By joining together, networking, and leveraging all of our unique skills and experiences, we have a strong opportunity to improve the delivery of consultant supports and services in the education sector. BlueScope Group leads this work in building an ever-growing collective and curating best-fit teams for specific projects to meet the needs of our clients.
We refer to the individuals who have joined the collective as “Implementation Specialists”.
Joining the collective requires a brief vetting process but there is no cost or commitment. Being a part of the collective enables you to have access to projects and clients which may have otherwise been unavailable to you.
See the questions and answers below for more information.
What are the benefits of joining the BlueScope Group collective for consultants?
While the primary purpose in forming the collective is to provide high-quality supports and services to education organizations and school districts, there are also benefits for the individual consultants who make up the collective. If you are invited to join you will:
be notified of opportunities to collaborate on existing projects across the collective and/or be included as a respondent on RFPs and grant proposals when your expertise and geographic location aligns with the work;
have access to projects and clients which may have otherwise been unavailable to you;
have first access to networking and professional events; and
have access to BlueScope’s RFP and Bid database for $8/month and are free to respond to any bid request that BlueScope is abstaining from (this is a savings of $800/year for your own subscription to RFPSchoolWatch).
What does it mean to join the collective? What is the Process?
Joining the BlueScope Group collective is relatively simple but it does involve a brief vetting process to ensure only the highest quality consultants support our partners.
Step 1: Complete the Implementation Specialist Interest Form
Step 2: BlueScope staff will respond within 48 hours with a request for additional information and to schedule a brief follow-up phone call
Step 3: A brief phone call to better understand your experiences and interests and answer any questions you might have.
Step 4: A final request for information—similar to what would be requested in a standard RFP (ex. updated resume, 2-3 sample materials that represent your work, any letters of reference/recommendation you might have).
Step 5: An invitation to join the collective formalized through an MOU or an explanation of why you might not have been invited to join.
What happens after I am invited to join the collective?
Once you accept an invitation to join the network we will stay in regular communication with you and keep you updated on the work we are doing and seek to update our understanding of your capacity to work on projects. There are 3 common scenarios in which we would contact you specifically:
Scenario 1: A district, organization, or other consultant has asked BlueScope Group if we know someone with a particular set of experiences or skills in a specific geographic location to provide temporary capacity on a specific project. (This frequent question is one of the catalysts for the founding of our organization!)
Scenario 2: BlueScope Group has an active contract and would like to bring you in as a subcontractor to support specific parts or the project.
Scenario 3: BlueScope Group wishes to respond to an RFP or grant proposal that aligns with your experiences and skills. We will reach out to confirm your availability and interest.
Are the scenarios above the only ways in which BlueScope engages with consultants?
While the three scenarios above represent the most common interactions that BlueScope has with members of the collective, our organic evolution has led to additional opportunities identified below:
Members understand that being in the collective represents an opportunity to go after projects and clients that they previously did not have the capacity to support as an independent or small firm. You can reach out to BlueScope with a project (RFP) you’re aware of and interested in and we can build out a team with you to have the highest likelihood of a successful bid. This scenario was how we came to be awarded our contract with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Members can request a-la-carte administrative and project supports or subscribe to a set number of monthly hours of support. Visit the page titled Our Work With Consultants to learn more about this service.
Members can leverage the collective for their own project needs in any scenario where they need temporary capacity from someone with a specific set of skills or experiences to better meet the needs of their clients.
Organizations that organize conferences and panel discussions are able to utilize the collective to identify panel presenters and keynote speakers.
Please, let us know if you have additional ideas for how we can engage with members in the collective!