Draft SOW_ Diversity Equity Inclusion (693JJ923RQ000033).pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

ROPD Diversity Equity Inclusion

RFP #

SECTION C – DESCRIPTION/ SPECIFICATIONS/ WORK STATEMENT

C.1 BACKGROUND

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). NHTSA’s mission is to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce traffic-related health care and other economic costs. The agency develops, promotes, and implements educational, engineering, and enforcement programs with the goal of preventing tragedies and reducing economic costs associated with vehicle use and highway travel.

NHTSA has been directed by Congress to ensure Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grant funds, as well as previously awarded grant funds, are reaching communities in an equitable manner. These funds are awarded to States by NHTSA’s Regional Operations and Program Delivery (ROPD) to carry out highway safety programs that will help NHTSA meet its mission of saving lives. As part of the highway safety planning process, State Highway Safety Offices (SHSO) conduct problem identification to determine the problem areas that are causing their citizens to be injured or killed in traffic crashes. Proper problem identification will reveal the types of problems that need to be addressed as well as who and where the solutions need to be focused. Data analyzed to determine the problem areas usually include number of crashes, crash severity, crash location, type of person injured, time of day, speed, impairment, seat belt use, distraction, citations, convictions, recidivism rates, and other data to normalize these factors to create rates. Program activities are then planned to target the high-risk populations and/or locations.

State Highway Safety Offices seek applications from agencies with the ability to make an impact on the target populations in their jurisdiction. SHSOs sometimes reach out to agencies if none apply in an area that has a large problem. Typically, however, the same agencies apply year after year.

Agencies that have received grants for many years may still apply even if the problem has receded.

In these cases, the new effort proposes to maintain a low level of crashes as opposed to the original effort of reducing crashes from a higher level.

Participating agencies tend to be statewide law enforcement, local law enforcement and fire/rescue, educational institutions, media companies, health departments, private companies with many employees or fleet services, and non-profit organizations. The majority of participating agencies is comprised of law enforcement.

NHTSA’s ten Regional Offices provide technical assistance to the States throughout the year to help them reach their goals, and to ensure they stay in compliance with federal regulations. In order to assist them better in terms of diversity equity inclusion, NHTSA needs to review its current practices to see where improvements can be made and tools developed to ensure they are giving the best possible assistance.

C.2 OBJECTIVE

The objective of this contract is to develop a framework that outlines NHTSA ROPD’s equity program and how we can provide assistance to the States regarding diversity equity inclusion. An analysis of how ROPD currently provides this assistance will be conducted, documenting what our strengths and weaknesses are, as well as what opportunities we can take advantages of and what are the threats that exist to implementing an equity program (SWOT analysis). A review of best practices in the public sector is needed to help determine what gaps exist in our current program, what NHTSA can do to improve, what kind of impact could be made if we implemented the private sector best practices, and then develop tools to help in delivering a new diversity equity inclusion program. Based on these tasks, recommendations are needed on how to improve processes that will result in a more inclusive and diverse highway safety program.

C.3 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall:

1. Document current technical assistance to States regarding diversity equity inclusion.

Determine a baseline from which ROPD can improve upon.

2. Document strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis) that exist within ROPD regarding its efforts to provide technical assistance regarding diversity equity inclusion.

3. Conduct a best practice review of the public and private sector. Document how these companies and agencies are locating underserved areas and marketing their services towards them.

4. Document tools and policies that are used by the private sector that enable them to be successful in their diversity equity inclusion programs.

5. Make recommendations on what actions ROPD can make to improve its diversity equity inclusion program based on the previous tasks. Include what tools should be developed and training is needed to be effective.

6. Develop tools and policies.

7. Produce a final report summarizing the findings from the above tasks.

C.4 SCOPE OF WORK

The Contractor shall furnish the necessary personnel, equipment, and facilities, and otherwise perform all things necessary for or incidental to the performance of work (the accomplishment of specific requirements) as set forth below in Section C.5.

C.4.1 ACRONYMS

The following is a list of key acronyms used throughout the Statement of Work (SOW). This list may not be exhaustive.

