REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) RFI NUMBER D-20-CP-0059 The United States Department of Justice (USDOJ)/Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) requires sustainable media and community engagement on a nationwide basis (up to 23 simultaneous locations at a time) pursuant to Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) for five years estimated to begin in the first quarter of FY2021. The draft Statement of Work (SOW) provided below with this request is subject to change. This is a Sources Sought Notice, Request for Information (RFI). This is not a Request for Proposal (RFP) or Request for Quote (RFQ). This Notice in no way binds the Government to solicit or award a contract. No solicitation exists at this time and proposals are not being requested or accepted with this notice. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The information provided in this notice is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay any cost incurred in response to this RFI and all costs associated with responding will be solely at the interested party's expense. This RFI is being used as a Market Research tool for informational purposes and for preliminary planning purposes to identify potential sources that may possess the expertise, capabilities, and/or experience to perform the anticipated requirements. Interested vendors should respond and affirmatively indicate if requirements can be met as specified on an all or none basis, either individually (by vendor) or through teaming with other vendors. Please provide the following information: 1. Company name; mailing address; physical address; point of contact; telephone number; fax number; e-mail address; DUNS number; NAICS code; company business size (if small, indicate type); and if applicable: GSA Federal Supply Schedule, SIN number, and GSA contract number. 2. A tailored capability statement between one and five (5) pages that addresses the particulars of the SOW with appropriate documentation that clearly supports the claims of capability. Prior Government contract work is not required for submitting a response under this RFI. Responding to this RFI is not a prerequisite for participation in any possible future competitive procurement for which a business is eligible to participate (if any is issued), but participation will assist the Government as to the extent of companies available for this procurement. Failure to respond or submit information in sufficient detail may result in a company not being considered a likely offeror. Page 2 of 7 Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information submitted. Respondents will not individually be notified of the results of the Government assessments and should not anticipate feedback with regard to its submission. No proprietary, classified, confidential or sensitive information should be included in your response to this RFI. Responses will not be returned. All documentation shall become the property of the Government. The Government reserves the right to use any information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate, including using technical information provided by respondents in any resultant solicitation. The Government reserves the right to determine the method of acquisition and issuance of a possible solicitation based on the responses received for this notice. The Government's evaluation of the responses received will factor into the Government's determination whether any forthcoming solicitation will be conducted as unrestricted or sole source procurement. After a review of the responses received, a solicitation will be issued. Responses to this RFI will not be considered adequate responses in any resultant solicitation. Interested sources shall provide responses via email in softcopy form (electronically) in Microsoft Word compatible format on or before 5:00 PM ET (Eastern Time) August 13, 2020 to
[email protected]. Fax submissions will not be accepted. Responses received after this date and time may not be considered in the Government's market research. **************************************************** DRAFT Statement of Work DEA’s National Community Outreach Engagement Strategy – Community and Media Engagement Introduction: The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is continuing to work with the Department of Justice, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and other federal agencies to address the ongoing drug threats across the country within each of DEA’s 23 Field Divisions. These threat categories can cover: narcotics, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, marijuana/cannabis, steroids, inhalants, and synthetic drugs. Each DEA Field Division will identify the local drug threat through drug abuse trends and enforcement priorities. Through DEA’s National Community Outreach Engagement Strategy (NCOES) each field division will be given the tools to help support and contribute to local drug abuse awareness and prevention efforts while bridging local public safety and public health efforts through community coalition building, youth engagement, school engagement, workplace engagement, and media outreach. NCOES is an effort to expand on DEA’s already successful DEA 360 Strategy and provide prevention support to all or up to 23 DEA Field Divisions throughout the United States to include Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Caribbean. Each field Page 3 of 7 division will identify one city/geographic area (not necessarily the main field division location) within their area of responsibility, identify the drug threat within that area, and lay out a strategic plan to conduct targeted enforcement efforts and implement various community outreach deliverables to reinforce those enforcement efforts with a focus on sustainability. The organizational strategies and program-wide deliverables from DEA 360 will be used as the basis and structure for NCOES prevention efforts. This blanket purchase agreement speaks to several of the primary elements of a broader approach to the community outreach portion of NCOES: