The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Emergency Preparedness & Response (EP&R), National Emergency Training Center (NETC), Emergency Management Institute (EMI) has an Emergency Management Higher Education Project, which seeks to develop a stand-alone, 3-4 credit hour, 45 contact-hour, essentially ready-to-teach, classroom-based, graduate-level college course on Floodplain Management. This is a 100% small business set-aside. The associated NAICS code is 611430, Professional Development Training, and the small business size standard is $6.0 million [average annual receipt for three preceding fiscal years]. The goal of this requirement is to encourage and support the expansion of hazard, disaster and emergency management related education in colleges and universities across the United States so that in the future more emergency management and related personnel in government and the private sector will come to the job not only with a college education, but with a course of study, if not a degree, in emergency management as well. This will help to contribute to the professionalization of emergency management and the expansion of emergency management knowledge and principles into other professions and disciplines as well, all of which contributes to building disaster resistant and resilient communities of tomorrow. Toward that end, EMI, located at the NETC in Emmitsburg, Maryland, developed the Higher Education Project, the primary purpose of which is to encourage and support the development of hazard, disaster and emergency management bachelor and graduate degree programs within United States colleges and universities. Each Emergency Management Higher Education Project course shall be developed within the philosophical context of (1) building disaster resistant and resilient communities, and (2) seeking balance between the technocratic and the social vulnerability reduction approaches to emergency management. Please refer to the Higher Education Project Slide Presentation at the following website address: http://training.fema.gov.EMIWeb/edu/highedbrief_course2.ppt. Course developers shall be able to provide evidence of holding a doctoral degree from an accredited college or university, demonstrate experience teaching hazard, disaster and floodplain or emergency management-related courses at the upper division or graduate college level at an accredited university within the past five years (provide course titles, dates and copies of most relevant course syllabi), demonstrate knowledge of “comprehensive emergency management,” demonstrate awareness of the four perspectives relevant to floodplain management, demonstrate background, credentials and expertise in floodplain management issues, and demonstrate familiarity with the floodplain management literature. A listing of the completed Emergency Management Higher Education Project courses can be found at the following website: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/highedbrief_course2.ppt. Additional information concerning the Emergency Management Higher Education Project can be accessed at: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/. A number of different perspectives are important to an understanding of the flooding problem in the United States and what to do about it. This course will seek to highlight four of those: (1) Hazard Risk Perspective-this perspective focuses on what can be done to lower risk to flood losses; (2) Ecological and Environmental Perspective; (3) Geoscience Perspective; and (4) Public Policy Perspective. In addition to addressing and weaving these perspectives throughout the course, the course shall also include, among other subject areas: (1) An overview of the growth of the flood hazard and countermeasures in the United States; (2) Analysis of National Flood Insurance Program, history, legislative intent, benefits, and challenges; (3) Floodplain management as a profession—evolution, challenges, and future prospects; (4) The role of the emergency manager in floodplain management; and (5) Flood mapping, modeling and loss estimation. Through development of a graduate-level Floodplain Management college course EMI seeks to expand the knowledge base of future and practicing emergency managers in the practices and intricacies of floodplain management, contribute to the professional development of practicing floodplain management and related personnel, interest college students in entering the field of floodplain management upon graduation, and interest universities in the development of Floodplain Management Certificate Programs through the provision to them of the core course in such a certificate program. The course shall be developed within the philosophical context of “Building Disaster Resistant and Resilient Communities,” which places priority emphasis on prevention, mitigation and vulnerability reduction. The course shall also be developed within the context of seeking balance between the two bi-polar approaches to United States emergency management – the dominant “technocratic” approach and the more recent “social vulnerability” approach. The course shall contain more lecture material than can be used in a standard 45 contact hour course in order to provide flexibility to the user. The course shall fulfill the requirements of a standard 3-semester hour college course at the graduate level. Since all deliverables shall be provided in hard copy and in electronic format for distribution via the Internet, all deliverables shall be Section 508 compliant. Award of a firm-fixed-price purchase order is anticipated. The award will be made based on Best Value to the Government, in accordance with the evaluation factors set forth herein and in the Request for Quotation Package. Quotes will be due 30 days from the release date of the Request for Quotation package. Potential offerors must request the Request for Quotation package in writing no later than July 11, 2003 to: Teresa Dingle, Contract Specialist, Department of Homeland Security, Emergency Preparedness & Response, NETC Acquisition Section, E114B, 16825 S. Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, Maryland 21727 OR
[email protected].