ACOR Alternate Contracting Officer’s Representative

CO Contracting Officer COR Contracting Officer’s Representative CRSS Crash Report Sampling System CS Contract Specialist DOT U.S. Department of Transportation GMO Grants Management and Operations HSP Highway Safety Plan NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ROPD Regional Operations and Program Delivery SHSO State Highway Safety Office SOW Statement of Work

C.5 SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

C.5.1 Kick-Off Meeting

Within two (2) weeks of contract award, the Contractor shall attend a virtual Kick-Off Meeting with the NHTSA COR, CO and/or CS, and any other interested NHTSA personnel. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the administration of the Contract and the goal, objective, scope, and anticipated challenges for the effort. The meeting will serve to identify any potential problems and their solutions to ensure successful completion of the project.

This shall also be a working meeting for the Contractor and NHTSA, allowing up to four (4) hours for the meeting. The NHTSA COR will take the lead in the discussions and provide the background for the project. The Contractor shall then discuss the approach for accomplishing the contract objectives and include the understanding of project objectives and design, schedule of project activities and understanding of deliverable requirements and specifications.

The Contractor shall work with the NHTSA COR prior to the meeting to prepare appropriate briefing materials on the approach. Materials for the Kick-Off Meeting shall be completed and submitted to the COR for review and approval at least one (1) week prior to the Kick-Off Meeting. The COR will send feedback to the Contractor on Kick-Off Meeting materials within three (3) days of receipt. The Contractor shall submit revised Kick-Off Meeting Materials at least one (1) day before Kickoff Meeting.

C.5.2 Project Management Work Plan

Within one (1) week of completion of the Kick-Off Meeting, the contractor shall submit the Project Management Work Plan, based on the discussions held during the Kick-off Meeting, including a detailed schedule for project accomplishment and specific dates applied to the Milestone/Deliverable Schedule. The NHTSA COR will review and approve the Project Management Work Plan and provide comments to the Contractor within one (1) week of receipt.

The contractor shall incorporate comments, feedback, and submit a revised Project Management Work Plan to the NHTSA COR within one (1) week of receipt from the NHTSA COR.

C.5.3 Documentation of Current ROPD Technical Assistance

The objective of this task is to work with ROPD, including GMO and the ten Regional Offices to conduct individual office level interviews. The purpose of the interviews is to document each office’s current ability to provide technical assistance to State Highway Safety Offices as it relates to diversity equity inclusion. The Contractor shall create an assessment tool that at a minimum, covers the following topics:

- general knowledge of equity and diversity

- knowledge of how equity and diversity can affect highway safety outcomes

- prior training regarding equity and diversity

- comfort level in discussing equity and diversity issues with their States

- knowledge of each State’s process for reaching out to prospective partners to implement a highway safety grant program in the upcoming federal fiscal year.

- efforts currently conducted to encourage States to be more inclusive of non-traditional partners and/or new partners in general. This includes efforts to include new partners for highway safety planning purposes and also for recruiting new sub-grantees.

- What tools does the office currently have to assist them in working with States to be more inclusive?

The contractor shall then compile the information to create a baseline from which ROPD can document future improvement.

Within two (2) months of contract award, the Contractor shall submit a Draft analysis of ROPD’s current ability to provide technical assistance to the SHSOs as it relates to diversity equity inclusion.

The COR shall review the Draft analysis and submit comments within two (2) weeks of receipt.

The contractor shall incorporate comments, feedback, and submit a revised Analysis to the NHTSA COR within one (1) week of receipt from the NHTSA COR.

C.5.4 Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis

The objective of this task is to document the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to improving ROPD’s diversity equity inclusion practices. The contractor shall analyze the information gathered in the previous task to determine:

- The strengths that exist within ROPD that can be used to further the diversity equity inclusion program. Strengths may be a person, a conviction, tools, policies, or even a connection with an outside entity that has their own equity program.

- The weaknesses that exist within ROPD that are preventing effective technical assistance from occurring.

- The opportunities that can be acted upon to improve ROPD’s technical assistance

- The threats that are present that may prevent ROPD from furthering its diversity equity inclusion program to its fullest potential. These threats may be internal or external.

