RFP-2025-VR-NHILB 05.pdf

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

25 Hall Street | Concord, NH | 03301-3860

NH Interpreter Licensure Board Conflict Resolution and Mediation System Development

RFP-2025-VR-NHILB 05

The New Hampshire Department of Education does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, national/ethnic origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, or disability in its programs, activities and employment practices. This statement is a reflection of the Department of

Education and refers to, but is not limited to, the provisions of the following laws: Title IV, VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964-race color, national origin, The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX)-sex, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504)- disability, The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)-disability, and NH Law against discrimination (RSA 354-A). Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

Table of Contents

SECTION 1 – Overview and Schedule

A. Goal of this procurement/Business needs

B. Schedule

C. Description of Agency or Program issuing the Request for Proposals

D. Vendor Instructions

SECTION 2 – Requirements and Scope of Work

A. Requirements

B. Scope of Work

SECTION 3 -- Contract Terms and Conditions

A. Non-Exclusive Contract

B. Award

C. Standard Contract Terms

SECTION 4 –Request for Proposal Process

A. Agency Point of Contact/Restriction of Contact with Agency Employees

B. Vendor Inquiries

SECTION 5 – RFP Terms and Conditions

A. Debarment

B. Proposal Preparation Cost

C. Validity of Proposal

D. RFP Addendum

E. Non-Collusion

F. Property of the Agency

G. Proposal Confidentiality

H. Public Disclosure

I. Electronic Posting of RFP Results and Resulting Contract

J. Non-Commitment

K. Ethical Requirements

L. Challenges to Identification of Selected Vendor

SECTION 6 – Evaluation of Proposals

A. Criteria for Evaluation and Scoring

B. Planned Evaluations Steps

C. Step 1: Initial Screening

D. Step 2: Preliminary Technical Scoring of Proposals

E. Step 3: Oral Interviews and Product Demonstrations

F. Step 4: Final Technical Scoring of Proposals

G. Step 5: Price Proposal Review

H. No Best and Final Offer

I. Final Selection

J. Rights of the Agency in Accepting and Evaluating Proposals

SECTION 7 – Process for Submitting a Proposal

A. Proposal Submission, Deadline, and Location Instructions

SECTION 8 – Proposal Content and Requirements

APPENDIX A .................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

APPENDIX B .................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

APPENDIX C .................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

SECTION 1 – Overview and Schedule

A. Goal of this procurement/Business needs

The New Hampshire Interpreter Licensure Board (the Board) seeks a qualified consultant to develop and implement a new conflict resolution and mediation system. The interpreter licensure law allows for the use of mediation and conflict resolution to process complaints. The consultant will be responsible for designing and building a comprehensive and accessible framework to facilitate the resolution of interpreter-related complaints, particularly those involving members of the Deaf, Deaf Blind, and Hard of Hearing communities. All preparatory work, project development, training etc. will be done remote or in-person, based on the needs/preferences of the consultant. At the culmination of the project, the entire project will be presented in-person to the New Hampshire Interpreter Licensure Board.

The resulting contract will be for a fixed fee of $25,000 for the term of 6 months from the date of approval of the Governor and Executive Council. The contract term may be extended by an additional term of 6 months at the sole option of the Agency, subject to the parties’ prior written agreement and required governmental approvals including Governor and Executive Council.

B. Schedule

The following table provides a Schedule of Events for this RFP through contract finalization and approval. The Agency reserves the right to amend this schedule at its sole discretion and at any time through a published Addendum.

EVENT DATE LOCAL

TIME

RFP Released (Advertisement) 6/1/2025 5:00 PM Vendor Inquiry Period Ends 6/5/2025 5:00 PM Final Agency Responses to Inquiries 6/6/2025 5:00 PM Proposal Due 6/9/2025 5:00 PM Estimated Notification of Selection 6/13/2025 5:00 PM

C. Description of Agency or Program issuing the Request for Proposals

The Department of Education, Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) New Hampshire is an employment program for individuals who experience a disability offering a wide range of vocational rehabilitation services designed to help individuals prepare for, obtain, retain, and advance in employment. VR services are publicly funded, and VR New Hampshire is one of nearly 80 partners in the state-federal VR program mandated by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014.

