ATTACHMENT_J.1-_SOW_9-12-2019.docx

Statement of Work

SAMHSA

5600 Fisher’s Lane – 18E81A Rockville, MD 20857 240-276-2323 Tuwanna.allen@samhsa.hhs.gov Alternate Contact: Roslyn Holliday Moore, 240-276-1825 roslynholliday.moore@samhsa.hhs.gov

Performance Period: 12 months Special Approvals and Clearances

a. Paid Advertising

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b. Printing

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c. Paperwork Reduction Act

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d. Contract w/ Federal Employees

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e. Publications

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f. Public Affairs Services

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g. Audiovisual

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h. Privacy Act

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i. Other Specific Department/Agency Clearances

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Background The National Network to Eliminate Disparities in Behavioral Health (NNED) is a virtual network of community-based organizations (CBOs) addressing mental health and substance use issues in culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse communities throughout the United States and non-CBO institutions and individuals interested in eliminating disparities in behavioral health. The NNED was developed to address gaps in behavioral health care for these communities; to reduce disparities in outreach, engagement, and access to quality care; to elevate a focus on community and culturally based innovations; and to provide a forum for peer-to-peer sharing and information exchange among network members and relevant experts in the field. Historically, these CBOs have had limited access to federal grants or culturally relevant technical assistance. The NNED serves as SAMHSA’s major vehicle for engaging these diverse communities.

As a national resource, the NNED is structured to provide shared workspace, telecommunications, and a repository of resources (including funding opportunities, training events, innovative research, and policies, etc.) to expand and enhance service capacity in underserved communities. In addition to the shared resources, the NNED initiates, supports, and coordinates virtual learning opportunities, such as webinars, roundtables, learning collaboratives and communities of practice to expand and enhance the availability of practitioners in community-based organizations who are trained to deliver evidence-supported, culturally appropriate interventions or programs.

Components of the NNED The NNED consists of two main components:

1. The National Facilitation Center (NFC) is the coordinating body for the NNED and is funded by this purchase order. It manages the ongoing development and operations of the NNED and ensures that the NNED’s branding, messaging, and activities are aligned with HHS/SAMHSA priorities and that SAMHSA’s objectives, tasks, and benchmarks are met.

The NFC provides the administrative and technological support for the NNED. It manages the NNED website and creates web-based opportunities for knowledge transfer and exchange, including a library of resources, a searchable database of innovations, and interactive discussion forums.

The NFC also provides content expertise in mental health and substance use issues among culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse underserved communities. It also provides content expertise in virtually engaging and connecting these often underserved and under resourced communities.

In addition, the NFC provides writing, communications, and logistical expertise for the operations of a virtual network.

2. NNED members are primarily community-based organizations focused on providing prevention and/or treatment of mental illness and substance use disorders and recovery support services for culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse populations. Membership is not restricted to providers of behavioral health services, but may include community and family resource centers, multi-service and newcomer centers, faith-based institutions and tribal organizations that interface with the behavioral health and well-being of their community. Currently there are over 1,000 community-based organizations in the NNED. A secondary membership category includes NNED Affiliates. These are individuals who are not specifically connected with a CBO but have an interest in reducing behavioral health disparities for diverse racial and ethnic populations. These members may be state and local policymakers and employees, researchers, clinicians, and other interested stakeholders.

Rationale for the NNED The NNED was formed to advance the science to service continuum and to increase access to effective approaches for improving behavioral health care outcomes of culturally diverse populations. The NNED responds to gaps in treatment access and availability by connecting providers, individuals and community partners with training and funding opportunities to build capacity in culturally appropriate and effective interventions, to engage in peer to peer learning exchanges, and ultimately to reduce inequities in care. The NNED builds on the strengths of NNED members and their deep and unique understanding of their communities’ needs and acceptable approaches to address these needs.

The NNED must be responsive to the needs of the communities it serves while also adhering to the priorities of its sponsoring agency, SAMHSA. Current SAMHSA priorities are focused on people with serious mental illness and individuals with addiction disorders, particularly opioid use disorders and overdoses. While these disorders are equally present in NNED communities, access to appropriate care is uneven, thus resulting in a greater burden on these communities. Strategies for outreach, engagement, treatment and recovery must not only be evidence-supported but also community-acceptable and culturally appropriate. This is the particular niche of the NNED.