Within three (3) months of contract award, the Contractor shall submit to the COR a draft SWOT analysis documenting the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to improving ROPD’s diversity equity inclusion practices. The COR will return comments on the documents within two

(2) weeks of receipt.

The contractor shall incorporate comments, feedback, and submit a revised analysis and spreadsheet to the NHTSA COR within one (1) week of receipt from the NHTSA COR.

C.5.5 Best Practice Review

The objective of this task is to conduct a best practices review of public and private sector companies and document how they are locating underserved areas and marketing their services/messages towards them. The private sector, being focused on ensuring their messages reach their intended audience and resonate with them, have spent countless hours and funding finding ways to do this effectively. NHTSA intends to learn the “tools of the trade” from successful agencies and companies who have developed ways of determining their niche markets. While NHTSA has had success as a whole, ROPD needs to be able to first find the sections of the population that have been missed and find ways to include them in our outreach efforts.

Efforts should focus on both public and private sector best practices focused on reaching underserved populations. Prior to beginning this task, the contractors shall work with the COR to determine which agencies and companies will be used.

Within five (5) months of contract award, the Contractor shall submit to the COR a draft analysis of populations served and methods of outreach. The COR will return comments on the documents within two (2) weeks of receipt.

C.5.6 Tools and Policies Used

The objective of this task is to use the findings from the previous task to determine what tools are used by successful private sector companies to locate the audience they need to reach, and then the tools used to reach them. This may include varying data sets, programs or techniques used for analysis, mapping, policies and practices. The contractor shall also determine if these tools are accessible to the Federal Government and what skills or training is needed to implement them. Task C.5.5 and C.5.6 may be worked on concurrently.

Within six (6) months of contract award, the Contractor shall submit to the COR a draft report outlining the tools and policies used by successful public and private sector companies. The COR will return comments on the documents within two (2) weeks of receipt.

The contractor shall incorporate comments, feedback, and submit a revised report to the NHTSA COR within one (1) week of receipt from the NHTSA COR.

C.5.7 Recommendations for Improvement

The objective of this task is to incorporate analyses from the previous tasks to make recommendations to ROPD for improvement of their diversity equity inclusion practices.

Recommendations shall be categorized by ROPD’s ability to implement the recommendation, in regard to the baseline, as well as potential impact of the recommendation. Recommendations shall also provide a framework for a comprehensive diversity equity inclusion program. The program framework shall include:

- Policies

- Skills

- Training

- Best practices

- Tools to be developed

- Action plan

The contractors shall use information gained from prior tasks to make recommendations, however prior experience in these areas as well as expertise in the diversity, equity inclusion area will also be used to ensure ROPD is poised to be successful.

Within eight (8) months of contract award, the Contractor shall submit the draft recommendations for improvement report. The COR will submit comments on the Recommendation Draft within two (2) weeks of receipt.

The contractor shall incorporate comments, feedback, and submit a revised report to the NHTSA COR within one (1) week of receipt from the NHTSA COR.

C.5.8 Tools and Policies

The objective of this task is to create tools and policies, based on ROPD concurrence, from the recommendations for improvement report. Tools shall be developed and tested (with Regional Office support) to ensure they will be effective for improving ROPD’s assistance to States and help ROPD in being more successful in its diversity equity inclusion efforts. Policies will consist of easy-to-follow instructions on how to use the tools, why the tools were developed and how they should be used for maximum results.

Within twelve (12) months of contract award, the Contractor shall submit for use the tools and policies developed in conjunction with ROPD staff for use in improving ROPD’s assistance. The COR shall review the products submit comments within two (2) weeks of receipt.

The contractor shall incorporate comments, feedback, and submit revised products to the NHTSA

C.5.9 Final Report

The objective of this task is to create a Final Report that summarizes the results of each task. The report shall be comprehensive such that the reader will understand the current state of ROPD’s ability to provide technical assistance to State Highway Safety Offices in the area of diversity equity inclusion, what tools and best practices from the private sector can be used to improve ROPD’s assistance and what recommendations are being made to help ROPD be more successful in its diversity equity inclusion efforts. The extent to which the lack of equity has prevented ROPD and the States from making a larger impact on traffic crashes and injuries shall also be discussed.

