External Evaluator QAs 04032024.pdf

EXTERNAL EVALUATOR

RFP #24-7047-RFP01

Bidder’s Conference Q&As

April 3, 2024

1. How many contracts are expected to be awarded from this solicitation?

One.

2. Will the awarded vendor be working for the fulfillment of this contract for the next 5 years with the program?

Yes. The goal is to keep the same contractor for the duration of the entire grant through 2028.

3. Is the proposed timeline hard and fast or is it flexible?

The timeline is flexible. The awarded vendor and the Program will edit the timeline once the contract is fully execution.

4. Since this is the third iteration, is this the first time someone has been sought for evaluation, was there a previous evaluation that was done?

We’ve had previous evaluations done for each iteration of the different grants received. Since this is a new grant award period, we are starting from scratch.

5. Is the prior evaluator going to be prioritized for this opportunity?

No. This will solely be based on the newly submitted proposals which will be evaluated by a team and scored.

6. What are the subject areas for this grant?

Component A= Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Family Healthy Weight Program

Component B= COVID-19, Flu, and other adult vaccines

7. Will the evaluator need to be a subject matter expert in each area?

No. They do not have to be experts, but we would like them to have experience with multi-site community-based policy systems and environmental change projects. The evaluator will also work on all components of the grant. There will not be a split between the components.

8. Is the budget for the full five years including the four subject areas?

Yes.

9. The budget is $50,000 maximum for now, but is that for subsequent years on this contract? Is this a hard number for each year or can it fluctuate up or down?

At this moment these are hard numbers. Since this is a grant there could be a funding increase or decrease. If this occurs, an amendment to the contract would have to be executed to for such a change.

10. Since there are certain requirements and qualifications for the vendor selection process. Is the scoring of those qualifications weighted the same, or do other qualifications have a different weight than others? For instance, is education and work history more relevant than background experience.

The committee has not yet met to determine the weights or all of the questions for evaluating the impending bids; however, experience is extremely relevant.

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11. Are you looking for the full five years to be shown in the budget tables or do you want to see year over year, or a new table for each year?

At this time, the first-year budget is required. Three months prior to beginning of each new grant year, a new budget must remit to the Program for review, consideration and/or modification.

12. Could you describe any qualitative and quantitative data that you are hoping to be analyzed by the evaluator in the May and June 2024 timeline?

In the first year, we are focusing on landscape assessments, that is all we will be doing up until

September 2024 and we may end up going past that timeline into maybe the first half of year two. It depends on how far we get. Assessments will be conducted to understand the current landscape for both components A&B and data collection in later years that may consist of surveys, assessments, document reviews, record reviews, and things of that nature. We will be working collaboratively with our CDC evaluation team to finalize those data collection methods.

13. Do you have in mind what conferences you’re hoping to submit to for this effort?

We are always open to different ideas within the public health realm. The American Public Health

Association (APHA) and the Georgia Public Health Association (GPHA) are our main conferences.

There may be a few others for consideration and we are open to suggestions that you may have.

14. Do you expect participant incentives for participation in the evaluation to be included in the contract evaluator’s budget?

No, that will not be included. Our team at DeKalb Public Health will handle all incentives. You will likely assist with disseminating or administering the incentives; however, incentives are not cost to include within your budget proposal.

15. What does the time commitment for each of these projects look like? Do you have to sit in meetings once or twice a week? Are you looking to have someone come on-site and be available for a typical 9-to-

5 schedule? Is virtual attendance possible?

We are open to virtual facilitation of this process. However, there will be some things that require in-person participation. We recommend that you all be flexible and able to plan accordingly. i.e. outreach events, data collection

There is no 9-5. You will work on your own schedule. Meeting times will fluctuate, but occur most likely bi-weekly for discussions of where we are, next steps, etc. You must be self-sufficient, self-motivated, and very communication driven as communication is key for the success of this contract due to it being largely virtually driven.

16. In reference to the publications or documents provided with our proposal. For publications that we list, do they have to be things that have already been published or can they be things that are still in the works of being published or things that you worked on but didn't make it to publication?

Professional presentations or publications are acceptable. You can include things that you’re working on to be published and publications that were submitted and accepted.

17. Please confirm the submission due date.

Friday, April 12, 2024, 3:00 p.m.

18. Is there a residency requirement for the selected vendor.

No residency requirement. If deemed necessary, you are welcome to include travel in your budget proposals.

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19. In terms of the individuals collecting data, do we have access to that, or will we need to be involved in recruiting efforts?

The REACH Team will be heavily involved in facilitating participate recruitment including promotion and outreach efforts for recruitment. We have an internal team of individuals involved in these efforts who communicate with the project partners. Outreach events are appropriate times for you to recruit people to take surveys or to join a focus group. Outside of that, we will collect information from our project team.

20. Are you expecting us to provide Spanish speaking individuals for some of the data collection efforts.

No. We are working on having a interpreter/translator alongside us as we conduct outreach events/activities as well as translated documents for surveys, i.e. event surveys, Survey Monkey, etc…

21. When will the vendor be selected?

The goal for vendor selection is April 19, 2024.

22. If other questions come up after this meeting, are we allowed to email anyone to get the answers to those questions?

Yes. You can email me direct. My email address is identified in the solicitation on the first page. You have until 11:59 p.m. to email me any additional questions you may have after this meeting. Those questions will be included in the Q&A posting response.

23. The Solicitation references "contractor's team" (pg 5), will bid preference only be given to those who have more than one employee?

Each vendor, after reviewing the solicitation requirements and detail provided, determines the number of staff members it deems appropriate to sufficiently satisfy the requirements of the solicitation. We are not placing a number of employees requirement for the vendor’s bid presentation.