ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: July 12, 1995
Dept. File: GR.11.07
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Director, Office of Cultural Affairs and
Comptroller of Budgets & Research
SUBJECT: Vancouver Museum Operations Review -
Appointment of Consultant
RECOMMENDATION
THAT the team of Sears & Russell Consultants Limited and the
Economic Planning Group be appointed as consultants for the
Vancouver Museum Operations Review, for a fee not to exceed
$70,000; source of funds to be Contingency Reserve.
GENERAL MANAGERS' COMMENTS
The General Manager of Corporate Services and the General Manager
of Community Services RECOMMEND approval of the foregoing.
COUNCIL POLICY
On May 18, 1995, Council approved the appointment of a Steering
Committee and Terms of Reference to guide the selection of consultants
to undertake a review of the Vancouver Museum.
PURPOSE
This report seeks Council's authorization to appoint the Vancouver
Museum Operations Review consultants.
BACKGROUND
In the course of reviewing the Vancouver Museum's annual grant request
earlier this year, staff recommended, and Council directed, a
comprehensive operations review be undertaken to form a basis for
evaluating the City's future relationship to the museum.
Terms of Reference:
In May, Council approved a draft Terms of Reference which are attached
to this report as Appendix A.
Steering Committee:
At Council's direction, the Vancouver Museum Association Board of
Trustees and the Vancouver Municipal & Regional Employees Union
(VMREU) were invited to appoint representatives to the Steering
Committee. Mr. Craig Aspinal representing the Trustees, and Mr. Sandy
Blair, representing the VMREU, joined with staff from the Office of
Cultural Affairs and Finance to form the Steering Committee.
Consultant Selection Process:
In May, proposals were sought from consultants by advertise-ments in
local and national newspapers. In addition, copies of the
advertisement were faxed to consultants identified by the B.C. and
Canadian Museum Associations. Forty-four (44) requests for the terms
of reference were received and nine (9) proposals were submitted.
Using standard evaluation criteria, the Steering Committee selected
the following four teams for further consideration:
1. Aldrich/Pears Associates Limited, in associa-tion with
Cornerstone Planning Group and Harrison Price Company;
2. DHA Cultural Planners;
3. Sears & Russell Consultants Limited, in association
with Economic Planning Group; and
4. The Fiala Consulting Group Inc.
The teams were interviewed by the Steering Committee, and staff
followed up with extensive reference checks. The Steering Committee
unanimously recommends the appointment of the team of Sears & Russell
Consultants Limited, in association with Economic Planning Group, to
undertake the Vancouver Museum Operations Review.
Schedule:
The study is expected to commence on August 1, 1995 and be completed
with final report by November 1, 1995. A draft document is to be
submitted to the Steering Committee by October 1, 1995. Staff will
subsequently report back to Council at which time the Vancouver Museum
Association and the VMREU may also wish to speak to the consultant's
report.
Fee:
Each of the nine proponents submitted fee proposals. They ranged from
$26,000 to $149,000. The recommended team have submitted a fee
proposal of $69,874, inclusive of expenses and GST.
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