Table of Contents

Selection of vendors, consultants, software, and tools

Max Dana Updated by Max Dana

General guidelines

Decisions regarding where ArtsPool spends our money and which partners and services we choose, should be led by our values and our commitment to anti-racism. When evaluating new or existing contracts, consider the following:

  • Does the prospect have a statement of values published, and if so, does it align with ArtsPool's?
  • Does the prospect have a statement of anti-racism published, and if so, does this statement contain action items and steps towards accountability?
  • Does the prospect have accessibility tools on their website/public materials?

Review and confirmation process

  1. Confirm the appropriate staff stakeholders for this selection process. The selection process should be led by the most relevant internal staff team, with input from any other staffers impacted by the decision.
  2. The Selection Team confirms the available budget for this consultant, vendor, software, or tool with ArtsPool Finance Team.
  3. Once the budget is confirmed, the Selection Team collects information and research options according to the appropriate process below.
  4. The Selection Team prepares a recommendation with notes on candidates not selected and why.
  5. The Selection Team provides recommendations to staff stakeholders for confirmation.
  6. If vendor, consultant, software, or tool is member-facing, the Selection Team should conduct an appropriate process to engage with and get feedback from members prior to a final decision.
  7. Once recommendations have been confirmed by staff and member stakeholders, Selection Team confirms selection with the third party. If a contract is needed, a task should be submitted to the ArtsPool Operations Lead. If the selection does not require a contract (such as in the case of certain software or tools purchasing), the Operations Lead does not need to be included.
Any technology or software selection processes that are not initiated by the Technology Team should include a representative of the Tech Team in the staff stakeholders group.

Consultants and vendors

When selecting vendors or consultants, use this Request for Proposals form, if possible. If the vendor or consultant is in a field that does not typically respond to an RFP process (i.e. lawyers), interview at least three candidates with strong consideration of the Guidelines above.

Software and tools

When selecting software or other operational tools, follow the guidance in the article How to choose software. Also, consider the General Guidelines above when making these selections.

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How to choose software

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