New Directions SAMHSA is currently reconfiguring its approach to grant investments and the provision of technical assistance and training in the mental health and substance use field. Moving from a more centralized approach, SAMHSA has implemented a regional approach to training and technical assistance (TA) for States, localities, providers and stakeholder groups to connect with each other, in order to strengthen the primary and behavioral health workforce that provides substance use disorder (SUD) and mental health prevention, treatment, and recovery support services in the U.S. and territories. The underlying assumptions in this regional approach is that the needs and concerns about mental health and substance use issues may be more likely shared within a region than across the nation. As an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), SAMHSA follows the regional structure of the HHS, which divides the U.S. into 10 regions. Adhering to this HHS configuration, SAMHSA has placed a Regional Administrator and three networks of Technology Transfer Centers (TTCs) in each of the 10 regions. These three networks of TTCs, established in 2018, focus respectively on 1) addiction, 2) mental health, or 3) prevention; and each network has one national coordinator center, 10 regional centers, one American Indian & Alaska Native focused Center, and one Hispanic and Latino focused Center.

Adhering to SAMHSA’s recent reconfiguration of training and TA, it is now timely for a regional approach that also aligns with the HHS/SAMHSA 10-regions structure to be established within the NNED. The NNED has grown exponentially from its inception in 2008 when there were 35 community-based organizations (CBOs) to the present network consisting of over 1,000 CBOs. Though there has been substantial growth in the number of CBOs in the NNED, there is limited data and understanding on how the NNED memberships are reflected by region. Recent NNED data demonstrates that membership growth and participation in the NNED across the ten HHS/SAMHSA regions have been uneven, emphasizing a need for structures and activities originally created for the NNED to be revisited through a quality improvement (QI) lens. Hence, the NFC will need to implement a data-driven regional approach to improve engagement across HHS/SAMHSA regions with low NNED membership, and to increase connection of NNED members to SAMHSA’s RAs and TTCs to improve service capacity and care.

The regional approach shall outline how the NFC’s operations and functions of the NNED will be aligned with the 10 HHS/SAMHSA regions and shall be clearly delineated in the work plan. The regional approach shall identify channel(s) for NNED members and SAMHSA RAs and TTCs to connect, share, and learn from one another within regions, and shall include activities to improve engagement among the HHS/SAMHSA regions with the lowest NNED membership at the start of the contract period.

The quality improvement plan (QI plan) shall identify areas of improvement for the operations and functionalities of the NNED. Similar to the regional approach, the QI plan shall be clearly delineated in the work plan and aim to improve the quality of the work for this purchase order. Similar to the regional approach, the QI plan shall describe a data-driven approach that includes the process for monitoring the activities and objectives outlined in the work plan to determine if they are being met on time, and the steps to improve where activities are not completed and objectives are unmet. The QI plan shall describe the measures identified by the contractor with approval from SAMHSA, that are aligned with each task and that will be used for monitoring work progress. The contractor shall use baseline metrics drawn from 2019 NNED data (provided by SAMHSA), and shall identify benchmarks to track the progress over time.

Purpose of this Project The purpose of this project is to fund the NFC with an emphasis on two primary goals:

· Develop and implement a Regional Approach for the NNED: Revisit the structures and functions of the NNED and use data to organize the NFC’s work and the NNED around a regional configuration, connecting with other SAMHSA funded regional entities and offices.

· Develop and implement a QI Plan to increase effectiveness and efficiency of NFC and NNED operations and functionalities of the NNED Website.

Statement of Work A. General Requirements

1. Independently, and not as an agent of the Government, the contractor shall exert its best efforts and furnish the necessary personnel, facilities, equipment, materials and supplies, and perform the work set forth below.

2. All work under this project shall be monitored by the Government Project Officer (GPO).

3. All reports or materials produced under this project shall be the sole property of the Federal Government, specifically, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). SAMHSA may utilize, print or disseminate such material without further charge.

4. At the conclusion of this purchase order, the contractor shall be prepared to convey all NNED materials, products, and process reports developed through and supported by this contract to SAMHSA and will do so at the request of the GPO.

