UMWOR-2027-1119 Attachment G - General Scope - Final.docx

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL – UMWOR-2027-1119

Attachment G – RFP Instructions and General Scope UMass Chan Strategic Plan

AUGUST 18, 2026

Request for Proposals Issued: August 18, 2026 Deadline for Submittal of Proposals: September 17, 2026

Introduction – Overall Goals UMass Chan Medical School seeks a strategic planning partner to assist the institution in defining a comprehensive vision of the future and synthesize this into an executable strategic plan. The plan is intended to clarify campus strategic imperatives into actionable strategies across core mission areas, align organizational and financial requirements to those strategies, and produce a practical roadmap for execution and performance measurement. The strategic plan should be inclusive of our three academic pillars of Medicine, Nursing, and Biomedical Sciences, Basic and Translational Research as well as campus and branch campus operations and entities, including Worcester City Campus Corporation (WCCC), ForHealth Consulting, and MassBiologics (MBL). The strategic plan should also prioritize alignment with UMass Memorial Health System (UMMH) and the larger UMass 5 campus system. We anticipate this engagement to be completed in approximately 6 months.

Agency Information UMass Chan’s mission is to advance the health and wellness of diverse communities throughout Massachusetts and across the world by leading and innovating in education, research, health care delivery and public service.

· The school is consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the leading medical schools in the nation for primary care education.

· It consists of three schools: the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing; ForHealth Consulting, whose mission is to improve the healthcare experience by making it more equitable, effective, and accessible; and MassBiologics, the only nonprofit, FDA-licensed manufacturer of vaccines, biologics and viral vector gene therapies in the United States.

· The research enterprise receives approximately $350 million in federal and private research grants and contracts.

· The institution is committed to enhancing health and science education, ensuring community health, building a diverse workforce, and enriching lives through extensive community outreach.

· Located in Worcester, Massachusetts, UMass Chan Medical School is one of five University of Massachusetts campuses.

Qualifications The planning partner should have experience working with leading academic medical centers, especially public institutions, research organizations, and medical schools, on strategic plan formation, complex partnerships, organizational development and redesign, as well as financial and scientific strategy. The planning partner should have demonstrated experience working with a broad consortium of stakeholders to produce a plan that is unified and deliberate.

Engagement Objectives The Chancellor will designate and organize tracks of work through which the plan inputs will be prepared. These tracks of work are outlined below and include: (suggested order bracketed)

· Refine Financial Processes: design transparent practices that enable proactive financial management, risk analysis and real-time projecting capabilities to support agile decision-making, optimize resource allocation and align with University planning cycles.

· Set Strategic Imperatives: establish priority impact focused imperatives across education, research and service mission that the strategic plan will be organized around

· Leverage Work Teams: engage faculty and staff in proposing key agendas and tactics related to the imperatives

· Establish milestone schedule guidance: identify the timing of adoption and implementation of strategic imperatives.

· Identify areas where strategic investment is required to achieve plan objectives and corresponding areas for de-investment

· Ensure UMMH Alignment: in coordination with UMMH CEO, define shared priorities and initiatives to be included in the UMASS Chan strategic plan

· Ensure UMass Chan plan aligns with UMASS system planning activities and board of trustee meeting cycles: integrate the strategic plan with the financial forecast that is presented to the board in December.

Scope of Work The selected consultant is to develop an overarching strategy and focus on the development of various pillars as outlined herein.

· Enterprise Strategy Development The selected planning partner will assist UMass Chan in defining the enterprise-level strategic choices necessary to strengthen and differentiate the institution over the next five years. This work should extend beyond facilitation of existing priorities and bring an independent, external perspective, informed by changes occurring across academic medicine, biomedical research, healthcare delivery, higher education, technology, public policy and the broader economic environment.

The consultant will assess UMass Chan’s current strategic position, identify emerging opportunities, risks and potential areas of institutional distinction, test existing assumptions and proposed areas of focus and develop strategic alternatives for consideration by institutional leadership. The pillars identified elsewhere in this RFP should therefore be viewed as preliminary areas of inquiry that may be validated, refined, consolidated, supplemented or reconsidered through the strategic planning process.

The enterprise strategy development should include, as appropriate:

· Assessment of the external environment and its implications for UMass Chan’s academic, research, public service and commercial missions

· Evaluation of UMass Chan’s institutional and competitive position relative to appropriate peer and aspirational organizations

· Identification of areas in which UMass Chan has the opportunity to achieve or strengthen meaningful national distinction

· Assessment of strategic risks to the institution’s current model, including potential changes in federal research funding, indirect cost recovery, workforce availability, healthcare economics and other external material factors

· Scenario-based consideration of alternative futures and their potential strategic and financial implications.

