REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Scaling up COVID-19 Prevention and Mitigation Strategies with Refugee, Immigrant, and Migrant (RIM) Communities – Monitoring & Evaluation Consultant

Applications must be submitted electronically by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Friday, March 10, 2023.

Background

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) represents nearly 3,000 local health departments (LHDs) across the United States. NACCHO’s vision is health, equity, and security for all people in their communities through public health policies and services. NACCHO’s mission is to be a leader, partner, catalyst, and voice for local health departments to ensure the conditions that promote health equity, combat disease, and improve the quality and length of all lives.

Project Background

In partnership with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the University of Minnesota’s National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants and Migrants (NRC-RIM), NACCHO aims to strengthen COVID-19 prevention and mitigation strategies among refugee, immigrant, and migrant (RIM) communities. NACCHO has designated a network of program sites, comprised of LHDs and community-based organizations (CBOs) to design, and implement COVID-19 prevention and mitigation strategies and to address inequities in COVID-19 morbidity and mortality experienced by RIM communities. LHDs and CBOs need strong and sustained community partnerships, experienced human resources, cross-program infrastructure to support logistics for testing and vaccine delivery at scale, and planning, evaluation, and financial management capacity. This funding opportunity will support evaluation of these projects, which is critical for sites to understand the efficacy and sustainability of their interventions and for CDC and NACCHO to identify, replicate, and increase best and promising practices.

Description and Availability of Funds

NACCHO will award up to $180,000 to a Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) consultant or firm to support its funded LHDs and CBOs to develop and implement evaluation plans as well as evaluate their efforts and sharing of best practices for COVID-19 education, health communication, and community engagement with RIM communities. The consultant will work with NACCHO staff to:

1. Assist each program site to develop an evaluation plan that includes:
   1. Monitoring and evaluation questions based on each program site’s specific goals as described in site work plans
   2. Data collection and analysis plan (e.g., measurement framework, analysis plan, logic model, etc.)
   3. Dissemination and learning approach for identifying challenges and best practices for program improvement and transferability to other jurisdictions
2. Support each program site to develop data collection plans and tools and build capacity to systematically collect data for evaluation purposes.
3. Support each program site to develop sustainable databases, including training for data entry, site-specific data analysis, using data for learning and decision making, and reporting to NACCHO
4. Work closely with NACCHO and NRC-RIM to establish processes for data sharing, data aggregation across sites, and project-level data analysis to contribute to project level evaluation

The consultant will also be expected to take part in the overall evaluation by:

1. Ensuring alignment between site evaluation plans and the overall evaluation
2. Engage in one-on-one/cohort trainings, calls, and meetings with NACCHO, CDC, and the sites
3. Supporting design and implementation of project-level qualitative data collection efforts (e.g., surveys/interviews)

Proposal Outline

Applicants should submit a brief proposal that includes the following components as separate attachments:

A. Project Narrative (Word) that includes:

• A description of the consultant’s knowledge and experience in public health, M&E, and community engagement—specifically with RIM communities and populations (1-page maximum).
• The names and roles of the primary staff and any other significant contributors to this project, including qualifications (resumes or CVs).

B. Line-Item Budget (Excel) and Budget Narrative (Word) description of costs, not to exceed $180,000 over a 12-month period, using the templates provided.

• Costs in the budget must be broken down by two phases/periods: Phase I (April 1-July 31, 2023) and Phase II (August 1, 2023-March 31, 2024). The total project budget column will automatically calculate based on costs from each phase.
• The budget narrative document should be prepared for the entire 12-month project and does not need to be broken down by phases.
• Examples of possible costs to include are personnel costs (number of staff, percent effort to the project and annual salary/wages or hourly fees of all personnel), funds to be provided to other consultants/firms working on project, and other costs associated with the development and provision of M&E technical assistance (e.g., supplies, travel, etc.).
• Please review the Budget Guidelines tab in the budget file for a list of unallowable costs.
• If the budget includes staff fringe benefits and/or indirect costs (over the 10% de minimis rate), please also submit proof of the organization’s approved fringe/indirect cost rates. Acceptable documentation of fringe benefits includes:
  • An approval letter issued by a relevant federal or state agency (e.g., HHS) authorizing your organization to calculate fringe benefits/indirect costs based on a certain percentage of direct salary and wages/direct costs.
  • An excerpt from a financial audit report that outlines the official fringe/indirect cost rate.
  • A letter (on your organization letterhead) signed by a financial official that lists the approved fringe/indirect cost rate used by the organization.
  • A copy of your accounting procedures or policy that outlines how you calculate fringe/indirect cost rates.

C. Project Scope of Work (Word), that includes proposed Activities/Outputs, Deliverables, and Timeline (1-page maximum)

• The scope of work should be realistic and describe proposed activities and outputs as well as timelines for completion of activities over a 12-month project period (anticipated project period is April 1, 2023-March 31, 2024, but exact start and end dates may shift).
• Please use the table below as a format for developing the scope of work.
• Applicants may add as many deliverables as needed within the maximum budget envelope.

D. Administrative and Financial Forms, signed and dated within the last six months where applicable, including:

• NACCHO Vendor Form
• W9
• Certification of Non-debarment
• FFATA Form
• Proof of an active registration with SAM.gov (PDF or screenshot showing
  applicant’s unique entity identification number)

NACCHO Contact and Responsibilities

NACCHO staff will oversee the contract and serve as the contact for the consultant. Other
NACCHO responsibilities include:

• Provide background information, as appropriate
• Review all materials, in draft form, and recommend revisions
• Serve as liaison for external partners

Selection Process

Each proposal will be reviewed and rated on the following elements:

• Applicant Capacity and Expertise: Applicant has clearly documented evidence of their (and that of the proposed project staff) subject matter expertise and experience in the proposed content area; previous work and projects in the subject area and with the
  intended audiences are required.
• Project Scope of Work: The proposed scope of work, deliverables, and timelines are realistic and appropriate for achieving the project objectives.
• Budget: The proposal includes a detailed, line-item budget and budget narrative justifying the proposed expenses; the expenses are appropriate for the purposes of the deliverables and are cost efficient.

Any work products created by this contract will be co-owned by NACCHO and Consultant.

Please note that submission of a proposal is a statement of acceptance of NACCHO’s standard form contract. If any items cannot be accepted, these issues need to be resolved prior to submitting a proposal.

Deadline/Staff Contact
Submissions must be sent over email by the deadline of 5:00pm, Eastern Standard Time on Friday March 10, 2023. Decisions will be made, and applicants will be notified of their selection status, no later than Friday March 17, 2023.

1. In the email submission, please also respond to the following two questions (required for contracting purposes):
   Do you (applicant) have prior experience in federal contracting? (Yes/No)
2. Have you (applicant) ever completed a federal Single Audit? (Yes/No)

Proposals, with all required components as separate attachments, should be sent to: [email protected].