B. Specific Requirements This purchase order funds the contractor to serve as the NNED National Facilitation Center (NFC). Specifically, this purchase order provides the funds for the NFC to (1) develop and implement a Regional Approach to the operations and functions of the NNED and (2) develop and implement a QI Plan to increase effectiveness and efficiencies of NFC and NNED operations and NNED website functionalities. Although the contractor provides the support to manage the NNED operations and functions through this purchase order, the NNED is owned by SAMHSA and all work including the NNED websites, and materials are the property of SAMHSA during and after the contract period.

The Contractor will implement the following tasks to efficiently and effectively address the two primary goals of this purchase order:

Task 1. Convene a kick-off call The kick-off call shall occur no later than three days following award of the purchase order and shall include the COR, SAMHSA OBHE task lead, and contractor to kick-off the contract period work. The kick-off call shall be used to discuss the work plan for the project for the duration of the contract period. Discussion shall include SAMHSA’s expectations for the work plan and the specific tasks. SAMHSA shall describe the expected work plan deliverables to the contractor including due dates for a first draft, second draft, and final version.

Task 2. Develop a work plan for this project The contractor shall develop and submit a work plan clearly delineating the proposed work organized by the two goals of this purchase order—development and implementation of 1) a Regional Approach, and 2) a QI Plan. The contractor shall provide a first draft and submit it to SAMHSA within two weeks of the kick-off call. SAMHSA shall provide comments for the first draft to the contractor and the contractor shall send a second draft with incorporated revisions back to SAMHSA within a week. SAMHSA shall provide comment to the contractor on the second draft and the contractor shall revise until an acceptable final version is approved by SAMHSA and no later than one month after receiving the contract award.

The work plan shall act as the foundation for the contract work. Subsequent tasks (Task 3-7) for this purchase order shall be clearly included and outlined in the work plan and focus on the implementation of the work.

Identify “activities,” “objectives,” and “goals” for each task Each subsequent task (Task 3-7) shall be completed through implementation of “activities” (sometimes referred to as “strategies” in program planning) that are associated with “objectives” proposed by the contractor. Each “objective” shall correspond with either goal 1 (the Regional Approach) or goal 2 (the QI Plan). Objectives shall be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timebound (SMART).

Please review the following links for definitions and details about activities, objectives, and goals.

· http://www.checkup.org.au/icms_docs/182812_8_GUIDE_Developing_a_Population_Health_Project_Plan.pdf

· https://www.cdc.gov/std/Program/pupestd/Types%20of%20Evaluation.pdf The work plan shall clearly outline each task by the associated goal with corresponding objective(s) and activit(ies), responsible contract staff, and if the activity was achieved by the due date [see page 5 of Developing a Population Health Project Plan above for an example]. The work plan shall include a GANTT Chart that includes the goals, objectives, and activities with associated timeline and milestones.

Monitor and report progress on implementation The work plan shall include a section that describes the methods to be taken by the contractor to monitor and report the progress of the activities’ implementation and objectives’ achievement to SAMHSA. The contractor shall identify and use baseline measures and benchmark measures (with SAMHSA approval) to assess progress by quarters. The contractor shall describe steps that will be taken to improve each unmet activity for each subsequent quarter, and any additional steps to meet objectives. The contractor shall include a description of the process for reporting progress in implementing the work plan to all contractor staff assigned to this purchase order, and SAMHSA (COR and task lead) throughout the duration of the contract period.

Task 3. Develop and implement a coordinated communication strategy for the NNED The NNED website includes resource rich materials for NNED members and opportunities for interaction between NNED members, while the NNED social media directs viewers to NNED resources like content on the NNED website. The contractor shall implement a coordinated communication strategy for the NNED that is consistent with SAMHSA’s communication strategy. The coordinated communication strategy shall focus on increasing engagement across the NNED Discussion Forum, NNEDshare, and NNED social media. The communication strategy shall be organized to leverage existing virtual conversations as identified by SAMHSA, and incorporate program content development, the use of SAMHSA approved data, and the dissemination of information though social media to increase NNED members’ engagement as well as their awareness and alignment within and across the HHS regions.

The contractor will conduct the following activities to support the communication strategy:

· Develop and write content to include but not limited to:

· Developing and writing posts on interventions/ technological innovations on NNEDshare.