Within thirteen (13) months of contract award, the Contractor shall submit a Draft Final Report.

The COR shall review the Draft Final Report and submit comments within two (2) weeks of receipt.

The contractor shall incorporate comments, feedback, and submit a revised report to the NHTSA

C.5.10 Final Briefing

Within fourteen (14) months of contract award, the Contractor shall develop and conduct collaboratively with the NHTSA COR a Final Briefing for this contract at NHTSA Headquarters in Washington, DC. The Final Briefing shall consist of a 20- to 30-minute presentation of the project that includes the background of the project, a description of the specific tasks conducted, and the recommendations being made, followed by a question and answer period. Materials for the Final Briefing Meeting shall be completed and submitted to the COR for review and approval at least one

(1) week prior to the Final Briefing Meeting. The COR will send feedback to the Contractor on Final Briefing Meeting materials within 3 days of receipt.

(End of Section C)

SECTION D - PACKAGING AND MARKING

D.1 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Preservation and packaging of all shipments or mailing of all work delivered under this contract shall be done in accordance with good commercial practices and to insure acceptance by common carrier (if applicable) and safe transportation at the most economical rate(s).

Any deliverables required by this contract shall be submitted to the applicable personnel identified in Section F of this contract. Due to security concerns, deliverables transmitted via regular U.S.

Mail experience significant delay in reaching an intended destination and, as part of the screening process, may be damaged. For these reasons, the U.S. Mail should not be used to transmit deliverables. Rather, the Contractor is encouraged to use electronic mail to the maximum extent possible.

D.2 FORMATTING TEXT AND IMAGE DELIVERABLES

For those deliverables submitted electronically as text or image files, the following specifications apply.

D.2.1 Text

Text files shall be delivered in Microsoft WORD 2016 format. Font type of Times New Roman with a font size of 12 shall be used throughout the document. The Contractor shall minimize additional formatting as much as possible (e.g., avoid use of columns) Avoid using any design/layout elements (however, see D.2.2, D.2.3, and D.2.4 below).

D.2.2 Charts and Graphs

The Contractor shall develop charts or graphs using Microsoft EXCEL 2016 and shall insert these in the appropriate places within the text document. The Contractor shall also provide the Microsoft EXCEL source file from which charts or graphs were developed.

D.2.3 Illustrations

NHTSA’s Office of Communication Services is responsible for developing or acquiring most illustrations found in NHTSA publications. These illustrations can take two forms:

Graphics – In the majority of cases, the Office of Communication Services will develop any needed graphics in collaboration with the NHTSA COR. The Contractor shall provide text, graphs, and charts following the guidelines stipulated in D.2.1 and D.2.2 above. In some cases, the Contractor may be required to develop graphics. In these cases, the Contractor shall use only software approved by the U.S. Government Printing Office (e.g. Adobe Illustrator).

Photographs – When photos are used in Agency publications, the Office of Communication Services typically uses existing photos or photos purchased through royalty-free sources. In the event the Contractor must supply photos for use in a publication, the photos must be high resolution images at least 300 dpi at the size used in the publication. Photos shall be supplied on a CD or DVD in either .tif format (for scanned images) or .jpg (for images downloaded to the CD or DVD directly from the digital camera).

NOTE: If a photograph is supplied by an outside source (Contractor, grantee, national organization, etc.), a release form must accompany the photo indicating that the human subjects in the photo authorize NHTSA to use the photo in its publications and on its Internet site. The Contractor is responsible for ensuring that the necessary arrangements have been made with the photographer and the subjects in the photo to ensure that NHTSA has unlimited rights to use the images in print and on the web. The Contractor shall obtain, and provide to NHTSA, a written statement indicating that NHTSA has unlimited, unrestricted rights to the use of the photos.

D.2.4 Web-based Images

Occasionally, web-based images may be used in NHTSA publications. The Contractor is cautioned that copyright laws restrict use of many of these images even if this is not expressly indicated at the website. Additionally, the resolution of most web-based images is not high enough to provide a clear image when published. For these reasons, web-based images should not be used.

(End of Section D)

SECTION F – DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F.1 FAR 52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer (CO) will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at this/these address: www.acquisition.gov/far/.

