Canadian Association of Nordic Ski Instructors

CANSI National Office RFP Announced Posted on May 2nd, 2008

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A quick update on the National Office replacement:

CANSI's board has chosen Lafleur de la Capitale's proposal as best fitting our needs and are in negotiations with them to develop a contract. Lafleur are conducting due diligence to better understand the scope and effort required to meet our requirements. It is expected that we can complete a contract and start the transition to Lafleur by the end of September.

Garry Almond
membership@cansi.ca

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
May 1, 2008

The Canadian Association of Nordic Ski Instructors (CANSI) is looking for an organization or individual to provide administrative support and function as the National Office.

CANSI will develop a mutually beneficial SLA (Service Level Agreement) with the winning applicant. In your response you may identify any items that should be detailed in the SLA. This SLA will commence on or after July 1, 2008.

To respond to this RFP, please provide a 1-3 page letter that comments on the following criteria and shows a good understanding of our requirements:

• Relevant experience
• Method of service delivery (office location, hours, staffing, existing infrastructure)
• References
• Annual Budget for your services
• Ability to manage our internet based LMS (learning management system), which controls all course registrations, member database etc.

Below is a description of the required CANSI national office services.

The primary criteria that CANSI's board will take into account when selecting the successful candidate are:

1. Bilingual - interviews will be conducted in both English and French
2. Long term commitment
3. Professional and service focused
4. Cost
5. Ability to ensure accountability in the organization such that Policies, Processes and Procedures are routinely followed
6. Create exposure and opportunities for CANSI to work with similar organizations
7. Ability to interface with a diverse National Volunteer Board
8. phone, fax, high speed internet access are essential

There may also be some opportunities to extend the scope of the services since CANSI also contracts for editing its quarterly newsletter XCitation and for some English to French translation.

Please send responses to the RFP (electronic only please) by May 23, 2008 or direct any questions to:

Garry Almond CANSI, Ontario
membership@cansi.ca
(416) 708-6430

You may also direct questions to the other members of the selection committee:

Mark Simpson, CANSI Pacific
marks@telus.net
604-862-3420

Norman Thibault, CANSI Quebec
jmessier000@sympatico.ca
514-926-4815

Background

The Canadian Association of Nordic Ski Instructors (CANSI) is a non-profit organization designed to promote and advance the sport of cross-country and Telemark skiing in Canada through the provision of high quality instruction. There are approximately 600 current members and almost 3,000 members in our database.

CANSI certifies Nordic ski instructors through instructor-level courses offered through the 6 regions. CANSI does not offer courses to the general public, only to current members and those qualifying to become instructors.

The National Office supports all CANSI members as well as the National Board of Directors (BOD). One region has some office services and all regions are supported by their regional volunteers.

Two years ago CANSI introduced a new website and administrative systems to enhance the services and to support both centralized and regional support models.

The following is a summary of the services provided by the national office (they are required to take the lead in delivering all of these services).

Member Support

o Primary contact for all members and potential members
o Answer questions about membership and certifications (and escalate questions to board members as required)
o Answer questions about courses and course results
o Answer questions about Insurance
o Verbally translate member correspondence for unilingual BOD members
o Update member's data for those members who don't self-maintain their own personal data online
o Register members in courses for those members who don't self-register online
o Send paper mailings to members without e-mail addresses and to those who don't respond to membership e-mailings
o Assist with posting to www.cansi.ca and with the creation of XCitation

Membership renewals, course registration and payments

o Process payments for membership and courses (the majority of payments are self-processed online by the members)
o Mail membership cards when membership is renewed, courses passed and certifications changed
o Process credits for cancelled courses (PayPal, credit card and cheque)
o Mail DVDs to members who order them
o Purchase and mail course materials, DVDs, pins, temporary cards, etc. to course conductors

Financial Support

o Pay all bills and expenses
o Deposit all cheques and cash receipts
o Reconcile PayPal transactions with membership and course transactions
o Assist in the reconciliation of membership fees and course fees by region
o Pay course conductors (those instructors who teach CANSI's courses)
o Bookkeeping
o Coordination of the Audit / Review Engagement and provide financial information to the auditors and answer their questions
o Coordination of tax statements
o Inventory of assets

Insurance

o Maintain CANSI's insurance policy

Other duties as required including

o File government forms including the annual Industry Canada Report and others required for incorporation
o Liaison with the regions
o Attend BOD meetings as required
o Prepare reports as required for each board meeting and for the AGM.
o Invoice for services provided
o Preparation and management of all administrative documents
o Purchase required equipment
o Coordinate BOD meetings and travel
o Booking of travel reservations, ground and accommodations
o Coordinate administrative aspects such as meeting notices, reports
o May occasionally be required to attend meetings outside of business hours

The National Office is busy in the fall and early winter and very quiet in the summer after the books are closed for the year.

Key factors (skills needed, relevant experience required and infrastructure required)

1. Fluently bilingual, both verbal and written, as 25% of CANSI members' language of choice is French
2. Good financial and analytical skills, including: bookkeeping and assist in the preparation of Financial Year-end and Audit
3. A telephone, computer, fax and high-speed Internet connection
4. Good computer skills and the ability to learn new (straightforward) applications
5. Access to credit card payment clearing (minimum of VISA and MasterCard)
6. Member support by telephone during business hours in your local time zone
7. Respond to voice messages and e-mails within a maximum of 48 hours and ideally the same day or within 24 hours
8. Patience, as a few members can be demanding
9. Ideally, a familiarity with CANSI, instructors and/or snow sports

CANSI; an overview

The Canadian Association of Nordic Ski Instructors (CANSI) is a non-profit organization designed to promote and advance the sport of cross country skiing in Canada through the provision of high quality instruction. CANSI strives to promote a positive and proactive approach to the teaching of cross country skiing skills through lesson planning and instruction.

CANSI offers four levels of certification in Cross Country techniques and three in Telemark. Telemark skiing is a downhill style utilized with free-heel bindings and specialized equipment. Advancement through the levels in both areas marks a progression in an individual's ability to teach more advanced or expert skiers. Although CANSI's primary focus is certifying instructors to teach the general public, services beyond instructor certification are also available.

CANSI is the body through which new technical advances in the sport are directed to the learning skier.
Each region appoints their national representative through regional elections. To be a member of the National Board of Directors, an individual must be an active member in good standing with the association and be elected by the region in which they reside.

History

CANSI was formed in 1976 through the influence of Nordic instruction programs of the Canadian Ski Association, the Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance, and Ski Quebec.

There are dedicated members who have been a part of CANSI for many years. From the legendary Sigge Bjorklund to more recent members, CANSI has seen the introduction of skate technique and the addition of telemark instruction as a distinct discipline. CANSI continues to shape the future of nordic skiing in Canada.

Mandate/Goals

1. To provide a standard of excellence in certified Nordic instruction by maintaining a uniform and current level of expertise in Nordic skiing and by delivering nationally sanctioned pedagogy to the skiing public.
2. To educate the skiing to the advantages of instruction in Nordic skiing.
3. To maintain a viable and functioning communication network, focusing on technical and pedagogical advancements, which in turn, will provide supportive and stimulating resources to instructors to pass on to the public.
4. To promote and maintain national and international liaison within the Nordic disciplines.