· Developing and writing social media posts that reinforce program content and prioritizes issues NNED members and communities face.

· Developing and implementing an approach to consistently and actively recruit NNEDshare submissions from NNED members .

· Improve information dissemination on ALL communication platforms to include but not limited to:

· Reviewing and reorganizing the NNEDshare content and improving its current search feature structure to facilitate members’ access.

· Implementing activities that promote regional connections and increase engagement among NNED members through NNED discussion forums, specifically among those residing in HHS/SAMHSA regions with low NNED membership.

· Promoting the dissemination of data spotlights from SAMHSA approved sources that will increase awareness of behavioral health trends.

· Establishing a regular schedule for posting content and data on social media platforms to increase the reach and impact of NNED communication activities.

· Monitor communication metrics:

· Developing and implementing an approach for monitoring and improving the functionality of the NNED website, specifically NNEDshare and NNED Discussion Forums, including increasing visibility of the NNED in HHS regions with low membership. List the measures for monitoring to be used, and include the baseline and benchmark metrics to be used to assess progress.

· Developing and implementing an approach for monitoring and improving the functionality of NNED social media communications. List the measures for monitoring to be used, and include the baseline and benchmark metrics to be used to assess progress.

· Developing and implementing an approach for reporting and using the monitoring data to inform future message development, information dissemination, and functionality improvement.

Task 4: Manage the operations of the NNED The contractor is responsible for managing the operations of the NNED. The contractor is expected to have deep and extensive knowledge, experience, and expertise in mental health and substance use issues among culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse communities, as well as expertise in providing technological and logistical support for a contract.

Operational responsibilities for the contractor include the following but are not limited to:

· Developing and writing content and summaries for the NNED and SAMHSA

· The contractor is required to develop, write, and submit quarterly progress reports as directed by SAMHSA on the NNED to SAMHSA.

· Identifying, compiling, and disseminating content and resources for the NNED

· The contractor is required to identify, compile, and disseminate content and resources, through e-newsletters, and the websites.

· Managing the NNED technical operations

· The contractor is required to manage the NNED member database and inquiries from the public and NNED members.

· The contractor is required to manage the NNED website and NNEDshare website.

The contractor is expected to have documented subject matter expertise in the following areas including but not limited to:

· Working directly and on-site with culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse communities to advance health equity.

· Working in the mental health and substance use field to advance health equity.

· Identifying and implementing best strategies for engagement and collaboration for underserved communities.

· Identifying and soliciting community feedback in culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse communities.

· Translating research and scientific information back to communities in a culturally and linguistically appropriate way.

Task 5: Develop Virtual Roundtables/Webinars The contractor shall establish a timely and efficient process for developing and facilitating three virtual roundtables/webinars for the contract period.

The contractor shall develop, facilitate, and/or support the virtual roundtables/webinars as directed by SAMHSA and may include the following activities but are not limited to:

· Developing a concept and agenda

· Identifying speakers and panelists

· Coordinating schedules and conducting practice sessions

· Setting up the virtual registration and technology for the virtual roundtable/webinars

· Identifying and developing relevant registration data fields to collect information on registrants

· Writing announcements and summaries

· Facilitating the virtual roundtables/webinars

· Archiving the virtual roundtables/webinars Efforts to increase engagement of the virtual roundtables/webinars requires that the contractor implement data-driven activities to gather information about the viewers who register and participate in the virtual roundtables/webinars to inform subsequent virtual roundtables/webinars.

The contractor shall implement the following data-driven activities but are not limited to:

· Identifying the data fields to include during the registration process for registrants to complete (e.g., socio-demographics, if they are a NNED member, which HHS region, source for learning about the virtual roundtable/webinar, reasons for attending, interest in being a panelist on a future virtual roundtable/webinar, etc).

· Providing SAMHSA a list of the data fields and answer choices for the registration process to be approved by SAMHSA prior to opening the virtual registration.

· Ensuring the data fields for the registration process are the same for each of the three virtual roundtable/webinars (i.e. standardize the registration process), with option to include one or two specific fields relevant to the webinar that are not standardized across the virtual roundtables/webinars.

· Analyzing the data from the registration process per virtual roundtable/webinar and across the three virtual roundtables/webinars to assess progress and trends.

