Inactive

Responses are due no later than 12:00PM (noon) Eastern Time on THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2025. PLEASE SEE ATTACHMENT FOR COMPLETE DETAILS. Peer Review Services Market Research Request for Information Backgro... Responses are due no later than 12:00PM (noon) Eastern Time on THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2025. PLEASE SEE ATTACHMENT FOR COMPLETE DETAILS. Peer Review Services Market Research Request for Information Background Pursuant to FAR Part 10, the federal government is conducting market research to determine What sources exist that can satisfy the requirements listed below, The appropriate NAICS code, The capabilities of potential contractors, The size and status of potential sources, and The level of competition. The Office of Justice Program (OJP) is a component within the U.S. Department of Justice comprised of six statutorily authorized program offices supported by eight business offices (see www.ojp.gov/about). OJP is the largest grantmaking component of the Department of Justice and houses the Department’s criminal and juvenile justice, science, statistics, and programmatic agencies. OJP provides federal leadership, funding, training and technical assistance, research and statistics, and other critical resources to advance work that strengthens community safety, promotes civil rights, increases access to justice, supports crime victims and individuals impacted by the justice system, and builds trust between law enforcement and communities. OJP comprises six program offices which develop notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs) and manage the programmatic review of applications. The program offices are: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Office of Sexual Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART Office) Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) OJP is seeking information from interested vendors to support OJP’s Peer Review Services effort. A critical component of the grantmaking process is to assess the merits of applications for proposed grant funded projects. The peer review process is a central part of that application merit review that provides objective, independent, advisory review of the applications. Peer reviewers identify and assess the strengths and weaknesses of applications in accordance with the goals and objectives of the funding opportunity. An initial step of application review is the basic minimum requirements (BMR) review, which screens applications for compliance with basic NOFO requirements to determine which applications should progress to peer review. OJP anticipates awarding a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) or Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract vehicle to provide logistical and administrative support for peer reviews for OJP program offices. Related support for other components or offices may be included. Task Orders, both fixed-price and time-and-materials, or a hybrid of both, would be issued from the contract vehicle to support program office grant peer reviews. The contractor will manage the technical assistance and provide the logistical support required for peer reviews and other peer review-related activities that support OJP’s mission. The contractor must be attentive to detail, excel at making logistical arrangements and decisions, and be responsive to OJP's needs.? In fiscal year 2024, OJP peer reviewed 153 notices of funding opportunities that received around 6200 applications requiring nearly 1700 peer reviewers to provide assessments. Additionally, the contractor will be required to coordinate with other OJP contractors and partners to accomplish the tasks required under this order.? All OJP peer reviews supported under this order will be conducted using OJP's grants management system and other systems. Therefore, the contractor must coordinate with OJP to obtain training to ensure that peer reviewers and contractor staff can use the OJP system functionalities. Scope In general, the required work is associated with various phases and types of peer review, including but not limited to the following: (1) Peer Review Planning and Management Recommend enhancements to and implement practices in accordance with the OJP peer review standard operating procedures; Recommend updates to the OJP peer review training materials for both internal staff (OJP employees) and external individuals (peer reviewers), ad update the OJP peer review training materials upon approval of the recommended changes; Assist in the facilitation of the OJP peer review training for both internal staff (OJP employees) and external individuals (peer reviewers); Develop and implement an outreach strategy to recruit reviewers with relevant experience; Assess individuals’ applications to become peer reviewers and provide recommendations to OJP staff in order to ensure the quality of the peer reviewer pool meets OJP standards; Analyze peer reviewer data and prepare reports; Hold kick-off meetings with each program office; Hold notice of funding opportunity forecast meetings to set schedules; Manage and track meeting logistics and schedules; Develop automated standard forms and guidance documents; Estimate the budget of the peer review and track costs; Execute statements of work with peer reviewers as identified by OJP; Process invoices for peer reviewer work and make payments to peer reviewers; Initiate OJP system accounts for the peer reviewers; Organize?peer review panels; Arrange and conduct orientation calls with peer reviewers and record the calls for playback for missing reviewers; Coordinate with staff in the facilitation of the peer reviewer orientation calls; Assemble peer review panels; Assign applications to peer reviewers; Collect, track, and manage documentation for each notice of funding opportunity (NOFO); and Develop and implement a Quality Control Plan (QCP) (2) Basic Minimum Requirements Review Conduct the basic