REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR A PROGRAM EVALUATOR TO EVALUATE LSC S MIDWEST LEGAL DISASTER COORDINATION PROJECT OCTOBER 28, 2015

Transcription

1 LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR A PROGRAM EVALUATOR TO EVALUATE LSC S MIDWEST LEGAL DISASTER COORDINATION PROJECT OCTOBER 28, 2015 Page 1 of 8

2 INTRODUCTION The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) invites you to submit a proposal for grant program evaluation services based on the specifications and requirements set forth in this Request for Proposal. LSC needs a grant program evaluator to evaluate the effectiveness of its new Midwest Legal Disaster Coordination Project and to identify the types of disaster coordination efforts that will best accomplish the Project s goals and objectives. LSC is looking for a consultant or consulting firm that can offer the most advantageous balance of price, quality, and performance to LSC for the services requested. ABOUT LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION LSC is a federally established and funded, yet independent, 501(c)(3) grantmaking organization that supports civil legal aid providers across the country. Its mission is to expand access to justice by funding high- quality, free attorneys for low- income Americans in basic civil matters like divorce, child custody, and eviction. It does not provide direct legal services itself. LSC is headed by a bipartisan board of directors, whose 11 members are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. Much like federal agencies, LSC receives an annual appropriation and is subject to ongoing congressional oversight. But as a private nonprofit, it enjoys greater independence and flexibility than its federal counterparts and generally conducts its day- to- day business like any other charitable organization. LSC promotes equal access to justice by awarding grants to independent legal aid providers through a competitive grants process. LSC distributes almost 95 percent of its total funding in grants. LSC currently has 132 grantees with more than 800 offices in every county in the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and Micronesia. LSC performs robust oversight of its grantees, conducting audits and on- site visits to evaluate grantee quality and compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements and various funding restrictions. LSC also provides training and technical assistance to grantees. LSC grantees are independent 501(c)(3) organizations with their own boards of directors, which are statutorily required to be comprised of mostly attorneys and client- eligible members. The legal services provided by grantees differ based on the unique and pressing needs of the respective communities served. The most common practice areas, however, are family, housing, income maintenance, consumer, health, and employment law. LSC s Disaster- Related Work RFP OVERVIEW In 2005, as a result of Hurricane Katrina, LSC became involved in disaster response work. LSC implemented a coordinated disaster response network to address the devastating legal effects of this disaster on low- income communities. LSC developed partnerships with state and local bar associations, Page 2 of 8

3 the American Bar Association s Young Lawyers Division, the Disaster Legal Services Program, the American Red Cross, the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to ensure that LSC grantees, private attorneys, and representatives of national disaster provider organizations coordinate their efforts in addressing the legal needs of the community after a disaster. The lack of a coordinated effort to deal with the legal needs of disaster survivors remains a significant gap in the disaster- response landscape. Most disaster response organizations are unaware of the legal issues disaster survivors face and the particular needs of low- income communities. Legal aid lawyers have extensive networks in low- income communities and have experience anticipating what post- disaster problems may arise. There is a need for a formal and organized infrastructure to train and educate community partners and stakeholders where these disasters occur. In the last few years, FEMA has altered its approach to its preparedness and response efforts by focusing on the whole community. Specifically, FEMA characterizes its efforts as follows: Engaging the whole community and empowering local action will better position stakeholders to plan for and meet the actual needs of a community and strengthen the local capacity to deal with the consequences of all threats and hazards. This requires all members of the community to be part of the emergency management team, which should include diverse community members, social and community service groups and institutions, faith- based and disability groups, academia, professional associations, and the private and nonprofit sectors, while including government agencies who may not traditionally have been directly involved in emergency management. When the community is engaged in an authentic dialogue, it becomes empowered to identify its needs and the existing resources that may be used to address them. 1 LSC believes a critical component of the whole community approach includes coordinating with legal service providers and understanding the legal needs of its low- income neighbors. LSC s Midwest Legal Disaster Coordination Project On August 19, 2014, LSC received a $1,200,000 private grant to address the gaps in the delivery of disaster legal services to low- income people. LSC used the grant to establish the Midwest Legal Disaster Coordination Project with its grantees in the Midwest Disaster Area. 2 The Project seeks to develop a systematic approach to prepare for and respond to the legal needs of low- income Americans in the aftermath of disaster, including developing and implementing a service- delivery model that is sustainable and replicable, identifying and compiling best practices for sharing legal information with first responders, and developing a training program for first responders on how to identify legal issues and provide coordinated referrals to legal aid providers. 1 community 2 Arkansas; Iowa; Kansas; Minnesota; Missouri; Montana; Nebraska; North Dakota; Oklahoma; South Dakota. Page 3 of 8

