a comprehensive assessment of the current Early College landscape — participation and demographic trends, institutional readiness, higher education capacity, staffing and instructor pipeline, delivery models, regional capacity, accountability systems, funding mechanisms, and policy constraints — and identify barriers to growth at the scale proposed. The Awarded vendor shall then develop a credible growth scenario to 20,000 students.

Phase 1 deliverables:

• Current State Assessment and Gap Analysis (including national benchmarking and a student population assessment)

• Growth Scenario to 20,000 students, with capacity, staffing, and delivery model assumptions and risk analysis

• Sustainable funding model for 20,000 students

• Policy and regulatory recommendations

• Implementation blueprint, including performance metrics and an implementation dashboard

ECJC Review: The Commissioners and the ECJC will review the Phase 1 strategy at the December 2026 meeting.

Phase 2 — The Path to 40,000 Students Deliverable package is due February 1, 2027, for the March 2027 ECJC meeting.

Phase 2 focuses on scaling statewide. The Awarded vendor shall expand the Phase 1 modeling to address regional structures, institutional operations, and governance, including institutional process mapping, staffing and credit transfer analyses, delivery modality analyses, and cost, breakeven, and infrastructure analyses.

Phase 2 deliverables:

• Regional hub and partnership model, including any recommended changes to the designation process

• Institutional operating models and an institutional readiness report, with an expanded higher education capacity plan

• Updated financial, cost, and staffing models for 40,000 students

• Governance and accountability framework

• Updated policy recommendations

• Implementation roadmap to 40,000 students, with risk mitigation and sustainability plan

ECJC Review: The Commissioners and the ECJC will review and validate Phase 2 recommendations at the March 2027 meeting.

Final Deliverable — Statewide Growth Plan to 100,000 Students by 2036

Due April 30, 2027, for the June 2027 ECJC meeting.

The project concludes with a comprehensive Final Statewide Early College Growth Plan that integrates all analyses and recommendations into a phased roadmap to achieve 100,000 Early College students by 2036. The implementation roadmap is the crux of the report: based on the challenges identified and the solutions to mitigate them, what are the action steps needed, by whom, and when?

The Final Growth Plan shall include:

• Executive summary, vision, goals, and statewide growth targets

• Growth strategy and operational model

• Funding strategy and policy recommendations

• Implementation roadmap through 2036 — short-, medium-, and long-term milestones, responsible entities, required investments, risks and mitigation strategies, performance measurement framework, and implementation governance structure

• Appendices documenting research methodology and stakeholder engagement

Final deliverables: Final Statewide Growth Plan; Executive Summary; Executive Presentation; presentation to the Early College Joint Committee; and final electronic files and supporting documentation.

Timeline

Analyze current system, funding, policy, capacity, staffing, demographics, benchmark other states, current policy analysis; Interviews, focus groups, surveys, leadership workshops; develop first scalable model, policy recommendations, funding options, implementation requirements for 20,000 students

Phase 1 Deliverables (20,000 Students) due October 23, 2026

Budget:

The total amount available for this contract is not to exceed $500,000.

The Awarded vendor shall submit a fixed-price budget that allocates costs by deliverable or product. Proposed budgets shall identify the cost associated with each deliverable identified in the Scope of Work. Alternatively, bidders may provide all-inclusive hourly or daily rates that correspond to the proposed level of effort necessary to complete each deliverable.

This contract will run from the date of issue through June 30, 2027. If additional time is needed, at no additional cost, a renewal option is available for up to 12 months (FY28 – July 1, 2027 – June 30, 2028)

All proposed pricing shall be fully burdened and inclusive of all costs associated with performance of the contract, including, but not limited to:

· Personnel

· Fringe benefits

· Indirect costs

· Travel

· Materials and supplies

· Meeting facilitation

· Printing and reproduction

· Telecommunications

· Administrative expenses

· Software or technology required to complete the work

· Any other expenses necessary to perform the Scope of Work

The Commonwealth will not reimburse separate travel, material, or incidental expenses beyond the approved contract amount.

Payments shall be made upon the Commonwealth's acceptance of completed deliverables according to the following schedule:

Requirements Required Qualifications The bidder must demonstrate the following qualifications:

Organizational Experience

1. A minimum of five (5) years of experience leading large-scale strategic planning, systems transformation, organizational change, or implementation planning projects for state government, public agencies, or comparable organizations.

2. Demonstrated experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects involving executive leadership, state agencies, educational institutions, and community partners.

