Designing For Everybody | Part 3

Need help? How to work with consultants to support your heritage organization.
Kyrie Kellet, CIP, Principal at MasonBee Interpretive Planning

Every organization needs help sometimes, and consultants can often provide the expertise and support you need. But, how do you find the right person? How do you find the money to pay them? How do you set up the contract and working relationship to make sure you really get what you need?  It can feel overwhelming to get started, but here are a few tips for finding and working with the right consultant for your organization and circumstances.

The first thing I usually tell people when they are thinking about consultants is that we are kind of like ice cream. Let me explain…

First, ice cream is something you could figure out how to make on your own, but most people do not want to. They don’t know how, it takes more time or effort than they have available, or they don’t have the equipment. Same with consulting projects. These are projects your organization needs help with to get done well or on time.

Second, you have to pick the right flavor for the context. You might love mint chocolate chip, but it would be weird to serve it with apple pie. Similarly, you need to think carefully about what “flavor” of consultant you need to get your project done. You might like someone personally, but do they have the expertise, time, and temprament for the job? If not, that’s OK. Maybe they’ll be perfect for the next project. Here are a few common skill sets that heritage-related consultants can bring to the table: strategic planning, exhibit/program design and development, fundraising, collections care, financial management, facilities (re)development, marketing, DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility), and so much more.

Third, ice cream is good because it is creamy and sweet. But, this high caloric price tag also means you probably need to be judicious in how much you eat. Consultants are also going to be more expensive when you compare their hourly rates to most employees. That’s because you are paying for their expertise in a specific field. Their fee also includes all of the costs that they need to recoup to stay in business. As with ice cream, the expense is usually worth it, but you need to think through the most efficient way to work with the consultant to get the job done without blowing your budget. You can also work with consultants to break up the work into smaller portions and complete each phase as you raise funds.

To help you decide what flavor of consultant you might need, here are a few questions to ask your team as you get started: 

1. What skills or experience do we really need? This can include technical skills or licenses as well as experience working with similar organizations, situations, or communities.
2. What’s our price range? Do you need a bargain or do you want a high-end experience?
3. Do you want someone local or can they be anywhere?
4. What approach works best for your organization? Are you an interactive, collaborative group or more top-down, expertise driven organization?

Next you should outline exactly what you need from the consultant and how you are going to measure who would be the best fit. A few common ways of doing this include: 

• Formal RFP–This process is often required by public institutions or for large projects. An RFP asks the consultant to outline who they are and how they would approach the project. Creating a good RFP takes a lot of time and thought, so make sure to allow for this in the process.
• Less formal RFI (Request for Information) or RFQ (Request for Qualifications)–These are good options to collect a broad range of applicants with slightly less work for both the organization and the consultants responding. These requests usually just ask the consultant to provide information about themselves and why they would be a good fit for the project.
• Specific RFQ (Request for Quote)–This process just asks consultants to provide a price for a specific task. If you know exactly what you need and how you want to do it, this can be a good option.
• Informal meetings–Meeting with potential consultants without a proposal is often the least amount of work for all involved, but may not allow you to get the broadest applicants and/or get a full sense of the work the consultants could provide. It is best for smaller organizations and projects.

Once you know what you want and how you are going to assess applicants, start looking for potential candidates. A few good places to start include: 

• Word of mouth–Ask around through your professional networks or ask Oregon Heritage staff.
• Professional websites–Oregon Museums Association, National Association for Interpretation, American Alliance of Museums, Western Museums Association, American Association for State and Local History, Nonprofit Association of Oregon, Restore Oregon, and other organizations keep lists of members and consultants that you can search. Many of them also have forums or listservs you can post to for recommendations. 
• Internet search–A good old Google search can often help find new folks to reach out to or research.
• RFP websites–If you have a large project, you can post an RFP or RFI/Q on websites that aggregate opportunities. Consultants can search the available projects and respond to the ones that fit their expertise. 

After finding a few good candidates, make sure to ask the following questions either in your RFP or your interviews: 

• What experience do you have with this type of project?
• What experience do you have with our type of organization?
• What do you charge?
• Who would work on the project? (Do they have employees or subcontractors that would do the work or is it the person you are meeting with?)
• What is their approach to the work? What are their values and priorities?
• Do they have references?

Make sure that you set yourself up for success by outlining a few key things as you get started: 

• Make sure that there is a point person at your organization whose job it is to coordinate and interface with the consultant.
• Create a scope of work including deliverables, fee structure, project processes, travel expectations, etc.
• Use the scope of work to create and sign a contract or Letter of Agreement. (This is really important! You might want help from an attorney to set this up.)
• Host a kickoff meeting with all of the key players on the project to clarify the timeline and process for the project.
• Make sure everyone is on the same page with invoicing, payment terms, and processes. (For example, who should the consultant send the invoice to, when/how it will be paid, etc.)
• Check in regularly according to the scope of work.

I hope all of your consultant experiences are sweet and the process goes smoothly! But, if you still have questions, feel free to contact me or Oregon Heritage for support. Want to read more about what to consider when working with consultants, check out the Oregon Heritage Bulletin #8: Choosing Consultants and Contractors.