Legal_Navigator_Assessment_and_Evaluation__in_Alaska_RFP.pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS:

LEGAL NAVIGATOR USABILITY TESTING

IN ALASKA

OPENS: JULY 26, 2019

CLOSES: AUGUST 12, 2019

ABOUT THE LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is the single largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans in the nation. Established in 1974, LSC operates as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that promotes equal access to justice and provides grants for high-quality civil legal assistance to low-income Americans. LSC distributes more than 90% of its funding to 132 independent nonprofit legal aid programs with more than 800 offices. LSC promotes equal access to justice by awarding grants to legal services providers through a competitive grants process; conducting compliance reviews and program visits to oversee program quality and compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements as well as restrictions that accompany LSC funding, and by providing training and technical assistance to programs.

INTRODUCTION

Access to legal resources makes a crucial difference to people fighting unlawful evictions, escaping domestic violence, maintaining custody of their children, and addressing other challenges that go to the heart of their safety, security, and well-being. The legal system, however, was created for lawyers and is difficult for laypeople to understand.

Funding for legal aid is not nearly sufficient to meet the need. Of the 1.7 million low-income residents who approached an LSC-funded legal aid organization in 2017 for help, fewer than two in five had their civil legal needs fully addressed. In 2016, 71% of low-income households in the U.S. experienced at least one civil legal problem; they sought legal help, however, for only 20% of those problems. Many individuals also do not recognize that their problems are legal in nature and, as a result, do not seek legal assistance or information of any kind. The difference between the civil legal needs of low-income residents and the resources available to meet those needs is called the justice gap.

Technology can narrow the justice gap and improve the delivery of legal assistance. LSC’s 2013 Report of the Summit on the Use of Technology to Expand Access to Justice recommended the development of an access-to-justice “portal” in every state that “directs persons needing legal assistance to the most appropriate form of assistance and guides self-represented litigants through the entire legal process.” At LSC’s 2016 White House Forum on Access to Justice, Microsoft, LSC, and Pro Bono Net announced a new partnership to implement this recommendation to help people navigate state-specific resources and steer them to the most appropriate available assistance—whether instructional videos, online form-assembly tools, court-based resource centers, self-help websites, legal aid organizations, pro bono lawyers, or lawyers charging reduced fees. This partnership led to the creation of Legal Navigator.

Legal Navigator will enable people to navigate the court system and legal resources, learn about their rights, identify legal problems, and prepare and file critical court documents in a way that is accessible, comprehensive, trusted, and easy to use. Legal Navigator’s goal is to guide people every step of the way toward addressing their legal problems.

https://www.lsc.gov/media-center/publications/2017-justice-gap-report https://www.lsc.gov/media-center/publications/report-summit-use-technology-expand-access-justice

Today, many websites have static information about legal resources. The content may be curated by untrusted sources and is often based on search engine optimization and advertisements. Legal Navigator was built to provide curated, interactive content from trusted sources. For example, a user can type, “I’m being kicked out of my apartment.” The system will be smart enough to know that the phrase “being kicked out” means “I’m being evicted.” And it will be smart enough to ask the person why he/she is being kicked out. If the person answers, “I haven’t paid my rent,” the system will ask the reason why. If the person says, “My landlord doesn’t provide heat,” the system then knows to direct the person to the proper self- help resources for remedies in that situation. These resources could include information on a tenant’s rights, information on state-specific laws, and court forms to complete.

Following a competitive application process, LSC selected Alaska and Hawai’i in 2017 to serve as pilot states for Legal Navigator. The pilot projects aim to integrate and amplify existing efforts by legal aid organizations, courts, and other service providers to help more people facing civil legal issues through the use of innovative technology, including machine learning and artificial intelligence. Legal Navigator is an online legal assistance portal that allows users to: 1) ask a question about a potential legal issue; 2) refine, through an automated guided interview, the specific legal issue in their question; 3) learn about their options to address a legal issue with a personal action plan; and, 4) connect to the most appropriate form of assistance that can help with their issue.

Legal Navigator will be ready for a limited pilot in September 2019 in Alaska and Hawai’i, and we need a vendor to conduct usability testing.

EXPECTED OUTCOME

LSC seeks a seasoned website evaluator to conduct usability testing of Legal Navigator in Alaska.

Specifically, LSC seeks to evaluate mobile friendliness, plain language, language access, and ease of navigation. Through this evaluation, LSC hopes to answer the following questions:

1. Do users know how to get from point A to point B to navigate the issues they are experiencing?

2. Do users experience a smooth pathway to their personal action plan (not frustrated, confusing or too time consuming)?

3. Do users feel more confident that they know what to expect when experiencing a specific legal issue(s)?

4. Do users feel more confident to move forward to address a specific legal issue(s)?

5. Do users feel more confident about the available resources to address their issue(s)?

6. Would users use Legal Navigator or tell their friends or family to use it to address their issue(s)?

DUTIES, TASKS AND MILESTONES

The successful vendor is expected to:

1. Identify a methodology for usability testing.

2. Conduct task-based (i.e. find legal help concerning divorce) user tests with up to 15 constituents onsite in Anchorage, Alaska and 15 constituents onsite in Bethel, Alaska.

The 15 constituents should representative of anticipated Legal Navigator users.