The New Hampshire Interpreter Licensure law, RSA 326-I, which became effective January 1, 2003 requires that interpreters for the deaf and hard of hearing hold a license in order to receive remuneration and to practice as an interpreter in New Hampshire. The Board of Licensure holds statutory jurisdiction to make decisions on applications for licensure and complaints filed against licensees.

In this RFP, “Agency” means the New Hampshire Department of Education, Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation, NH Interpreter Licensing Board. "Vendor" means a person or entity who offers products or services for sale. "Selected vendor" means the qualified Bidder which has been identified by the Agency as having received the best score for its proposal according to the criteria set forth in this RFP.

D. Vendor Instructions

Interested vendors must read the entire RFP and submit the required documents in the manner specified in the RFP. Vendors are responsible for reviewing the most updated information related to this RFP before submitting proposals.

SECTION 2 – Requirements and Scope of Work

A. Requirements Minimum vendor qualification requirement (a vendor who fails to meet all of the minimum vendor qualification requirements will be deemed non-compliant and will be disqualified from further consideration) (e.g., experience providing similar services to other governmental entities etc.)

1. Subject Matter Expertise o Demonstrated knowledge of interpreter licensure laws and the complaint process, particularly in relation to the Deaf, Deaf Blind, and Hard of Hearing communities.

o Understanding of and experience with mediation, conflict resolution, and procedural justice models within regulatory or community contexts.

2. Cultural and Linguistic Competency o Fluency in American Sign Language (ASL) and English.

o Deep understanding of Deaf culture and the unique communication needs of Deaf individuals.

o Experience working directly with culturally and linguistically diverse populations, particularly the Deaf community.

3. Relevant Experience o Prior experience in developing and implementing complaint resolution systems or similar frameworks, especially within government or regulatory environments.

o Experience designing training programs for diverse stakeholder groups including community members, professional practitioners, and regulatory board members.

o Proven ability to create documentation such as procedures, role descriptions, and educational materials.

4. Stakeholder Engagement o Ability to collaborate effectively with government agencies, advocacy organizations, and community stakeholders.

o Experience facilitating interviews and group processes, and designing equitable hiring and vetting systems for specialized roles.

5. Project Management Skills o Capacity to manage a project of this scope over a period of 6 months, with consistent communication and delivery of interim and final products.

o Ability to attend scheduled meetings with the Board and deliver initial training sessions.

6. Independence and Objectivity o Must not be employed by or affiliated with any New Hampshire-based interpreting agency to avoid potential conflicts of interest.

o Ability to work as an independent consultant and maintain neutrality in investigative and mediation processes.

B. Scope of Work The New Hampshire Interpreter Licensure Board (the Board) seeks a qualified consultant to develop and implement a new conflict resolution and mediation system as proposed and accepted at the Board’s December 2024 meeting. The consultant will be responsible for designing and building a comprehensive framework to facilitate the resolution of interpreter-related complaints, particularly those involving members of the Deaf, Deaf Blind, and Hard of Hearing communities.

The consultant’s responsibilities shall include:

1. Collaboration and Coordination o Work closely with the Licensure Board, NH Vocational Rehabilitation (NHVR), and the Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

o Engage stakeholders within New Hampshire and consult with other states as necessary.

2. System Development o Design a process for utilizing culturally and linguistically competent individuals in the roles of Navigators, Fact-Finders, and Mediators.

o Create and document:

Procedures for when and how to activate this new option.

Procedures for ensuring role accessibility and conflict-of-interest avoidance.

Job descriptions and role-specific responsibilities for Navigators, Fact-Finders, and Mediators.

A fee schedule for services rendered by these roles.

Interview and hiring processes for each role.

3. Training and Outreach o Develop and deliver training for:

Navigators, Fact-Finders, and Mediators on NH license law, the complaint process, and this new model.

Board members, the Deaf community, and the interpreting community regarding the system’s function and access.

4. Deliverables and Support o Provide a fully documented system ready for Board implementation.

o Attend Board meetings during the contract period as needed.

o Lead initial training sessions and provide consultation to Board members on legal and procedural aspects of the model.

The goal of this project is to enhance access to effective conflict resolution processes, reduce barriers in the complaint system for the Deaf community, and improve the quality of interpreting services in New Hampshire.

SECTION 3 -- Contract Terms and Conditions

A. Non-Exclusive Contract Any resulting Contract from this RFP will be a non-exclusive Contract. The Agency reserves the right, at its discretion, to retain other contractors to provide any of the services or deliverables identified in this RFP or make an award by item, part or portion of an item, group of items, or total Proposal.