minimum requirements (BMR) review of the applications submitted into the OJP grants management system; Communicate BMR findings to OJP program offices; Draft notices to the applicants that did not pass BMR review; and Send BMR letters through the OJP email system. (3) Peer Review Format Management OJP program offices may select one of the following types of peer review: Collaboration Review – Peer reviewers complete an initial review of the applications online and enter scores and comments of the merit of the applications in the system. Then, peer reviewers participate in a virtual collaboration meeting to discuss their initial assessments before finalizing their scores and comments in the system. Initial Only Review – Peer reviewers complete only the online application review in the system without convening a collaboration meeting. In-person Collaboration Review – Peer reviewers review the merit of applications online and then travel to a meeting to discuss scores and comments. Scores and comments are finalized as a group at the meeting. Standing Review Panel – A group of reviewers serve for a term of two to three years to review the technical merit of applications under multiple NOFOs and participate in virtual or in-person collaboration meetings to discuss the applications. Concept Paper Review – Peer reviewers assess brief narratives to evaluate the merit of the concept paper. Applicants whose concept papers are determined to be most promising are invited to submit full proposals that peer reviewers then assess using collaboration reviews. Below are requirements for each of the types of peer review: Collaboration Review: Schedule and facilitate virtual collaboration calls; Disseminate, collect, and track conflict of interest and non-disclosure forms; Track and remind the peer reviewers to submit their peer review scores and comments on time; Coordinate with federal staff to replace peer reviewers promptly when there is a conflict or when they withdraw; Develop initial score reports using the OJP system, formatting scores by raw scores; Provide reports of reviewer scores and comments; and Provide OJP systems technical assistance to peer reviewers and OJP staff as needed Initial Only Review: Disseminate, collect, and track conflict of interest and non-disclosure forms; Track and remind peer reviewers to submit their peer review scores and comments on time; and Coordinate with federal staff to replace peer reviewers promptly when there is a conflict or when they withdraw; Develop initial score reports using the OJP system, formatting scores by raw scores; Provide reports of reviewer scores and comments; and Provide OJP systems technical assistance In-Person Collaboration Meeting: Secure conference rooms at the contractor's site, other federal facility or commercial meeting space; Arrange travel and hotel arrangements; Schedule, facilitate, take notes, and provide logistical support for the in-person collaboration meetings; Disseminate, collect, and track conflict of interest and non-disclosure forms; Track and remind the peer reviewers to submit their peer review scores and comments on time; Coordinate with federal staff to replace peer reviewers promptly when there is a conflict or when they withdraw; Develop initial score reports using the OJP system, formatting scores by raw scores; Provide reports of reviewer scores and comments; and Provide OJP systems technical assistance. Standing Review Panel: Secure conference rooms at the contractor's site, other federal facility or commercial meeting space; Arrange travel and hotel arrangements; Schedule, facilitate, take notes, and provide logistical support for the in-person standing review panel meetings; Prepare meeting binders; Disseminate, collect, and track conflict of interest and non-disclosure forms; Track and remind the peer reviewers to submit their peer review scores and comments on time; Coordinate with federal staff to replace peer reviewers promptly when there is a conflict or when they withdraw; Develop initial score reports using the OJP system, formatting scores by raw scores; Provide reports of reviewer scores and comments; Ensure that adequate equipment is available to conduct the meeting; Provide OJP systems technical assistance Concept Paper Review: Track and remind peer reviewers to submit their scores and comments on time; Coordinate with federal staff to replace peer reviewers promptly when there is a conflict or when they withdraw; Develop initial score reports using the OJP system, formatting scores by raw scores; Provide reports of reviewer scores and comments; and Provide OJP systems technical assistance (4) Post-Peer Review Activities Generate and ensure the accuracy of initial and final score reports using the OJP system formatting scores by raw scores, normalized scores, and banded scoring formats; Produce redacted tiered score reports and final tier reports; Develop final score reports; Draft summaries of the strengths and weakness for each application based on peer review comments; Draft non-award emails; Disseminate evaluations of the peer reviewers and analyze responses; Disseminate evaluations?regarding peer reviewer and contractor performance to program office staff; analyze responses; Upload all supporting documentation to the OJP systems for A-123 audit purposes; Process peer reviewer invoices and pay the peer reviewers the approved rate per application as defined in OJP policy; Respond to various data calls from OJP representatives; Send thank you letters to peer reviewers via email; Send non-award notices through the OJP email system; and Hold debrief sessions with OJP staff for each Order. (5) Maintaining and Upgrading the Peer Review Management System Support the operation and maintenance of the current Peer Review Management System (PRMS) platform, which comprises the Peer Reviewer Database and Peer Review Support System; Develop new code to apply incremental enhancements to the current PRMS platform as