3. Conduct user research: surveys, focus groups, or other methods can be considered.

4. Provide a report analyzing findings that includes detailed recommendations on how Legal Navigator should be changed or updated. The report should include all raw data and instruments used to collect the data.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

All proposals must be 10 pages or less (not including references and samples of comparable work), concise and well-organized, and demonstrate how your proposed services, approach and methodology, qualifications, experience, and terms meet or exceed LSC’s requirements.

Demonstrated expertise in website usability testing is desired.

All proposals must also contain the following:

Applicant Information

1) Your full name, address, telephone number, email, and website.

2) Brief firm overview, including a brief history, number of employees, and number of years in operation.

3) Your vendor/submission point-person. Please include title, phone number, and email address.

4) Examples of vendor experience in website usability testing.

5) Two (2) recent references concerning your experience with the work described in this

RFP. Indicate the reference’s name, a brief description of the services provided, and the name, title, telephone number and email address of a reference who is knowledgeable about your work and who may be contacted by proposal evaluators.

Pricing and Pricing Methodology

1) Pricing should be Firm Fixed Price (FFP) and must be itemized by work delivery package or other measurable commodity and include a written explanation of all fees and costs.

2) Rates must include all overhead costs.

3) LSC is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.

Project Information

1) Outline of vendor approach to conducting the work outlined within this RFP;

2) High-level work breakdown schedule identifying:

a. Key project stages and deliverables

b. Level of effort

c. Moderately conservative timeline

3) Discussion of anticipated deliverables include any additional deliverables not specifically outlined in this RFP but deemed by the vendor as a value-add to our goals

Other Information

1) The vendor is encouraged to provide other information or material, within the 10-page limit, that you believe is relevant to our evaluation or that provides additional features or value to LSC.

RFP SCHEDULE

DATE EVENT

July 26, 2019 RFP issued

August 2, 2019

Deadline for respondents to submit RFP questions

August 6, 2019 LSC responds to RFP questions

August 12, 2019 Deadline for respondents to submit proposals

August 19, 2019 Evaluation of proposals

August 23, 2019 Notification to successful consultant of preliminary selection and contract negotiation

September 4, 2019 Project Kick-Off

PROPOSAL QUESTIONS

Please submit questions relating to this RFP by email to Helen Guyton, Assistant General Counsel, guytonh@lsc.gov with a copy to Jada Breegle at breeglej@lsc.gov , no later than 5:30 pm EST, on August 2, 2019. Answers to all questions submitted will be posted on LSC’s website at https://www.lsc.gov/about-lsc/doing-business-lsc-rfps.

https://www.lsc.gov/about-lsc/doing-business-lsc-rfps https://www.lsc.gov/about-lsc/doing-business-lsc-rfps

DEADLINES AND DELIVERY INFORMATION

All proposals must be received by LSC no later than 5:30 P.M., EST, on August 12, 2019. Proposals must be in electronic format (PDF or MS Word). Email proposals to:

Helen Guyton, Assistant General Counsel Legal Services Corporation Email: guytonh@lsc.gov Cc: Breeglej@lsc.gov

You are solely responsible for ensuring that your proposal is delivered on time. Late proposals may be accepted in LSC’s sole discretion. You must bear all costs incurred in preparing your proposal; contract awards will not cover proposal costs.

PROPOSAL EVALUATION

The contract will be awarded to the vendor who provides the best value – the most advantageous balance of price, quality, and performance – to LSC. Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Price

• The reasonableness of the price for the service being provided.

• Whether the price is realistic (especially if it is an estimate), reflects a clear understanding of LSC’s needs, and is consistent with other parts of the proposal.

• The cost of incidental expenses, including taxes and service fees, administrative costs, maintenance/customer support costs, system or software conversion costs, travel, and transportation or shipping costs.

Quality

• Qualifications, technical expertise, and experience of vendor and support staff

• Reputation for excellence in price, performance, and quality

Performance

• Timeliness of deliverables

• Capacity

• Understanding of and ability to meet LSC’s needs

• Responsiveness to LSC

• Professionalism of representatives (sales, customer support, technical assistance, designated consultants, etc.)

mailto:guytonh@lsc.gov mailto:Breeglej@lsc.gov

LSC’S RIGHTS

LSC reserves the right to:

• Accept or reject any or all proposals, or any part thereof;

• Waive any informalities or technicalities contained in any proposal received;

• Conduct discussions with respondents and accept revisions of proposals after the closing date;

• Make an award based upon various selection criteria;

• Request clarification from any respondents on any or all aspects of its proposals;

• Cancel or re-issue this RFP at any time;

• Retain all proposals submitted in response to this RFP;

• Invite some, all, or none of the respondents for interviews, demonstrations, presentations and further discussion;

Confidentiality During the vendor selection and project execution phases, you may be given access to LSC’s confidential or proprietary information. You agree not to use this information for your or any third-party’s benefit and will not disclose this information to any person who does not have a need to know.

Freedom of Information Act The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and associated LSC regulations may require LSC to disclose certain documents to the public, including portions of your proposal. Generally, LSC will not release any documents that would cause your vendor competitive harm. You are encouraged, however, to label any confidential information contained in your proposal to facilitate LSC’s ability to withhold it from disclosure.

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and associated LSC regulations may require LSC to disclose certain documents to the public, including portions of your proposal. Generally, LSC will not release any documents that would cause your vendor competiti...