B. Award If the Agency decides to award a contract as a result of this RFP process, any award is contingent upon approval of the contract by the Governor and Executive Council of the State of New Hampshire and upon continued appropriation of funding for the contract.

C. Standard Contract Terms

The Agency will require the selected vendor to execute a contract using the Standard Terms and Conditions of the State of New Hampshire (Form P-37) which is attached as Appendix A. In no event is a vendor to submit its own standard contract terms and conditions as a replacement for the State’s terms in response to this solicitation.

The terms of this RFP and the selected vendor’s Proposal will be used to form the terms of any resulting contract. The resulting contract may incorporate some or all of the selected vendor’s Proposal. References in the P-37 to Exhibits A, B and C are references to the required structure of any resulting contract (Exhibit A – Special Provisions/Amendments to the P-37, Exhibit B – Scope of Services, and Exhibit C – Payment Terms) and are not references to sections of this RFP.

To the extent that a vendor believes that exceptions to the contract terms in Appendix A will be necessary for the vendor to enter into the contract, the vendor must note those issues during the Vendor Inquiry Period, as further described Section 4B.

SECTION 4 – Request for Proposal Process

A. Agency Point of Contact/Restriction of Contact with Agency Employees The sole point of contact for this RFP, from the RFP issue date until the approval of the resulting contract by the Governor and Executive Council is:

Nicole Comtois nicole.comtois.interpreting@gmail.com

From the date of release of this RFP until an award is made and announced regarding the selection of a vendor, all communication with personnel employed by or under contract with the Agency regarding this RFP is prohibited unless first approved by the RFP Sole Point of Contact. Agency employees have been directed not to hold conferences and/or discussions concerning this RFP with any potential contractor during the selection process, unless otherwise authorized by the RFP Sole Point of Contact. Vendors may be disqualified for violating this restriction on communications.

B. Vendor Inquiries All inquiries concerning this RFP, including but not limited to, requests for clarifications, questions, any changes to the RFP, and any exceptions to the contract terms in Appendix A, including the Form P-37, shall be submitted via email to the Agency Point of Contact specified above. Inquiries must be received by the end of vendor inquiry period (see Schedule of Events herein).

The vendor must identify the RFP name and the number and include the vendor’s name, telephone number, and e-mail address.

The Agency will issue responses to properly submitted inquiries on or before the date specified in the Schedule of Events; however, this date is subject to change at the Agency’s discretion. The Agency may consolidate and/or paraphrase questions for sufficiency and clarity. The Agency may, at its discretion, amend this RFP on its own initiative or in response to issues raised by inquiries, as it deems appropriate. In response to requested exceptions to P37, the Agency will review requested exceptions and accept, reject or note that it is open to negotiation of the proposed exception at its sole discretion. Questions about or requested exceptions to the RFP, Form P-37 and/or any relevant attachments not raised during the inquiry period are waived.

Oral statements, representations, clarifications, or modifications concerning the RFP shall not be binding upon the Agency. Official responses by the Agency will be made only in writing by the process described above.

Vendors shall be responsible for reviewing the most updated information related to this RFP before submitting a proposal.

SECTION 5 – RFP Terms and Conditions

A. Debarment Vendors who are ineligible to bid on proposals, bids or quotes issued by the Department of Administrative Services, Division of Procurement and Support Services pursuant to the provisions of RSA 21-I:11-c shall not be considered eligible for an award under this RFP.

B. Proposal Preparation Cost By submitting a proposal, a vendor agrees that in no event shall the Agency be either responsible for or held liable for any costs incurred by a vendor in the preparation of or in connection with the Proposal, or for work performed prior to the Effective Date of a resulting Contract.

C. Validity of Proposal Proposals must be valid for one hundred and eighty (180) days following the deadline for submission of Proposals in Schedule of Events, or until the Effective Date of any resulting Contract, whichever is later.

D. RFP Addendum The Agency reserves the right to amend this RFP at its discretion, prior to the Proposal submission deadline. In the event of an addendum to this RFP, the Agency, at its sole discretion, may extend the Proposal submission deadline, as it deems appropriate.