needed; Apply security patches and bug fixes as needed; Keep software versions up to date with vendor releases in line with version N/N-1; Manage PRMS website content in line with organizational priorities; Manage user accounts for PRMS, via OJP’s identity and access management solution, DIAMD; Comply with security requirements as related to maintaining Authorities to Operate and Test, as well as to respond to any incoming cyber security threats or vulnerabilities; Coordinate with OJP’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) on potential platform migrations, system functionality, and modernization efforts; and In coordination with OJP’s OCIO, implement transition and transfer efforts for potential platform migrations. (6) Other Operational Tasks include: Weekly/monthly reporting of progress; System status reports; Status reports on activities, as requested; Routine meetings on progress; Monthly financial reporting; Annual reports on scheduling trends; and Annual reports to include quality control results. REQUESTED INFORMATION FOR RESPONSE The response to this Request For Information (RFI) should describe the vendor’s collective expertise and experience in ALL of the following areas: Knowledge and experience of federal grant management; Experience providing logistical and administrative support for conducting program-specific peer reviews for government organizations; Experience coordinating hotel logistics for on-site peer review meetings of varying size including coordinating travel arrangements, room reservations, and hotel space; Ability to provide, or obtain content expertise on subject matter (i.e. criminal justice grants) in order to contribute to the recruitment of peer reviewers; Experience managing, maintaining, and updating a database that includes the intake of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and an automated approval process; Experience with strategic planning for databases to include future-state visioning and identifying enhancements as needed; Experience collecting, analyzing, and consolidating data received during the peer review process; Experience developing written communications and summaries of high quality with limited grammatical errors; Experience executing statements of work and processing invoices from peer reviewers for their services; Experience facilitating and taking notes during virtual meetings; Experience and/or ability in redaction of private information in documents to industry standards; Ability to comply with Department of Justice information technology requirements as will be provided in the solicitation, primarily via DOJ Clause Security of Department Information and Systems DOJ-05 (Oct 2023) (see attachment). Experience with scaling services to respond to workload fluctuations; Ability to handle cyclical or seasonal demand while handling various projects at one time; and Experience meeting stringent peer review quality control standards. The response MUST include the following information clearly identified: Vendor’s name, address, points of contact information, website, Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) – the replacement for the DUNS number on SAM.gov, and CAGE code. Vendor’s current business designation and socioeconomic status. Vendor’s applicable government-wide contracting vehicles (i.e., GSA Federal Supply Schedule(s), OASIS, etc.) If subcontracting or teaming is anticipated to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements. The vendor may suggest an alternative North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code from NAICS Code 541611 - Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services for these services. RESPONSE SUBMISSION FORMAT AND DUE DATE AND TIME Responses to this Request For Information (RFI) providing information as requested in the section of this notice titled REQUESTED INFORMATION FOR RESPONSE must be provided in writing (electronically). Responses must be no longer than 14 pages and must be in a format that can be e-mailed and openable/readable by a Microsoft application (Word, Excel, Adobe, PowerPoint). All responses must be virus-free and not contain password protections. Do not include proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information in the response. Responses are due no later than 12:00PM (noon) Eastern Time on THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2025 and must be e-mailed to Jamila A. Garrett at Jamila.Garrett@usdoj.gov . Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. DISCLAIMER The information requested is for information and planning purposes only and shall NOT be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Government. This announcement does not constitute an Invitation for Bids (IFB), Request for Quote (RFQ), or Request for Proposal (RFP), and it should not be construed as a commitment of any kind by the Government to issue a formal solicitation or ultimately award a contract. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in the response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any concern responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the concern’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation MAY be published. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. The Government will NOT accept requests for meetings or briefings and may not answer any questions posed. No phone solicitations or emails regarding the status of a potential solicitation will be accepted prior to its release. Information and materials submitted in response to this notice WILL NOT be returned. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses received nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. There is no solicitation available at this time. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this request or the Government’s use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement. CONFIDENTIALITY No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).