Inactive

This Request for Information (RFI) is being released pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 10 Market Research. The information collected through the process is considered to be ma... This Request for Information (RFI) is being released pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 10 Market Research. The information collected through the process is considered to be market research as described by FAR 2.101 and in accordance with FAR 10.002. This is NOT a Request for Proposals (RFP), and nothing shall be construed herein or through the Sources Sought process to commit or obligate the Government to further action. In addition, vendors responding to this RFI shall bear all risks and expenses of any resources used to provide the requested information. The submission of capability information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to these proposed services is 541611. The anticipated contract type is Time & Material. The anticipated period of performance is a base year plus four (4) option years commencing August 1, 2021. The anticipated place of performance will be the Contractor’s site and field locations. The Office for Victims of Crime Tribal Capacity Building and Technical Assistance Program will enhance the organizational and programmatic capacity of organizations in AI/AN communities to support victims of crime through a broad range of services. This will lead to more effective use of federal and non-federal funds to support victims. A list of current OVC grantees is available online at https://ovc.ojp.gov/funding/opportunities/ovc-2020-18455. Background In recent years, with funds appropriated by Congress under the tribal victim services set-aside from the Crime Victims Fund, with OVC has made an increasing number of grants to tribes and tribe-serving entities to support victim services in AI/AN communities. In FY 2016 OVC made 27 victim services grants to tribes. In FY 2020 OVC made 147 victim services grants to tribes. This tremendous increase in the number of victim services awards to tribes has created significantly greater need for capacity building and training and technical assistance for OVC grantees and other tribal victim service providers. The delivery of capacity-building training and technical assistance is therefore integral to the Department’s ability to develop, expand, and strengthen victim service programs in AI/AN communities. Under this program, OVC will make an award to an entity that demonstrates substantial experience and expertise delivering culturally appropriate and capacity-building training and technical assistance (TTA) to tribal communities (both in the Lower 48 and in Alaska) on how to develop and implement trauma-informed, victim-centered crime victim services programs. OVC anticipates that this will be achieved through a prime grantee who maintains a cadre of subject matter experts who can provide TTA to grantees of OVC’s Tribal Set Aside, Tribal Children’s Justice Act, and Comprehensive Tribal Victim Assistance Programs on how to best meet the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) crime victims, their families, and the community. These experts might be personnel in the awardee entity, but will also likely be engaged as partners (as consultants or subrecipients) outside the awardee agency in order to ensure the broadest range of experience and expertise possible available. Scope The primary goal of this program is to fund a qualified applicant to work collaboratively with OVC and its tribal grantees to support the delivery of resources, subject matter expertise, and TTA critical to improving the capacity of victim service programs serving AI/AN communities. The awardee’s approach to meeting this goal should emphasize collaboration, flexibility, and cultural humility. The awardee must have experience and knowledge of working with tribes and tribal organizations, and the ability to address sensitivities to the cultural norms and customs of AI/AN communities and organizations. The awardee will develop and implement a plan to deliver TTA to grantees using strategies including, but not limited to: Evaluating individual grantee needs and creating customized TTA plans at the request of individual grantees or OVC grant managers; Providing TTA to individual grantees at the request of OVC, using both remote and, if feasible and safe, in-person methods; Coordinating with OVC to plan and conduct an annual grantee orientation, including dates, location, topics, speakers, participant evaluation, determining the delivery method (in-person or virtual); Creating peer-to-peer learning exchanges and/or community of practice opportunities to support grantees in generating solutions to program implementation challenges; Identifying other training opportunities and resources that will aid grantees with program development and implementation; Ensuring that the content of the TTA reflects the diverse levels of knowledge and expertise of the grantees, and developing specific content that is appropriate for beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of experience and understanding of crime victim services issues; Ensuring that all TTA content reflects best practices in adult learning principles and specific learning preferences and styles for an AI/AN audience; Supporting individual grantees in identifying and adopting program process evaluation measurements, goals, and collection methods, as requested by grantees; and Creating resources and tools to support grantees in adapting and sustaining services for crime victims in response to a public crisis or emergency. Additionally, the awardee will develop a plan to establish and maintain regular communication between OVC, tribal