SWANA Issues RFP for Development of a Canadian Adaptation of its MOLO Certification and Course

Response Deadline: Friday, September 24, 8:00 pm EDT

Mandatory Pre-proposal Submission Conference Call: Monday, September 13, 2:00 pm EDT

Silver Spring, MD – The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to develop a Canadian adaptation of its leading industry certification and course for Managers of Landfill Operations (MOLO). Proposals are due by Friday, September 24, 2021, 8:00 p.m. EDT.  

SWANA seeks a consultant group with experience in the Canadian solid waste industry to develop a version of SWANA’s MOLO course and certification adapted to Canadian laws and regulations. The consultant will work with subject matter experts (SME) with experience managing active and open municipal solid waste landfills in Canada and SWANA staff to identify and incorporate Canadian-specific content to add to or replace the U.S.-specific MOLO course and certification material.

“The Canadian version of the MOLO-US course and the Canadian-oriented items that will be part of the MOLO Certification exam will define and measure what it means to be a Manager of Landfill Operations in Canada today,” said Meri Beth Wojtaszek, SWANA Deputy Executive Director. The project includes validating and/or updating the SWANA Body of Knowledge (BoK) for MOLOs with Canadian national and provincial specifics, as needed. Updated in 2021, the BoK contains a detailed list of the areas of responsibility, knowledge, skills, and abilities required of individuals in the MOLO role and will serve as the foundational document for the development of the Canadian version of the MOLO course (MOLO-CA) and Canadian-specific items for the MOLO certification exam.    

“This exciting project continues SWANA’s new approach to the development of training. Past course development efforts have resulted in one very large course manual of several hundred pages that offered a comprehensive look at a field of study, like landfill management. Students seeking training on one aspect of the field had to take the entire course,” noted Ms. Wojtazsek. “With this project, SWANA continues its emphasis on developing more personalized and customized learning experiences.” Like the MOLO-US course, the MOLO-CA course will be available to students as a series of individual learning modules, each of which will provide a stand-alone educational experience about the primary topic(s) covered within a module. Depending on their educational needs, students will have the option to access one or multiple modules to fill knowledge gaps selectively or consume the modules as a set for a comprehensive landfill management education.

Call for Volunteers – September 24 Deadline   

SMEs with expertise managing active and open municipal solid waste landfills in Canada are needed to form two distinct groups that will work with the consultant: the Certification Exam Development Group and the Course Development Group. SMEs and consultant’s representatives serving on one group may not serve on the other in keeping with standards requiring separation between certification, training, and course development activities.

The project will begin in October 2021 and conclude in February of 2022. All work will be completed remotely via a series of weekly or semimonthly virtual meetings. (Frequency of virtual meetings to be determined by each group.) SMEs interested in participating on this project should indicate the group on which they’d like to serve and forward their resumes to Ms. Valles-Hall (avalles-hall@swana.org) for consideration no later than Friday, September 24, 8:00 pm EDT.

Mandatory Pre-Proposal Submission Conference Call Scheduled for September 13

To address respondents’ questions in preparation for their response to the RFP, SWANA will convene a mandatory, pre-proposal submission conference call on Monday, September 13, 2:00 pm EDT. Submit questions in advance of the meeting via the registration form. Register for the meeting here.  

Responding to RFP

For complete details and guidance on how to respond, download the RFP, Draft Consulting Agreement, and other materials found here.

RFP Contact:

Arminda Valles-Hall, Director of Education
240-494-2251
avalles-hall@swana.org