E. Non-Collusion The vendor’s signature on a Proposal submitted in response to this RFP guarantees that the prices, terms and conditions, and work quoted have been established without collusion with other Vendors and without effort to preclude the Agency from obtaining the best possible competitive Proposal.

F. Property of the Agency All material received in response to this RFP shall become the property of the Agency and will not be returned to the vendor. Upon contract award, the Agency reserves the right to use any information presented in any Proposal.

G. Proposal Confidentiality Unless necessary for the approval of a contract, the substance of a proposal must remain confidential until the Effective Date of any Contract resulting from this RFP. A vendor’s disclosure or distribution of Proposals other than to the Agency may be grounds for disqualification.

H. Public Disclosure The information submitted in response to this RFP (including all materials submitted in connection with it, such as attachments, exhibits, addenda, and presentations), any resulting contract, and information provided during the contractual relationship may be subject to public disclosure under Right-to-Know law, including RSA 91-A.

In addition, in accordance with RSA 9-F:1, any contract entered into as a result of this RFP will be made accessible to the public online via the website Transparent NH (http://www.nh.gov/transparentnh/).

Confidential, commercial or financial information may be exempt from public disclosure under RSA 91-A:5, IV. If a vendor believes any information submitted in response to this RFP should be kept confidential, the vendor must specifically identify that information where it appears in the submission in a manner that draws http://www.nh.gov/transparentnh/ attention to the designation and must mark/stamp each page of the materials that the vendor claims must be exempt from disclosure as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Vendors must also provide a letter to the person listed as the point of contact for this RFP, identifying the specific page number and section of the information you consider to be confidential, commercial or financial and providing your rationale for each designation. Marking or designating an entire proposal, attachment or section as confidential shall neither be accepted nor honored by the State. Vendors must also provide a separate copy of the full and complete document, fully redacting those portions and shall note on the applicable page or pages that the redacted portion or portions are “confidential.”

Submissions which do not conform to these instructions by failing to include a redacted copy (if necessary), by failing to include a letter specifying the rationale for each redaction, by failing to designate the redactions in the manner required by these instructions, or by including redactions which are contrary to these instructions or operative law may be rejected by the State as not conforming to the requirements of the proposal.

Pricing, which includes but is not limited to, the administrative costs and other performance guarantees in Proposals or any subsequently awarded contract shall be subject to public disclosure regardless of whether it is marked as confidential.

Notwithstanding a vendor’s designations, the State is obligated under the Right-to-Know law to conduct an independent analysis of the confidentiality of the information submitted in a proposal. If a request is made to the State to view or receive copies of any portion of the proposal, the State shall first assess what information it is obligated to release. The State will then notify you that a request has been made, indicate what, if any, information the State has assessed is confidential and will not be released, and specify the planned release date of the remaining portions of the proposal. To halt the release of information by the State, a vendor must initiate and provide to the State, prior to the date specified in the notice, a court action in the Superior Court of the State of New Hampshire, at its sole expense, seeking to enjoin the release of the requested information.

By submitting a proposal, vendors acknowledge and agree that:

• The State may disclose any and all portions of the proposal or related materials which are not marked as confidential and/or which have not been specifically explained in the letter to the person identified as the point of contact for this RFP;

• The State is not obligated to comply with a vendor’s designations regarding confidentiality and must conduct an independent analysis to assess the confidentiality of the information submitted in your proposal; and

• The State may, unless otherwise prohibited by court order, release the information on the date specified in the notice described above without any liability to a vendor.

I. Electronic Posting of RFP Results and Resulting Contract At the time of receipt of proposals, the Agency will post the number of responses received with no further information. No later than five (5) business days prior to submission of a contract to the Department of Administrative Services, the Agency will post the ranks or scores of each responding vendor. In the event that the contract does not require Governor & Executive Council approval, the Agency will disclose the rank or score at least 5 business days before final approval of the contract.

Pursuant to RSA 91-A and RSA 9-F:1, the Secretary of State will post to the public any document submitted to G&C for approval, including contracts resulting from this RFP, and posts those documents on its website (https://sos.nh.gov/administration/miscellaneous/governor-executive-council/). By submitting a proposal, vendors acknowledge and agree that, in accordance with the above-mentioned statutes and policies, (and regardless of whether any specific request is made to view any document relating to this RFP), any contract resulting from this RFP that is submitted to G&C for approval will be made accessible to the public online.

https://sos.nh.gov/administration/miscellaneous/governor-executive-council/

J. Non-Commitment Notwithstanding any other provision of this RFP, this RFP does not commit the Agency to award a contract.

