Consultant: CORE Group Organizational Strategy Refresh 3-year plan

Issued by: CORE Inc. (DBA CORE Group)

Issue Date: June 17 , 2025

Proposal Due Date: July 8, 2025

1. Background

CORE Group is a U.S.-based 501c3 non-profit, membership organization, composed of civil society organizations (CSOs) working across the global health landscape. For the past 28 years, we have served as a platform to strengthen civil society leadership, promote equity, and amplify member voices in global health governance, policy, and programming.  CORE Group fosters collaborative action and learning to improve and expand community-focused public health practices.

As we look to the future, we are seeking an experienced strategy consultant, team of consultants, or firm to support a refresh of our organizational strategy for the period 2025–2028. This strategy will guide our membership, programming, partnership/resource mobilizations, and internal operations to ensure we remain mission-aligned, adaptive, and high-impact. CORE Group has already undertaken four “deep-dive” consultations with Board, members and staff in early 2025, to assess needs in a changing global health landscape. We also conducted a membership survey in late 2024.

2. Purpose of the Consultancy

The purpose of this consultancy is to lead a strategic planning refresh process that engages our leadership, staff, Board, members, and stakeholders, culminating in a three-year strategic plan that is grounded in data, responsive to global health trends, and designed for impact.  The consultant will work with the Management, and the Board strategy task team.

3. Scope of Work and Deliverables

The selected consultant will:
- Review previous consultation reports, the previous strategic plan, for an internal analysis
- Remotely engage stakeholders through interviews, focus groups, and/or surveys
- Facilitate 2 strategic planning workshops with Board and other members
- Draft and finalize a 3-year Strategic Plan (including KPIs and implementation roadmap) and undergo 2 revisions after feedback from management/Board
- Provide a recommended high-level Year 1 operationalization plan

-One final presentation to Board of Directors and Executive Director

Key Deliverables:
1. Strategic Assessment Take-aways Report
2. Remote Workshop Facilitation Agenda & Summary Reports
3. Draft & Final Strategic Plan (2025–2028)
4. Draft Implementation Plan

4. Timeline

5. Budget

The turn-key fixed budget for this engagement is $11,000

Reading reports/initial meetings/ initial take-aways - 3 days

Planning strategy retreats, facilitation, analysis, and reports = 10 days

Plan and revisions = 3 days

1 year draft implementation plan = 2 days

6. Required Qualifications

- Demonstrated experience (10+ years) in strategic planning with global health or international development organizations
- Strong facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills
- Experience leading strategy projects with boards and executive teams
- Familiarity with global health landscape and organizational development
- Excellent writing and synthesis skills
- Relevant graduate degree preferred

7. Proposal Requirements

Please submit a proposal following the guidance below:

1. Cover Letter, including name, contact details, website/LinkedIn- 1 page
   2. Approach and Methodology- up to 2 pages
   3. Work Plan and Timeline - Appendix
   4. Relevant Experience and Qualifications,– up to 2 pages
   5. Team Bios (if applicable) - Appendix
   6. Three References from Similar Projects and 2 redacted past work examples

8. Submission Instructions

Submit proposals to:
Lisa Hilmi, Executive Director
jobs@coregroup.org
Subject Line: RFP – Strategy Refresh  Consultant Proposal

Deadline for submission: July 8, 2025 at 11:59 PM ET

9. Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on:
- Demonstrated experience and qualifications
- Quality and clarity of the proposed approach
- Understanding of the organization’s needs
- Cost-effectiveness
- References and past performance