Inactive

This is a request for information (RFI) only. The purpose of this RFI is to conduct market research and to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support the National Science Foun... This is a request for information (RFI) only. The purpose of this RFI is to conduct market research and to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support the National Science Foundation’s Sexual Assault/Harassment Prevention Response (SAHPR) Program. Scope includes: Providing Sexual Assault/Harassment Prevention Response services to the National Science Foundation’s federal workforce population, and to the workforce populations of affiliated contractors, military personnel, academic and scientific institutions, grantee organizations and any other affiliated individuals, dispersed across multiple locations, worldwide. The National Science Foundation (NSF) SAHPR Office is looking for organizations that can demonstrate capabilities in the areas identified below. Please note, expertise / capability is not required for every area listed below. Of the below listed areas, please indicate all areas for which your organization has expertise/is capable of performing the requested services within the realm of sexual misconduct response, prevention, and program evaluation. 1. Sexual Misconduct Mental Health Support Services/Counseling Services Sexual violence recovery and supportive services including but not limited to individual therapy, support groups and other mental health and well-being support mechanisms. Capability of providing support resources and mental health and counseling support both in-person and virtually. Applying restorative justice principles to sexual misconduct in the workplace. Meeting and supporting employees where they are and based on what they want. Please provide specific examples of your work in this area and/or companies you have worked with specifically to provide expertise in this area. 2. Survivor Advocacy Services Sexual violence advocacy, recovery and support services to help survivors consider their options and provide them with the information necessary to make informed decisions and provide support for survivors in the implementation of that decision. Provide immediate crisis intervention, trauma-informed, victim-centered care, confidential emotional support, information and advocacy to victims and their loved ones. Provide survivor advocacy services to help validation and stabilization of the victim, including planning for safety and managing emotional reactions, empowerment of the victim by facilitating an increased sense of control and a mobilization of resources, reconnection of the victim by establishing a personal connection, facilitating contact with supports, and decreasing feelings of isolation. Lead crisis management in relation to allegations of sexual misconduct, taking steps to avoid escalation and implementing swift internal and external communications to prevent a crisis from proliferating. Applying restorative justice principles to sexual misconduct in the workplace. Meeting and supporting employees where they are and based on what they want. Please provide specific examples of your work in this area and/or companies you have worked with specifically to provide expertise in this area. 3. Reporting and Tracking Sexual Misconduct Expert guidance and technical assistance establishing a new tracking database for incoming sexual assault/sexual harassment/sexual misconduct reports. Expertise in establishing dynamic databases that capture sexual assault/sexual harassment trends, data, and other metrics with the goal of creating future prevention initiatives based on that information. Database tracking includes various data and information points and allows reports to be submitted both from external entities (outside of the agency) and internal federal employees within the agency. Implement innovative and state of the art technology and online tracking tools to develop a database and track incoming incidents and relevant sexual misconduct data. Please provide specific examples of your work in this area and/or companies you have worked with specifically to provide expertise in this area. 4. Analysis and Evaluation Determining the effectiveness of existing systems and procedures. Develop metrics for the topical areas to measure impact and effectiveness. Develop and implement effective policies and practices around reporting processes, investigation procedures and corrective action. Analyze and evaluate relevant sexual misconduct data and identify prevalence and sexual assault/sexual harassment trends, data, and other metrics with the goal of creating future prevention initiatives based on that information. Please provide specific examples of your work in this area and/or companies you have worked with specifically to provide expertise in this area. 5. Establish Accountability Systems Establishing standards, behaviors, measurement, and accountability. Establishing fair and responsive investigation procedures and corrective actions. Establishing accountability across multi-jurisdictional populations (i.e., in environments that include populations comprised of groups from various organizations/institutions/entities such as federal, private, contractor, university/academia, military, foreign, etc. ) Please provide specific examples of your work in this area and/or companies you have worked with specifically to provide expertise in this area. 6. Policy Framework and Development Development of a Prevention Strategic Plan. Creating an Annual Report template that prompts for annual data regarding number of formal complaints of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking received and the non-identifying outcomes of those complaints. Please provide specific examples of your work in this area and/or companies you have worked with specifically to provide expertise in this area. 7. Culture Change Management Culture Transformation, culture system diagnostic, transformational change management, establishment of foundational principles to promote common understanding. Strategic advising/building infrastructure for organizational change. Identifying practical and efficient institutional responses and communication strategies that will rebuild confidence in the organization and create a respectful, inclusive work environment. Identifying components of organizational culture that may enable sexual misconduct to fester and create an unsafe environment. Identifying components of organizational culture that may prevent sexual misconduct. Evaluate and improve processes and strategies to enhance culture around the prevention of sexual misconduct, awareness, and response. Please provide specific examples of your work in this area and/or companies you have worked with specifically to provide expertise in this area. 8. Consultation on Establishment of Restorative Practices and Restorative Justice Consultation on Establishment of Restorative Practices and Restorative Justice. Provide expertise in guiding organizations to establish a restorative practice program. Expert guidance on effective applications and uses of restorative practices to improve and repair relationships, facilitate reintegration, and restore trust and help build healthy communities and workplaces (including unique, secluded, and isolated work environments), in particular in situations in which sexual assault/sexual harassment/sexual misconduct has occurred. Provide expertise and strategic planning on the implementation of those practices and the establishment of restorative programs, appropriate for varied situations and communities. Develop and provide training in restorative justice skills, restorative circles and conferences, and related practices as well as conflict management and resolution in the context of sexual assault/sexual harassment and other forms of harassment. Please provide specific examples of your work in this area and/or companies you have worked with specifically to provide expertise in this area. 9. Consultative Services Perform independent workplace assessments, including in-depth investigations to expose reporting gaps and determine the extent of cultural problems