The vendor is required to provide communications agencies to conduct a comprehensive audit of the university's crisis/issues management and incident response communications, create a plan for any needed improvements, and provide ongoing support for proactive monitoring and unforeseen crisis response.
- The university defines crisis communications broadly to include a strategic communications approach implemented in response to a public challenge to the organization’s reputation.
- The audit and subsequent recommendations will ensure that communications planning, strategy, and processes work efficiently and effectively within the new organizational structure of the university, specifically within the division of marketing and communications.
- University with multiple campuses, this effort will look across departments, campuses and teaching sites to ensure a comprehensive understanding of issues and crisis management.
- Evaluate the current state of crisis/issues management and incident response communications.
- Identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement in existing processes and strategies.
- Develop comprehensive recommendations to enhance the university's preparedness and response capabilities.
- Crisis Communication Readiness Audit, Analysis, and Recommendation:
- To understand current efforts and develop recommendations regarding structure, resource gaps, staffing needs, and strategies/plans to support issues management, crisis communications, and how the division of marketing and communications supports incident response communications.
- Audit of Current Process (does not include audit of emergency response efforts)
• Review existing issues/crisis monitoring, management and incident response plans
• Evaluate current organizational structure and roles
• Assess cross-university collaboration methods
• Analyze communication channels and tools currently in use
- Stakeholder Interviews
• Conduct in-depth interviews with key stakeholders across the organization
• Gather insights on current processes, challenges, and opportunities
• Identify pain points and areas for improvement
- Analysis and Recommendations
• Analyze current structure, plans, and processes for enhancement opportunities
• Benchmark against best practices in higher education and other relevant industries
• Develop comprehensive recommendations for improvement
- Issue Identification and Planning
• Identify key issues for which the university needs to proactively plan
• Develop a prioritization framework for issue management
- The following expected outcomes are to support the Division of Marketing and Communications specifically:
• Comprehensive audit report detailing current state of crisis and issues management
• Gap analysis identifying areas for improvement
• Detailed recommendations for enhancing preparedness and response capabilities specific to Marketing and Communications
• Prioritized list of key issues requiring proactive planning
- Issues Management Planning and Preparedness:
- To develop and/or update comprehensive issues management playbooks in identified areas based on the audit findings and recommendations.
- Playbook Development and Updates
• Utilize audit findings and industry best practices to enhance issues and crisis playbooks
• Develop step-by-step guidance for situations by crisis level
• Clearly define roles and responsibilities within the plans
• Create key messaging and positioning statements to support internal decision-making and communications responses
• Ensure plans consider the university's varied audiences and multiple campuses
- Tools and Technology Recommendations
• Provide counsel on key tools needed for monitoring relevant topics in media and social media
• Recommend technologies to support efficient and effective crisis response
• Suggest platforms for internal communication and collaboration during crises
- Training and Implementation Support
• Develop training materials for key stakeholders on new/updated plans
• Conduct workshops to familiarize team members with their roles and responsibilities
• Provide guidance on conducting regular drills and simulations
- Measurement and Evaluation Framework
• Develop KPIs to measure the effectiveness of crisis and issues management efforts
• Create a framework for post-incident analysis and continuous improvement of communications efforts

- Contract Period/Term: 1 year