3. Demonstrated expertise in project management, including development of work plans, milestone tracking, risk management, facilitation, and reporting.

4. Experience facilitating strategic planning processes that achieve consensus among diverse stakeholders with varying interests and priorities.

Education and Workforce Expertise

5. Demonstrated knowledge of:

· K–12 education systems

· Postsecondary education systems

· Dual enrollment and/or Early College programs

· College and career pathways

· Workforce development systems

6. Experience conducting policy analysis and developing recommendations related to education, workforce, or public-sector initiatives.

7. Experience developing implementation roadmaps that translate strategic recommendations into actionable plans.

Research and Analytical Capacity

8. Demonstrated experience conducting:

· Quantitative and qualitative research

· Data analysis

· Financial and cost modeling

· Capacity analysis

· Scenario planning

· Benchmarking and best practice research

9. Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex information into concise reports, executive summaries, presentations, and policy recommendations.

Staff Qualifications The proposed project team shall collectively demonstrate expertise in:

· Strategic planning

· Project management

· Education policy

· Postsecondary education

· Financial analysis

· Facilitation and stakeholder engagement

· Organizational change management

· Research and evaluation

· Data analytics

The bidder shall identify a Project Director who will serve as the primary point of contact and who has experience managing comparable statewide initiatives.

Equity Demonstrated experience incorporating equity-centered planning and stakeholder engagement practices into statewide initiatives, including consideration of historically underserved student populations.

Preferred:

Preferred Qualifications Preference may be given to bidders that demonstrate one or more of the following:

1. Experience working with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Department of Higher Education (DHE), Executive Office of Education (EOE), or other Massachusetts state agencies.

2. Demonstrated experience supporting the development or expansion of Early College, dual enrollment, or career-connected learning initiatives in Massachusetts or other states.

3. Familiarity with the Massachusetts Early College Designation Criteria and approval process.

4. Experience conducting statewide education or workforce strategic planning efforts involving multiple public agencies.

5. Experience designing funding models, governance structures, and sustainability strategies for statewide initiatives.

6. Experience facilitating regional planning or cross-sector partnerships involving school districts, institutions of higher education, employers, workforce boards, and community organizations.

7. Demonstrated expertise in institutional capacity modeling, financial forecasting, and implementation planning.

8. Experience developing performance measurement systems, dashboards, and accountability frameworks.

9. Experience designing public engagement strategies and facilitating large stakeholder convenings.

10. Experience incorporating racial equity, geographic equity, and student access considerations into strategic planning and policy development.

11. Professional certifications in project management, facilitation, strategic planning, or related disciplines (e.g., PMP, Prosci, Lean, or equivalent).

12. Experience delivering projects of similar scope and complexity within established timelines and budgets.

Submission Requirements:

· A project narrative and proposed scope of work addressing each of the workstreams identified under the scope of service should be provided.

· An all-inclusive budget based on deliverables (could be hourly or daily all-inclusive rates).

· Relevant team members must be identified to work on project and current resumes must be included.

· Narrative submission should not exceed 25 pages (resumes of team members and budget do not count against page count).

· Timeline for project completion

· One of DESE’s foremost goals is to address inequities in education that exist in the Commonwealth. Describe, in a 1-page narrative, your organization’s commitment to and actions taken to ensure equity (this should include efforts within your own organization to support equity and efforts when providing services to clients, as applicable). In addition, please share your organization’s current challenges with and ongoing efforts to ensure your organization is working towards building the mindsets, practices, and skills to support this initiative.

· Attachment B – Contact information form (complete and upload with COMMBUYS submission

· Prompt Payment Discount (PPD) Form (available on COMMBUYS to download, complete and upload with response). Bidders are highly encouraged to offer a PPD to expediate payment and provide cost savings to the Commonwealth. Bidders unable to provide a discount can claim hardship. Hardship must be accepted by the team and procurement office.

· Supplier Diversity Program (SDP) Form (available on COMMBUYS to download, complete and upload with response). This form must be completed and offer a percentage commitment of 1% or higher to a subcontractor or ancillary partner. The higher the commitment the more points earned on the Evaluation Criteria Scorecard. See scorecard for more details.

Responses MUST be uploaded to COMMBUYS. Responses not posted to COMMBUYS will not be considered for evaluation. Do not Email and/or mail responses to the department.

To respond to this bid, please register on the COMMBUYS website. If you need assistance contact the OSD Help Desk at OSDHelpDesk@mass.gov or (8am - 5pm ET Monday – Friday) at 1-888-627-8283 or 617-720-3197.

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