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Clauses:

NOTE: Those clauses marked with an “X” are hereby incorporated by reference.

CLAUSE TITLE DATE

X 52.242-15 Stop Work Order AUG 1989 X 52.247-35 F.O.B. Destination, Within Consignee’s Premises APR 1984

F.2 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

All work required hereunder, including preparation, submission, review of any and all reports, shall be completed within the fourteen (14) months from the effective date of the contract award.

F.3 PERFORMANCE MILESTONES (M) AND DELIVERABLES (D)

F.3.1 MILESTONES / DELIVERABLES SCHEDULE

The following milestone and deliverables apply to this Contract and are considered important to the successful completion of the project:

Item Task Deliverables (D) & Milestones (M) Due Date 1 C.5.1 Kick-Off Meeting (M) Within 2 weeks of contract award 2 C.5.2 Project Management Work Plan (D) Within 1 week of Kick-Off

Meeting 3 C.5.3 Documentation of Current ROPD Technical

Assistance (D) Within 2 months of contract award

4 C.5.4 SWOT Analysis (D) Within 3 months of contract award

5 C.5.5 Best Practice Review (D) Within 5 months of contract award

6 C.5.6 Tools and Policies used (D) Within 6 months of contract award http://www.acquisition.gov/far

Item Task Deliverables (D) & Milestones (M) Due Date 7 C.5.7 Recommendations for Improvement (D) Within 8 months of contract award 8 C.5.8 Tools and Policies (D) Within 12 months of contract award 9 C.5.9 Final Report (D) Within 13 months of contract award 10 C.5.10 Final Briefing (M) Within 14 months of contract award

B.1 PLACE OF DELIVERY:

Unless otherwise specified, deliverables shall be furnished, electronically, to the following addresses:

Item No. Address

All

Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NRO-110) Attention: TBD at Contract Award 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, WXX-XXX Washington, DC 20590 Telephone: 202-366-XXX Email: TBD@dot.gov

Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Acquisition Management Attention: David Larson 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, W53-411 Washington, DC 20590 Telephone: 202-366-4843 Email: David.Larson@dot.gov

F.4.1 MONTHLY REPORTS

The contractor shall furnish the report electronically to the COR by the 15th of each month following the month being reported. At a minimum, the progress report shall include a narrative description of the following items:

• Accomplishments made during the reporting period

• Funds status by major cost element, month's obligations, cumulative obligations estimated cost to complete, and percent of cost expended versus percent of completion

• Plans for accomplishments in next reporting period mailto:TBD@dot.gov mailto:David.Larson@dot.gov

• Preliminary or interim results, conclusions, trends, or other items of information that the Contractor believes are of interest to NHTSA problems or delays that the Contractor has experienced and possible solutions for remedying these problems or delays, and

• Specific action that the Contractor would like NHTSA to undertake to alleviate a problem, and

• Due dates for remaining deliverables.

F.5 COMPLIANCE WITH REHABILITATION ACT

All electronic and information technology procured, developed, or delivered under this contract shall meet applicable accessibility standards, as specified in 36 CFR Part 1194. 36 CFR Part 1194 implements Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and is viewable at http://www.section508.gov.

All contract deliverables covered by Section 508 shall be accessible to people with disabilities.

Reports and other deliverables provided in electronic media, including web-based intranet and internet format shall conform to applicable accessibility standards, including at a minimum, the following provisions:

1194.21, Software Applications and Operating Systems

1194.22, Web-Based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications 1194.24, Video and Multimedia Products 1194.31, Functional Performance Criteria 1194.41, Information, Documentation, and Support

This standard is available for viewing at the Access Board web site at:

https://learn.essentialaccessibility.com/508-accessibility-checklist?utm_term=508%20rules&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=508+%7 C+PH&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_grp=1356798508960136&hsa_mt=e&hsa_tgt=kwd- 84800576932015:loc- 190&hsa_kw=508%20rules&hsa_src=o&hsa_acc=4319570901&hsa_cam=13920189549&hsa_ver= 3&hsa_ad=&msclkid=c9fde1f261de1b82454a806c7c2448a3&utm_content=508%20%7C%20Other

(End of Section F) http://www.section508.gov/