Job Description
Request for Proposals: Local, State and Federal Judicial Elections and Appointments Expert
Contact: Brianna Carmen brianna@emergeamerica.org; (915) 244-8603
RFP Issue Date: May 23, 2022
Proposal Deadline: Rolling
About Emerge: Emerge is changing the face of politics to create a more inclusive democracy. We are the nation’s premier organization that recruits, trains, and provides a powerful network of Democratic women who want to run for office. Since 2002, Emerge has trained more than 5,000 Democratic women to run for office and currently more than 1,100 Emerge alums hold elected positions nationally. Emerge is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with an office in San Francisco. More information on the organization can be found at http://www.emergeamerica.org/.
Project Background: To meet our ambitious goals in the 2022 midterms and beyond, we need to continue our work in a broader way than ever before. Building upon our past successes with specialized judicial boot camps and supplementary programming in the states of Nevada and Tennessee, Emerge will expand efforts to recruit and train women of the New American Majority, with a special emphasis on women of color, to run for judicial seats and work towards receiving judicial appointments. Efforts will be informed through insight from on-the-ground staff and alumnae in our network, stakeholders and data analysis using the latest digital tools to determine which positions are key to creating a pipeline that shifts the makeup of court seats at the local and state levels. Our organization has trained hundreds of judicial candidates (with 58 races alone in 2020), carried a win rate of 61.7% and have had alumnae successfully receive judicial appointments. This collaboration will support the expansion of our judicial work, enabling Emerge to: conduct a national and state-based pilot program; expand efforts in key target states including Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin; and lastly, foster the growth of a network focused on judicial opportunities. At Emerge, we know that you can't change the judicial system without changing the faces of who sits on the bench. According to the National Association of Women Judges, there are roughly about 6,000 women judges for the nearly 17,800 state court seats in the nation, meaning that the percentage of women justices currently on the bench is a mere 34%1 . Emerge is committed to filling the local and state pipeline with women leaders who can run for these judgeships and other positions of power to help make our communities more equitable. By putting strong, moral leaders in positions of power, we can help ensure a fairer system for us all. This project will allow us to continue transformative change within the judicial branch by: engaging in strategic recruitment; developing top-notch and specialized supplementary trainings; and fostering a powerful alumnae network.
Project Scope: The project scope involves collaborating on Emerge’s new judicial elections and appointments program in Wisconsin. We would like to achieve that through the following goals: ● Work with the Training and Curriculum Director of Emerge to review materials and expand upon content to form a 7.5-10 hour judicial elections curriculum ● Provide actionable strategies and tactics for building a pipeline of strong judicial candidates who are women of the New American Majority (NAM) in Wisconsin ● Contribute ideas for judicial elections and appointments programming including outreach and recruitment, training, and continuing education ● Foster relationships between Emerge and individuals and/or organizations engaged in pipeline work or interested in supporting NAM women judges ● Share recommendations for long-term program success Project Phases ● Research and Analysis (Ongoing-September 2022) ○ Review of current standing curriculum 1 https://www.nawj.org/statistics/2022-us-state-court-women-judges ○ Interviews with former judicial candidates (including elected and not elected) and campaign staff ● Program and Curriculum Development (September 2022-November 2022) ○ Address voids in current standing curriculum ○ Determine specialized needs for state specific appointments and elections material ○ Give feedback on outreach and recruitment material for Emerge network, partner organizations and interested individuals ● Program Execution (December 2022-January 2023) ○ Participate in judicial elections and appointments supplemental training ● Program Review and Modifications (February 2023-March 2023) ○ Evaluate participant feedback ○ Recommendations for next steps Deliverables ● Development of 7.5-10 hour supplemental training content for judicial elections in Wisconsin ○ Assessment of strengths, weaknesses and opportunities in existing material with a key focus on Wisconsin ○ Expansion of content to provide structured training with learning objectives, actionable strategies and goals for program participants ● Collaborate on continuing education materials and training program for Emerge judicial network ○ Worksheets, panels, online and in-person events, etc. ● Foster relationship introductions where appropriate to organizations, potential partners and/or individuals within the judicial space ● Share recommendations for program next steps
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) Needed: ● Subject-matter expertise: ○ Familiarity with the judicial elections and appointments process in Wisconsin ○ Knowledge of judicial roles and responsibilities ■ Judicial canons and additional ethics ■ Regulations around fundraising as a current or future judicial candidate ○ Working knowledge of and relationships with the judicial community including organizations and individuals supporting judicial reform and pipeline work ● Bonus: familiarity with women-facing and women-serving organizations
RFP Timeline: All proposals in response to this RFP will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled. If information or discussions are needed with any submitters, they will be notified. Upon notification, the contract negotiation with the winning bidder will begin immediately.
Budget: All proposals must include proposed costs to complete the tasks described in the project scope. All costs and fees must be clearly described in each proposal. Emerge will take into consideration proposals within the compensation bands of $7,500 -$12,500 for the project.
Proposal Evaluation Criteria: Emerge will evaluate all proposals based on the following criteria. To ensure consideration for this Request for Proposal, your proposal should be complete and include all of the following criteria: ● Overall proposal suitability: proposed solution(s) must meet the scope and needs included herein and be presented in a clear and organized manner; ● Subject-Matter Expertise: Bidders will be evaluated on their experience as it pertains to the scope of this project; ● Previous work: Bidders will be evaluated on examples of their work pertaining to the judicial system as well as by organizational testimonials and references; ● Value and cost: Bidders will be evaluated on the cost of their solution(s) based on the work to be performed in accordance with the scope of this project; ● Strategic partnership and program experience: Bidders must provide descriptions and documentation of technical expertise and experience.
Each bidder must submit their proposal here: https://form.asana.com/?k=Q4ji7vdy0gbj4qOSyo7ZeQ&d=1183066912777767 or to Brianna Carmen at brianna@emergeamerica.org.