in the workplace or institutions in which sexual misconduct is alleged to have occurred. Consultation on Establishment of Non-Punitive Accountability Measures Consultation on Establishment of Healthy Environmental Practices that transcend/bridge cultural differences (i.e., building safe/healthy communities of understanding among individuals with diverse cultural backgrounds.) Development of Technical Assistance Tools Please provide specific examples of your work in this area and/or companies you have worked with specifically to provide expertise in this area. 10. Sexual Misconduct Investigations Investigating and responding to reported incidents with a neutral fact-finding posture, examining issues comprehensively, conduct thorough and sensitive investigations to make fair and impartial determinations of what occurred where specific allegations of misconduct have been alleged. Engage complainants and witnesses using trauma-informed techniques and methods. Identify situations that may require more extensive investigative resources. Please provide specific examples of your work in this area and/or companies you have worked with specifically to provide expertise in this area. 11. Education and Training Develop and implement training, research into the effective training practices and mechanisms for sexual misconduct awareness, prevention and response and influencing culture change. Development of safety plan templates/training for development of safety plans. Increasing awareness and visibility of trainings and sexual misconduct response/prevention education. Please provide specific examples of your work in this area and/or companies you have worked with specifically to provide expertise in this area. 12. Community Engagement Helping assess the community’s readiness for prevention, helping to understand community members and their needs, and helping to build and strengthen the organizational enterprise-wide community to prevent sexual harassment, misconduct, and abuse in the first place. Help ensure that community members share this common interest and help to strengthen community engagement efforts to prevent sexual misconduct. Assist with developing a community-specific prevention strategy to include buy-in from community stakeholders, developing resources to help enact systemic cultural change, and implementing mechanisms to measure community engagement. Assist with developing strategies that are tailored to/target a wide variety of communities, (not just federal employees but also external NSF populations of affiliated contractors, military personnel, academic and scientific institutions, grantee organizations and any other affiliated individuals, dispersed across multiple locations, worldwide.) Please provide specific examples of your work in this area and/or companies you have worked with specifically to provide expertise in this area. 13. Communications Strategy Develop communication strategies to inform employees about workplace investigations to the extent that the confidentiality/privacy of involved individuals and the integrity of the investigations stay protected and standards of behavior to reduce the reporting gap and promote a respectful work environment. Develop and implement a SAHPR Communication Plan that will increase the understanding of and investment in the SAHPR Prevention strategy across the NSF enterprise. Develop and execute new feedback mechanisms (collect, curate and respond to comments) ideally to include physical suggestion boxes and online portal(s) that allow for de-identified submissions directly to the Office of Equity and Civil Rights (OECR), SAHPR Support Office. Please provide specific examples of your work in this area and/or companies you have worked with specifically to provide expertise in this area. ********************** The result of this market research will contribute to determining the method of procurement. This RFI shall not be construed as an obligation on the part of the Government. This is NOT a request for quotations or proposals. No solicitation document exists, and a formal solicitation may or may not be issued by the Government as a result of the responses received to this RFI. The Government will not pay for any response or demonstration expenses. All costs incurred responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Failure to respond to this RFI will not preclude participation in any future solicitation. Any information received becomes the property of the Government and will not be returned to the submitter. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. Interested vendors are encouraged to respond to this notice with a corporate capability statement that includes a description of the technical capabilities describing your Company's experience with projects similar to the requirement. Be advised that generic capability statements are not sufficient for effective evaluation of respondents' capacity and capability to perform the specific work as required. Capability responses for each area listed above should be no longer than ½ page per area, with total responses not exceeding six (6) pages, with an additional two (2) pages maximum, for references. The total response is not to exceed ten (10) pages, inclusive of a one-page cover sheet, six (6) page capabilities, two (2) pages for references, and one (1) page for questions or comments on scope. If your organization has the potential capacity to perform these contract services, please provide the following information. 1. A cover page that includes the following information: Organization name; mailing address; website address; Unique Entity Identifier (UEI); CAGE code; business size and, if a small business applicable NAICS codes; and type of ownership/socioeconomic status for the organization. Name, title, email address, and telephone number for Organization Point of Contact. A list of any existing government wide contract vehicles on which your organization provides services within this scope. 2. A tailored capability statement addressing the particulars of this effort, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability. If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements. 3. Based upon the scope descriptions provided above, provide information if there are any aspects that are unclear or do not allow a clear understanding of the Government’s requirements. Interested parties are invited to submit a the Capabilities Statement package to Jennifer Shymansky at jshymans@nsf.gov on or prior to 4:00 PM Eastern Time on March 23, 2023. The subject line on your email shall read "RFI NSF-SAHPR-2023 – Capabilities Statement" Please do not call the contracting office for information. All inquiries should be emailed to jshymans@nsf.gov to avoid any misunderstanding or confusion. The Government will evaluate market information to ascertain potential market capacity to 1) provide services consistent in scope with those described in this notice and otherwise anticipated; 2) secure and apply the full range of corporate financial, human capital, and technical resources required to successfully perform similar requirements; 3) provide services under a performance-based service acquisition contract. All businesses, including small businesses, service-disabled Veteran-owned small businesses, Veteran-owned small businesses, certified HUB-Zone small businesses, and certified 8(a) concerns are encouraged to respond. The government will use response to this RFI to inform decisions regarding setting aside this requirement for small business and/or leveraging existing government-wide contract schedule vehicles. Please be advised: THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS OR QUOTATIONS. As such, this RFI shall not be construed as an obligation on the part of the Government. It is a market research tool used to determine the availability and adequacy of potential sources prior to determining the method of acquisition and issuance of award. No solicitation is available at this time. This RFI does not commit the Government to solicit or award an order now or in the future. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to organizations regarding their submissions.