· Monitoring the registration activity throughout the open period and provide updates to SAMHSA periodically, and using collected data to inform additional promotion of the virtual roundtable/webinar to specific types of stakeholders and NNED membership in regions with low registration.

Critical to the process of developing the virtual roundtables/webinars is identifying activities that will engage and connect virtual roundtable/webinar viewers regionally (including NNED members and non-members) by creating conversations, shared learning, and possibly partnerships before, during, and after the completion of the virtual roundtable/webinar.

The contractor may implement the following activities as directed by SAMHSA but is not limited to:

· Creating relevant polls to the virtual roundtable/webinar content for the participants to engage in during the virtual roundtable/webinar.

· Developing a process to promote continued conversation regarding the virtual roundtable/webinar content to participants and NNED partners, this may include use of social media and/or the NNED discussion forum.

· Developing a schedule for monitoring and posting on the NNED discussion forum thread to engage NNED members in conversation.

· Creating incentives or reminders to engage NNED members in connecting through the discussion forum or elsewhere.

· Identifying methods to track the NNED connections and work that is being done in response to the virtual roundtable/webinar.

Task 6: Establish the NNED Steering Committee The Contractor shall establish and maintain a NNED Steering Committee that is representative of the 10 HHS Regions. The NNED Steering Committee will have a maximum of 10 members and have a key role in elevating information of regional significance to increase the impact of the NNED in local communities. Steering Committee members will participate in the first and second NNED Regional meetings to inform NNED operations and reinforce the linkage between the Regional Administrators and localities.

Proposed members of the NNED Steering Committee should be external thought leaders with recognized expertise in behavioral health equity, in issues related to health disparities, and in engagement and training of diverse virtual audiences. Preferred candidates will have demonstrated expertise in areas prioritized by HHS/SAMHSA (e.g.: opioid use, serious mental illness, integrated care, and workforce development) and approved by SAMHSA.

The contractor shall implement the following activities but is not limited to:

· Identifying and securing steering committee members

· Scheduling two steering committee meetings

· Providing the technological support for steering committee meetings

· Facilitating steering committee meetings including developing agendas in conjunction with SAMHSA

· Preparing and compiling documents on SAMHSA and the NNED for steering committee members prior to steering committee meetings

· Providing a summary document of steering committee meetings to SAMHSA

Tasks 7: Conduct Virtual Regional Meetings The contractor shall develop and implement a plan for convening quarterly virtual meetings that focus on data, policies, and practices that have regional significance and impact NNED members. The regional meetings are expected to enhance the NNED infrastructure and ensure alignment between network activities and SAMHSA’s Regional Administrators. The plan should be embedded in the quality improvement processes for using NNED performance data to identify critical issues for NNED members that could inform SAMHSA’s regional agenda.

The proposed plan for regional meetings should include support for four virtual meetings, one per quarter. The first and third quarterly meetings should include members of the NNED Steering Committee to help highlight and coordinate NNED activities in the HHS regions, strengthen the involvement of NNED members in regional activities, and improve community access to SAMHSA resources. These two meetings shall meet the required 2 steering committing meetings introduced above in Task 6. All four regional meetings shall include the SAMHSA Regional Administrators or their respective SAMHSA representatives, the SAMHSA Office of Behavioral Health Equity, and the NFC.

The contractor should propose a plan for managing all logistics, developing agendas, preparing and disseminating meeting minutes and related materials for meeting participants, and coordinating an approach for integrating identified SAMHSA priorities into regional meeting agendas and post-meeting activities.

C. Task Deliverables The contractor shall be advised by the GPO/SAMHSA for all task deliverables below.

Task 1: Convene a Kick-Off Call

Task 2: Develop a Work Plan for this Project

Task 3: Develop and Implement a Coordinated Communication Strategy for the NNED

Task 4: Manage the Operations of the NNED

Task 5: Develop Virtual Roundtables/Webinars

Conduct practice sessions NLT 3 days prior to virtual roundtable/webinar

NLT than 1 month prior to virtual roundtable/webinar, and ongoing for technology

During virtual roundtable/webinar

NLT than 2 weeks after the virtual roundtable/webinar

Task 6: Establish the NNED Steering Committee

NLT than 1 week after steering committee meeting

Task 7: Conduct Virtual Regional Meetings