adult/community, youth and media engagement. Community Outreach Goals: • Have a positive impact in selected communities throughout the year (from time of program launch for one calendar year) that will serve as models for other communities that are facing similar drug issues. • Increase in the number of public-private partnerships in each NCOES community to collaborate on efforts to reduce drug abuse-related problems. • Increase in community members’ awareness of the scope of drug abuse-related problems in that community. • Increase in engagement by educators and parents in using science-based prevention materials to prevent drug misuse and abuse in each community. • Community stakeholders’ development of formal strategic plan of action to decrease drug abuse-related overdoses in that community. These outreach goals are based on the feedback and success from DEA 360 Strategy communities and the positive impact DEA continues to have, even after the conclusion of official efforts. Objectives: 1) Connect DEA field offices with the communities they service. Provide DEA leadership the ability to bring together disparate elements of local communities following DEA drug enforcement actions. 2) Leverage DEA intelligence and street knowledge to build awareness of local drug threats. 3) As an entity representing one of the key community sectors (law enforcement), support local drug free community coalitions to aid impact and have long-lasting success. 4) Raise awareness on local drug threats and change attitudes to reduce drug demand, misuse, and abuse through increased collaboration, prevention education, and treatment recovery support. Tasks/Deliverables: DEA requires a vendor experienced with effectively educating different types of communities and engaging media outlets to help spread factual information on the impact of drug misuse and abuse in different areas of the United States. To accomplish this the vendor shall conform to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Strategic Prevention Framework, recognized by ONDCP for the following tasks: 1) Media Visits The vendor shall coordinate meetings for DEA representatives and community organizations with local media partners. The visit shall also provide the local DEA office and local partner organizations with opportunities to connect with local Page 4 of 7 television and radio media contacts and forge productive relationships to further spread the word about the selected are of focus. • Vendor will: o Be on site for two days and work with DEA to identify media organizations to visit o Schedule meetings with media partners o Should restrictions still be in place as a result of COVID-19 or media partners prefer, the vendor shall provide a virtual alternative to in-person media visits. • Messaging will be edited and localized to the drug threat focus selected by the DEA field division 2) Licensed Keywords The vendor shall enable with DEA offices, mainly Headquarters Social Media team and local field division PIOs, to communicate directly and effectively with community members via text. A licensed keyword is a phrase (for example, "NCOES") that a community member can text to a shortcode (59876) that the vendor owns and operates. Once that connection is made, the vendor can send customized messages to the subscriber in coordination with the local DEA office. • Approximately 52 messages, delivered over the course of a year, will be created in collaboration with the vendor’s staff. Approximately one-quarter of messaging will be localized. • Vendor will deliver metrics and reporting on keyword outreach at the end of each campaign. 3) Community Education Train-the-Trainer The vendor shall train members of the community to deliver community education presentations to their neighbors and colleagues. This empowers trainees to educate their community and gain a platform to inform their audience about local efforts to address substance use. • Vendor will: o Deliver up to four trainings in two days, at venues identified with the help of DEA o Work with DEA to identify a local organization that will serve as a Coordinating Agency. o Should restrictions still be in place as a result of COVID-19 or community partners prefer, the vendor shall provide a virtual alternative to in-person community education train-the trainer. The format of the training will still provide the equivalent 4 trainings. • Spanish translations will be made available, subject to available funds, and used as vendor deems necessary. 4) "The First Day" Wraparound Support Program The vendor shall sponsor the distribution of "The First Day," a compelling teen-focused documentary based on the experiences of Chris Herren, a former NBA star and person in recovery. Chris engages his audience to focus on the first day of substance use – when a person makes a choice to use – rather than the last day, when they are in crisis. This powerful video can engender strong feelings among students, and it is important that their school-based support system (teachers, coaches and counselors) and their parents and caregivers are equipped to help them. While the video is available to schools from the Herren Foundation, the vendor will deliver a curriculum based training to train youth-serving professionals and parents to be effective "first responders" for young people’s emotional and mental health needs following the showing of the video. • The vendor will: o Create and deliver a one-day training for academic professionals that will help them navigate the issues that "The First Day" may raise. o Provide school staff with an understanding of how to engage and support parents and caregivers in their community. Page 5 of 7 o Should restrictions still be in place as a result of COVID-19 or school/community partners prefer, the vendor shall provide a virtual alternative to in-person training. This will allow organizations to continue to utilize "The First Day" and implement a curriculum that will work for these organizations/schools. 