4 In addition, the Project seeks to: 1. Address gaps in the delivery of disaster legal services and other disaster services to low- income people before, and after a disaster. 2. Ensure that at risk communities are better prepared when a disaster strikes. 3. Ensure that there is a network of service providers, private lawyers, and legal aid programs that is prepared to respond to a community disaster. 4. Develop an improved technology infrastructure that will support disaster coordination, legal services attorneys and private attorneys serving disaster survivors while also empowering survivors to use self- help tools and play an important role in meeting their own legal needs. 5. Develop functional and tested models for a statewide legal aid- inclusive disaster response. In September 2014, LSC published a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) to solicit applications for funding through the Midwest Legal Disaster Coordination Project. In January 2015, LSC announced that Iowa Legal Aid and Legal Aid of Nebraska had received 20- month grants to develop coordinated plans between disaster preparedness organizations and legal service providers in the Midwest region of the United States as follows: Iowa Legal Aid Using its extensive experience in disaster recovery, Iowa Legal Aid is developing mobile technology to help disaster survivors better reach legal aid programs after a disaster occurs. Iowa Legal Aid is partnering with Pro Bono Net to adapt its mobile template for an application that provides disaster- related resources to clients and attorneys. In addition, Iowa Legal Aid is creating a multi- component toolkit for use by other legal aid organizations across the country. The toolkit will help legal aid programs prepare in advance for the legal responses often needed after disasters and provide best practices for responding to a disaster, including assisting with long- term recovery. The project will help legal aid organizations cultivate relationships with their statewide disaster recovery community and develop training materials for legal and non- legal disaster responders. Legal Aid of Nebraska Legal Aid of Nebraska is creating an interactive web portal and a statewide legal disaster response training program for attorneys and other stakeholders to better prepare Nebraskans to access free legal services when disaster strikes. Legal Aid of Nebraska is hosting disaster preparedness workshops throughout the state, and works closely with local pro bono attorneys to provide free onsite legal aid services to disaster victims in afflicted areas when during a disaster. Legal Aid of Nebraska is also leveraging its experience with automated forms preparation and online guidance for people without legal representation to be replicated in other regions of the United States. LSC would like to evaluate the two Midwest Legal Disaster Coordination Project grants to identify the types of projects that have the greatest potential to accomplish the Project s goals and objectives. To that end, LSC seeks to retain the services of a consultant or consulting firm that has expertise in independently evaluating the impact and effectiveness of a grant program. Page 4 of 8

5 DUTIES, TASKS, MILESTONES, AND DELIVERABLES The successful consultant or firm will be expected to perform the following duties and tasks and complete the following milestones and deliverables during the project term: Evaluation of LSC s Midwest Legal Disaster Coordination Project The successful grant program evaluator will design a comprehensive evaluation system focused on qualitative and quantitative outcomes to assess the effectiveness of LSC s Midwest Legal Disaster Coordination Project and produce recommendations for further development and replication of the Disaster initiatives. Evaluation Activities 1. Develop an evaluation plan and methodology. Activities will include: (a) Analyzing information regarding disaster initiatives currently conducted by LSC grantees, other legal services providers; (b) Reviewing the applications and proposed project outcomes submitted in response to the Midwest Legal Disaster Coordination Project NOFA; (c) Analyzing the designs and findings of evaluations of disaster initiatives conducted by LSC grantees and other legal services providers, if available; (d) Drafting communications to the Midwest Legal Disaster Coordination project grantees regarding the evaluation s purpose and process; (e) In collaboration with grantees implement the evaluation for each grantee project using the methodology identified above. 2. Collect Data and Information: Work with Iowa Legal Aid and Legal Aid of Nebraska to collect data to assess the status and success of the project; report on the same. 3. Prepare an interim report identifying best practices and lessons learned. 4. Prepare a final report summarizing the results of the evaluation with recommendations on how the Midwest Legal Disaster Coordination Project could be improved. Activities will include: (a) Developing a synthesis analytical report based on individual project evaluations (b) Producing a draft final report, which includes: 1) Description of methodologies used in the evaluation; 2) Analytical summary of the data collected 3) Assessment of viability, effectiveness, and efficiency of the approaches implemented by grantees in achieving the Disaster Project s goals and objectives; 4) A summary of the lessons learned from the projects funded through the Midwest Legal Disaster Coordination Project; 5) Recommendation for future Disaster initiatives; 6) Appendices with the evaluation instruments and data collected from all sources. (c) Producing a final report based on LSC feedback. Page 5 of 8