· Identification of mission areas, scientific domains, programs, businesses, partnerships and capabilities that may warrant increased investment, transformation, partnership, consolidation or de-emphasis.

· Consideration of opportunities to strengthen alignment and create strategic value across UMass Chan’s schools, research enterprise, ForHealth Consulting, Mass Biologics, UMass Memorial Health and the broader University of Massachusetts system.

· Assessment of the role of artificial intelligence, data, digital capabilities and other emerging technologies in advancing UMass Chan’s future strategy across education, research, service, administration and institutional performance.

· Development of a focused set of enterprise strategic imperatives and associated choices that can guide institutional priorities and resource allocation over the planning horizon.

The strategy should ultimately address several fundamental questions, including:

· What should UMass Chan aspire to become over the next five years?

· Where can the institution achieve meaningful distinction, and which existing strengths should be amplified?

· What strategic risks threaten the institution’s current model?

· What structural shifts are likely to reshape academic medicine over the next decade, and what strategic choices should UMass Chan make now to remain competitive, financially sustainable, and nationally distinctive?

· What changes to UMass Chan's business model, research enterprise, educational offerings, partnerships, and organizational structure are necessary to thrive in a future environment characterized by greater funding uncertainty, heightened competition, rapid technological change, and evolving healthcare delivery models?

· Which mission areas, scientific domains, businesses, partnerships and capabilities should receive increased investment, be maintained, transformed, partnered, consolidated or de-emphasized?

· What should UMass Chan stop doing, do differently, or do through partners in order to concentrate resources on its highest priorities?

· What should UMass Chan choose not to pursue, or pursue differently, in order to focus its institutional resources?

· How should UMass Chan allocate its financial, human, research, facility, and capital resources to achieve its highest-priority strategic objectives while maintaining long-term financial sustainability?

· What should be materially different about UMass Chan five years from now as a result of this strategy?

Potential Developmental Pillars

· Pillar 1: Academic & Educational Innovation

· Expansion of educational offerings in the health sciences.

· Modernization of curriculum in a manner reflective of each discipline

· Student Well Being

· Interprofessional Education

· Enrollment Strategy

· Pillar 2: Joint Clinical-Academic Alignment

· Governance – Financial and Operational Structure

· Joint Faculty Recruitments

· Clinical Trial Integrations

· Space Needs & Infrastructure

· Pillar 3: Research Enterprise Growth & Diversification

· Identification of Opportunities for Transformative Discoveries in Biology, Clinical Medicine, and Health Systems Science.

· Optimize the incorporation of computational research, inclusive of AI, in all facets of research.

· Commercialization & Tech Transfer

· Core Facility Optimization

· Funding Portfolio Diversification

· Interdisciplinary Research

· Pillar 4: Financial Sustainability & Infrastructure

· Fiscal health of economic model

· Philanthropic Campaigns

· Revenue Diversification

· Digital Transformation

· Capital / Facilities Master Planning

· Pillar 5: People, Culture, and Public Impact

· Institutional culture

· People development, recruitment and retention

· Population Health

· Community and Public impact

DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINES

The selected consultant will develop and maintain a detailed workplan aligned with UMass Chan leadership and governance milestones. The engagement is anticipated to extend approximately six months; however, the work should be structured to support an initial strategic direction and leadership alignment in advance of the December UMass Board of Trustees cycle. Key Deliverables should include:

· Project Workplan and Governance Structure: a detailed project plan identifying major workstreams, milestones, decision points, stakeholder engagement activities, leadership forums and required inputs

· Current-State and External Environment Assessment: An assessment of UMass Chan’s current strategic position, relative to external trends, peer and aspirational benchmarks, market dynamics, policy and funding risks and other factors that should inform strategic choices

· Strategic Alternatives and Preliminary Enterprise Imperatives: A focused set of strategic options, tradeoffs and recommended enterprise priorities for consideration by institutional leadership

· December Board Cycle Deliverable: By the November 12 board materials deadline, the consultant should provide a board-ready strategic framework that includes the external context, preliminary enterprise strategic imperatives, areas of institutional differentiation, major strategic choices and key implications for UMass Chan. This deliverable is intended to support discussion and alignment in a strategic direction and should not be construed as a final implementation plan.

