This negotiated Request for Proposals (“RFP”) is an invitation by Rotman School of Management on behalf of The Governing Council of the University of Toronto (the “University”) to prospective Proponents to submit Proposals for the provision of Mutual Acculturation Profile and Leaning Engine, as further described in Part 2 – The Deliverables. The Initiative for Women in Business (IWB), Rotman School of Management requires a Proponent to develop an online tool called Mutual Acculturation Profile and Learning Engine (MAPLE), to assess the users’ cultural profile and competency levels. The Successful Proponent will develop a web-based tool that will be highly visual and gamified to minimize misinterpretation or ambiguity; based on visual images rather than text (main text will be translated into at least three other languages), making it accessible to any user with lower English language proficiency. Through the Business Edge Program for Internationally Educated Professionals, Rotman has been delivering workplace cultural training since 2009. Over the years it was evident that there is a clear need for a holistic and authentic workplace cultural training program that is: 1. comprehensive, current and relevant to today’s workplace culture in Canada 2. able to identify training needs by measuring intercultural competence, using a valid and reliable cultural assessment tool that was easily accessible and affordable 3. based on an integration model rather than an adaptation model In the context of an increasingly global economy, and with evidence that language and cultural proficiency are often tied to performance and excellence in the workplace, the goal of the MAPLE project is to create a tool that incorporates all three elements identified above. The MAPLE assessment tool will support training programs designed to develop intercultural fluency and to embrace and integrate differences through access and education to ensure cultural competency development and true integration.