The Agency reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to reject any and all proposals, or any portions thereof, at any time; to cancel this RFP; and to solicit new proposals under a new acquisition process.

K. Ethical Requirements From the time this RFP is published until a contract is awarded, no vendor shall offer or give, directly or indirectly, any gift, expense reimbursement, or honorarium, as defined by RSA 15-B, to any elected official, public official, public employee, constitutional official, or family member of any such official or employee who will or has selected, evaluated, or awarded an RFP, or similar submission. Any vendor that violates RSA 21- G:38 shall be subject to prosecution for an offense under RSA 640:2. Any vendor who has been convicted of an offense based on conduct in violation of this section, which has not been annulled, or who is subject to a pending criminal charge for such an offense, shall be disqualified from bidding on the RFP, or similar request for submission and every such vendor shall be disqualified from bidding on any RFP or similar request for submission issued by any state agency. A vendor that was disqualified under this section because of a pending criminal charge which is subsequently dismissed, results in an acquittal, or is annulled, may notify the department of administrative services, which shall note that information on the list maintained on the state’s internal intranet system, except in the case of annulment, the information, shall be deleted from the list.

L. Challenges to Identification of Selected Vendor Within 5 business days of the Agency’s posting of the rank or score on its website, vendors may, in accordance with RSA 21-G:37, request that the agency review its selection process. The request must be in writing and must specify all points on which the vendor believes the agency erred in its process and shall contain such argument in support of its position as the vendor seeks to present. In its request for review, a vendor shall not submit, and an agency will not accept nor consider, any substantive information that was not included in the original proposal. The agency will respond to the request within 5 business days of its receipt.

SECTION 6 – Evaluation of Proposals

A. Criteria for Evaluation and Scoring The Agency will evaluate each responsive Proposal using a scoring scale of 100 points, which will be distributed as set forth in the table below.

CATEGORIES POINTS

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL with the following potential maximum scores for each Technical Proposal category;

Understanding of Project Goals 15 Relevant Experience and Expertise 20 Cultural and Linguistic Competency 20 Proposed Methodology and Work Plan 15 Training and Communication Plan 20

PRICE PROPOSAL MAXIMUM POINTS 10

TOTAL MAXIMUM POINTS 100

The Agency will select a vendor based upon the criteria and standards contained in this RFP and from applying the weighting in this section. Oral interviews and reference checks, to the extent they are utilized by the Agency, will be used to refine and finalize scores.

If the Agency, decides to make an award based on these evaluations, the Agency will notify the selected vendor(s). Should the Agency be unable to reach agreement with the selected vendor(s) during Contract discussions, the Agency may then undertake Contract discussions with the next preferred vendor and so on, or the Agency may reject all proposals, cancel this RFP, or solicit new Proposals under a new acquisition process.

B. Planned Evaluations Steps The Agency plans to use the following process:

• Step 1. Initial Screening;

• Step 2. Preliminary Technical Proposal Evaluation;

• Step 3. Oral interviews and Product Demonstrations (if necessary);

• Step 4. Final Technical Proposal Scoring;

• Step 5. Price Proposals;

• Step 6: Final Selection

C. Step 1: Initial Screening

The Agency will conduct an initial screening to verify vendor compliance with the proposal submission requirements set forth in Sections 4 and 7. The Agency may waive or offer a limited opportunity to cure immaterial deviations from the RFP requirements if it is determined to be in the best interest of the State.

D. Step 2: Preliminary Technical Scoring of Proposals The Agency will establish an evaluation team to review for compliance of the minimum requirements as set forth in Section 2. This evaluation team will then review the technical proposals and give a preliminary score to the technical proposals under the guidelines set forth in Section 6. Should a vendor fail to achieve 50 Points in the preliminary technical scoring, it will receive no further consideration from the evaluation team and the vendor’s price proposal will be returned unopened. Price proposals will not be reviewed by the evaluation team during the preliminary technical review.

E. Step 3: Oral Interviews and Product Demonstrations If the Agency determines that it is appropriate, vendors may be invited to oral interviews and/or product demonstrations including demonstrations of any proposed automated systems or technology components. The Agency retains the sole discretion to determine whether to conduct oral interviews, with which vendors; and the number of interviews. Vendors are advised that the Agency may decide to conduct interviews with less than all responsive vendors.