· Leadership Planning Workshops and Retreats-Facilitation of leadership and stakeholder sessions required to test assumptions, refine priorities and build alignment around the emerging strategy

· Final Five-Year Strategic Plan- A board-ready strategic plan incorporating the agreed enterprise strategy, strategic imperatives, goals, measures of success a high-level financial and organizational implications

· Implementation and Execution Roadmap: A detailed roadmap translating the strategy into prioritized initiatives, sequencing accountable leadership, resource requirements, dependencies, governance mechanisms and explicit performance measures and KPIs

· First Year Action Plan: A more detailed implementation plan for the first 12 months following approval of the strategy, including early actions, milestones, decision points and measures of progress

· AI, Data, and Technology Enablement Roadmap: Recommendations regarding how AI, Data, digital capabilities and enabling technologies should support the institutions’ strategic priorities and execution of the plan.

Firms should propose a sequencing of the deliverables that enables UMass Chan to establish and communicate strategic direction in the December board cycle while allowing sufficient time thereafter for refinement of the final strategic plan, implementation roadmap and supporting financial and organizational plans.

RFP QUESTIONS

Firms are directed to submit any RFP questions through the BuyWays portal, and not directly to a UMass stakeholder.

UMASS PROCUREMENT

UMass Office of the President – Unified Procurement Services Team Evanthia Tully Category Manager, Professional Services Etully@umassp.edu 50 Washington Street, Suite 3000 Westborough, MA 01581

RFP SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

· Cover Letter

· Executive Summary

· Firm Qualifications Include a company overview that highlights at least three similar projects demonstrating relevant experience.

· Firm Qualifications Please provide a list of your proposed project team members, roles, consultants, and MBE, VBE status.

· Methodology / Scope Approach Outline how the consulting team would address the project scope, including details on the approach and methodology used for each of the subtasks associated with the scope.

Include sample documentation of similar efforts representing proposed deliverables. Please include the number of workshops contemplated.

· Fee Schedule Provide an itemized budget including all fees, travel and incidental expenses. Please also include a list of any consultant fees, hourly billing rates, and their cost. Firms may utilize Attachment I – Bid Price Sheet to complete pricing proposal.

· References Provide references for three clients from similar engagements in higher education or healthcare

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Provide any additional information deemed necessary by the firm to describe any characteristics or qualities beyond what is specified in the submission requirements to assist UMass Chan in evaluating this proposal.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

UMass reserves the right to award this contract in a manner that is deemed in its best interest. A selection committee representing UMass will review the bids and select the firm with the most advantageous proposal, using a weighted evaluation based on the following criteria:

· Demonstrated understanding of scope and objectives

· Relevant experience and qualifications

· Qualifications of key personnel

· Proposed fee and billing rates

PROJECT TIMELINE

PROPOSAL

This request for proposal does not create any contractual relationship between the University and any party. UMass Chan reserves the right to accept or reject any or all materials submitted for this project.

UMASS BUYWAYS PORTAL

Interested Firms should follow all instructions detailed in the BuyWays Portal for this RFP, which can be found in this and other documents, inclusive, on the UMass UPST Sourcing Portal linked below. Firms are to answer all mandatory questions and review all “Buyer Attachments”. Portal Link: https://bids.sciquest.com/apps/Router/PublicEvent?CustomerOrg=UMass

BUYWAYS BUYER ATTACHMENTS

Firms are instructed to follow the workflow in BuyWays in order submit a complete RFP proposal. All of the “Questions” section, shown below, are required to be completed:

The following are to be reviewed by Firms from the BuyWays “Buyer Attachments” section:

1. Attachment A – Contract for Services – Example Fillable: The standard University of Contract for Services (UMass CFS). Firms are advised to review the UMass CFS standard terms carefully. The detailed scope of work will be referenced in an attached Statement of Work (SOW) upon final contract. Firms are advised that terms are non-negotiable. Any firms with an effective agreement with UMass or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are encouraged to participate in this RFP.

2. Attachment A – Appendix 1: Explanation of the UMass CFS standard terms & conditions, to assist firms in deciding whether to submit a bid proposal.

3. Attachment G – RFP Instructions & General Scope (this document): General overview of the RFP scope including dates, contacts, general scope, and site visit information.

4. Attachment G, Appendix 1 – Statement of Work (SOW) Template: General format for service obligations and specifications that all Firms must review and base their bid proposals on, along with the general scope. The SOW Template will become referenced agreement to the UMass CFS and contain all final contractual scope and deliverables. Thus, firms are advised to review this template carefully.

5. Attachment I – Bid Price Sheet: Firms should fill in the excel sheet with their proposed pricing and attach it to their proposal. Note: firms may modify template to best fit the scope of work and/or firms standard pricing.

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