grantees, TTA providers, and other stakeholders identified by OVC. The Offeror (or consortium of entities) is required to demonstrate that they possess, at a minimum, the following nine core capabilities and competencies: Establishing and operating crime victim advocacy programs in tribal communities, including programs for systems-based advocates and community-based advocates; Establishing and operating domestic violence shelters in tribal communities; Establishing and operating sexual assault response programs in tribal communities for victims across the life span; Building the capacity of tribal stakeholders to plan and conduct community needs assessments and strategic planning; Supporting the needs of survivors of homicide, including the family members of missing and murdered Indigenous people; Developing and conducting outreach and awareness campaigns to educate tribal communities about human trafficking (sex and labor), and developing programs to meet the needs of Native survivors of trafficking; Establishing and operating a program for victims of child abuse and neglect, including child advocacy centers; Establishing and operating a transitional housing assistance program in tribal communities; and Supporting grantees with developing and implementing a sustainability plan. Services The following are all concurrent tasks, and additional concurrent tasks may be added. The contractor may be required to: Task 1: The awardee will develop and implement a system for receiving, tracking, responding to, and assessing the response to requests for assistance. The assessment of responses to requests for TA will include both qualitative and quantitative outcome measures and an evaluation process to assess user satisfaction with services provided. Task 2: The awardee will develop and implement a secure electronic, central repository of tools (templates, job aids, tools), information, and other resources that are easily accessible to the grantees. The repository will include products produced by the awardee and other resources available from the federal government, from OVC grantees, and from other sources. The awardee will develop a system for reviewing the tools and assessing which are appropriate for inclusion in the repository. Task 3: The awardee will deliver technical assistance plans, developed on a case-by-case basis as needed, to address the capacity building and technical assistance needs of tribes that request technical assistance or are referred by OVC for technical assistance. These plans will include a description of the community (ies) for whom assistance is proposed, the challenge to be addressed, the intended outcomes of the engagement, the human and other resources to be applied, and a cost estimate for the engagement. The awardee will produce technical assistance reports detailing the assistance delivered, the resources committed, and the outcomes achieved for each individual grantee who has requested TTA, or who were referred by OVC for TTA. The awardee may participate in site visits planned and conducted by OVC staff (up to 25 per year) as part of this task. Task 4: The awardee will develop tools to assist tribes in meeting the objectives of their OVC grants, including, but not limited to: sample public awareness and social media campaigns; example written policies, procedures, and protocols for SANE-SART, CPT, CCR, and other multi-disciplinary response teams; model tribal codes, policies, and victims’ rights codes; operating policies and procedures for victim advocacy programs, domestic violence shelter programs, transitional housing assistance programs, and child advocacy centers; and screening protocols for human trafficking, elder abuse, and other crimes. Task 5: The awardee will provide logistical and other support for in-person and tele- and video conferences, webinars, roundtables, event speaker assistance, on- and offsite technical assistance, and other tasks approved by OVC. The awardee will provide coordination, logistics, and onsite meeting support for training events and cross-site meetings to provide skill-building and information-sharing among tribal victim service providers. (In general, the OVC grantees will cover their own expenses to meetings and trainings; however, there may be unusual occasions where the awardee will be required to provide travel assistance.) Task 6: The awardee will coordinate with OVC on the planning and execution of an annual grantee orientation convening (virtual or in-person, to be determined by OVC) for up to 500 participants. The orientation will include up to 20 hours of curriculum / content to be developed in coordination with OVC. Task 7: The awardee will develop curricula for virtual and in-person grantee trainings on various technical assistance topics. Task 8: The awardee will produce an annual report highlighting challenges in providing capacity building and technical assistance in tribal communities and strategies to overcome those challenges. The report should address promising practices and lessons learned. This report will include quantitative and qualitative data submitted by the sites and collected by the technical assistance provider that demonstrate the impact of the program on TA recipients. Task 9: The awardee will complete special projects assigned by OVC to enhance the ability of tribes to provide victim services. Task 10: The awardee will develop a communication plan for engaging with the field and with particular target audiences identified by OVC in order to: 1) implement the targeted TTA capacity building strategy; and 2) to communicate the availability of capacity-building TTA services through TCBTAP and to disseminate materials prepared by TCBTAP and other OVC products as relevant.