6 Deliverables 1. Kick- off Meeting 2. Evaluation Plan 3. Data Collection Summary 4. Periodic check- in and written status updates on a quarterly basis 5. Interim Report on best practices and lessons learned 6. Final Report PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE It is anticipated that the period of performance for this contract will be from December 1, 2015 to August 1, PROPOSAL FORMAT AND DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS A. Proposal Format. All proposals must be 10 pages or less (not including resumes and samples of comparable work), well- organized, and demonstrate how the consultant s proposed services, approach and methodology, qualifications, experience, and terms meet or exceed LSC s requirements. Proposals must also contain the following: Consultant Information Your full name, address, telephone number, contact person, , and website. If applicable, a firm overview, including a brief history, mission, number of employees, and number of years in operation. RFP point- person. Please include title, phone number, and address. What, if any, experience do you have working with grant- making organizations? Firm or Key Personnel Qualifications: LSC seeks the services of consultants with demonstrated expertise and experience in conducting evaluations. Experience and expertise in the following areas are essential: Design and implementation of evaluations conducted by and for large grant- making organizations Design and implementation of systems for the collection and analysis of evaluation data; Production of comprehensive reports which cogently and clearly describe evaluation designs, major analytical findings, and key recommendations; Facilitation of work with a wide range of institutional stakeholders. Please provide examples of experience and expertise in these areas, samples of comparable work, and résumés for the key personnel involved in the project. Management: Provide a work plan for completing this project. Include an estimate of the labor hours anticipated to complete each phase of work. Cost: Provide a budget for this project, including direct and indirect costs and expenses (including travel). Rates, whether fixed, daily, or hourly, must include all overhead costs and profit. If non- fixed rates are proposed, the proposal must estimate the total number of days or Page 6 of 8

7 hours the applicant expects to bill for the project and should include a cost- not- to- exceed limit, subject to properly executed extensions or modifications. References: Provide professional references (including full contact information) concerning the applicant s performance on three (3) comparable, recent projects. B. Delivery of Proposals. Please , in Word or PDF format, and mail 3 hard copies of your proposal to: Rebecca Weir, Contract Coordinator Legal Services Corporation 3333 K Street, N.W. Washington, D.C Phone: (202) rweir@lsc.gov Proposals must be received by LSC no later than 5:30 P.M., EST, on November 13, Applicants are solely responsible for ensuring that Proposals are delivered on time. Late proposals may be accepted in LSC s discretion. Delays caused by any delivery service will not be grounds for extension of the proposal due date and time. C. Cost of Proposal: All costs incurred in preparing Proposals will be borne by the applicant. The final contract will not reimburse the successful applicant for proposal preparation costs. RFP SCHEDULE DATE October 27 November 4 November 6 November 13 November November 23 November 27 December 1 RFP issued EVENT Deadline for respondents to submit RFP questions LSC responds to RFP questions Deadline for respondents to submit proposals Evaluation of proposals and potential applicant interviews Notification to successful consultant/consulting firm of preliminary selection and contract negotiation Contract approval Performance begins FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and associated LSC regulations may require LSC to release to the public upon request certain third- party bid proposals. LSC will not, however, release a proposal that would cause competitive harm to the applicant. If your proposal is requested under FOIA, LSC will contact you before releasing it in whole or in part. Applicants are encouraged to label documents containing sensitive business and confidential information as such at the time of submission. Page 7 of 8

8 MISCELLANEOUS Minor procedural or administrative exceptions to the requirements contained in this RFP may be made by LSC during the proposal review process. LSC may disqualify or reject any or all proposals. LSC reserves the right to have and retain all original data and working papers generated during the Project. LSC reserves the right to award the contract to the applicant with the best overall approach, regardless of cost, or to not award a contract to any applicant. Nothing in the RFP or this process creates any applicant s rights. Page 8 of 8