5) Traditional Parent Coach Training The Traditional Parent Coaching program utilizes a peer-to-peer, shared experience model to support parents and caregivers affected by their son or daughter’s substance use. The vendor shall offer 20 hour, in-person trainings that prepare volunteers with lived experience to provide peer support via phone. • The vendor will: o Work with DEA to identify a local organization that serves families affected by substance use to serve as a Local Partner. The Local Partner helps recruit participants and manages logistics for the training and receives a stipend for its efforts. Up to 20 parents/caregivers may participate who can agree to fulfill all vendor requirements. 6) Traditional Parent Coach Training- Virtual Format The vendor shall have the opportunity to provide Parent Coach Training via a virtual platform. This training will be similar to a college course structure. •The Vendor will: o Have 6 or more weekly 90 minute online classes o Homework to be completed between sessions o Mid-training and capstone mock coaching calls o A one-on-one training session to learn how to use all appropriate systems. •After training is completed the volunteers shall receive direct support from the vendor from the clinician with whom they trained. 7) Parent and Caregiver Workshop The vendor shall conduct an in person workshop curriculum for parents who have been personally affected by substance use. The vendor can train parents who have lived experience with a child’s substance use to deliver peer education. The workshop can be hosted by family support organizations, treatment providers or other community-serving organizations. •The vendor will: o Train up to 15 peer facilitators as Parent and Caregiver Workshop Facilitators in a virtual or in-person setting. DEA office may identify a local organization to serve as coordinating agency, which will be responsible for recruiting facilitator trainees and connecting facilitators and hosts. •The decision whether or not to use a Local Coordinating Agency is made by the DEA office. o Should restrictions still be in place as a result of COVID-19 or community partners prefer, the vendor shall provide a virtual alternative to in-person parent and caregiver workshop. The format of the training will still provide the equivalent sessions, curriculum and format only altered to fit a virtual format. 8) Parent and Caregiver Workshop- Online Community The vendor shall provide the Parent and Caregiver Workshop in a digital format that allows those families who are unable to travel or participate in in-person training, but still want to engage with the community. Page 6 of 7 •The vendor will: o Host bi-weekly real-time meetings over the course of a year. DEA, or its designee will recruit participants. Co-Sponsorship: All organizations that partner with the vendor to assist in the execution of this Statement of Work will need to be vetted by DEA before they are allowed to be associated with any of the above mentioned deliverables. Security Requirements: All contractor personnel supporting this procurement are entrusted with a certain level of trust due to the nature of DEA’s mission. The Government expects the vendor will employ persons of integrity and trustworthiness. To ensure this, DEA reserves the right to conduct background screening or a full background investigation on all employees if a need arises. While all services provided on this contract will be performed outside of DEA, all contractors must be escorted if entering a DEA facility. DEA reserves the right to modify the security requirements found in this contract at any time. Deliverables/CLINs: Each of the above tasks/deliverables will be an individual CLIN. Each CLIN, when applicable, will contain sub-CLINs for in-person or virtual training. Task 1: Development of assets (subject to the availability of funds) 1) Community Education Train-the-Trainer a. Per Presentation up to 8 b. Translation into Spanish up to 8 2) "The First Day" Wraparound Support Program 3) Parent and Caregiver Workshop- Online Community Task 2: Programing 4) Media Visits a. In-person b. Virtual c. Message Localization 5) Licensed Keywords a. Additional population served 6) Community Education Train-the-Trainer a. In-person with coordinating agency b. In-person without coordinating agency c. Virtual with coordinating agency d. Virtual without coordinating agency 7) "The First Day" Wraparound Support Program a. In-person b. Virtual 8) Traditional Parent Coach Training 9) Traditional Parent Coach Training- Virtual Training 10) Parent and Caregiver Workshop a. In-Person b. Virtual Page 7 of 7 c. Optional Local Coordinating Agency (in additional to 9a & 9b) 11) Parent and Caregiver Workshop- Online Community Blanket Purchase Agreement Set-up The current agreement is based on programing in up to 23 DEA Field Divisions (as of FY2020) across the United States to include Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Caribbean. Over the course of this agreement DEA may add or reduce the number of field divisions. This agreement will provide flexibility that any additional division offices will have the opportunity to participate in NCOES efforts based on availability of funds and staffing. Task 1: Development of new creative assets to be used by DEA Field Divisions for any of the following drug categories: narcotics, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, marijuana/cannabis, steroids, inhalants, and synthetic drugs. Completion of Task 1 is also based on available funding. •Any modifications needed to assets after the completion of Task 1 should be built into the programing/other direct/labor costs for Task 2 during subsequent years. Task 2: Implementation of all engagement activities. Each task and method of delivery should be set up as an individual deliverable/CLIN. Each fiscal year beginning October 1st field divisions will begin to implement their community outreach plans as approved by DEA HQ. Base Year POP: October 1, 2020 thru September, 2021 Option Year 1 POP: October 1, 2021 thru September, 2022 Options Year 2 POP: October 1, 2022 thru September, 2023 Option Year 3 POP: October 1, 2023 thru September, 2024 Option Year 4 POP: October 1, 2024 thru September, 2025