The purpose of oral interviews and product demonstrations is to clarify and expound upon information provided in the written proposals. Vendors are prohibited from altering the basic substance of their proposals during the oral interviews and product demonstrations. The Agency may ask the vendor to provide written clarifications of elements in their technical proposal regardless of whether it intends to conduct oral interviews.

Information gained from oral interviews and product demonstrations will be used to refine technical review scores assigned from the initial review of the proposals.

F. Step 4: Final Technical Scoring of Proposals Following oral interviews, product demonstrations, reference checks (if appropriate) and/or review of written clarifications of proposals requested by the Agency, the evaluation team will determine a final score for each technical proposal.

G. Step 5: Price Proposal Review Price proposals will be reviewed upon completion of the final technical scoring of proposals. The vendor’s price proposal will be allocated a maximum potential score of 100 points. Vendors are advised that this is not a low bid award and that the scoring of the price proposal will be combined with the scoring of the technical proposal to determine the overall highest scoring vendor.

The following formula will be used to assign points for costs:

Vendor’s Price Score = (Lowest Proposed Price / Vendor’s Proposed Price) x Number of Points for Score

For the purpose of use of this formula, the lowest proposed price is defined as the lowest price proposed by a vendor who has scored above the minimum necessary for consideration on the Technical Score.

H. No Best and Final Offer The Proposal should be submitted initially on the most favorable terms which the vendor can offer. There will be no best and final offer procedure.

I. Step 6: Final Selection The Agency will conduct a final selection based on the final evaluation of the proposals or, if requested, as a result of the Best and Final Offer, and begin contract discussions with the selected vendor(s).

J. Rights of the Agency in Accepting and Evaluating Proposals The Agency reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to:

• Make independent investigations in evaluating proposals;

• Request additional information to clarify elements of a proposal;

• Waive minor or immaterial deviations from the RFP and contract requirements, if determined to be in the best interest of the State;

• Omit any planned evaluation step if, in the Agency’s view, the step is not needed;

• Reject any and all proposals at any time; and

• Open contract discussions with the second highest scoring vendor and so on, if the Agency is unable to reach an agreement on contract terms with the higher scoring vendor(s).

SECTION 7 – Process for Submitting a Proposal

A. Proposal Submission, Deadline, and Location Instructions Proposals submitted in response to this RFP must be received no later than the Proposal Due Date specified in the Schedule of Events, herein.

The Price proposal must be labeled clearly and submitted separately from the technical proposal.

Unless waived as a non-material deviation in accordance with Section 6, late submissions will not be accepted and will be returned to the vendors unopened. Delivery of the Proposals shall be at the vendor’s expense. The time of receipt shall be considered when a Proposal has been officially documented by the Agency, in accordance with its established policies, as having been received at the location designated below. The Agency accepts no responsibility for undeliverable emailed proposals.

Proposals must include one electronic copy of the Proposal with all Confidential Information fully redacted, as provided for in Section 5H of this RFP.

Proposals must be clearly marked as follows:

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

RESPONSE TO RFP: RFP-2025-VR-NHILB 05 NH Interpreter Licensure Board Conflict Resolution and Mediation System Development

Electronic Proposals

Electronic Proposals must be addressed to:

TO: nicole.comtois.interpreting@gmail.com CC: licensureboard@nh.gov Subject line must include: RESPONSE TO RFP: RFP-2025-VR-NHILB 05 NH Interpreter Licensure Board Conflict Resolution and Mediation System Development Electronic Submissions must be submitted using the following criteria:

a. Searchable PDF Format

b. Files must be less than 10MB in size.

Exception: If files are greater than 10MB in size, the vendor will be required to submit their proposal in parts. It is the vendors responsibility to ensure a complete proposal is submitted.

SECTION 8 – Proposal Content and Requirements

Proposals shall follow the below format and provide the required information set forth below:

1. Technical Proposal The Technical Proposal must address the following elements in a clear and organized manner:

a. Understanding of Project Goals

• Provide a brief summary outlining your understanding of the Board’s needs, goals, and intended outcomes of the project.

b. Relevant Experience and Expertise

• Provide a brief summary of your experience designing complaint resolution or mediation systems, especially within Deaf Blind communities.

c. Cultural and Linguistic Competency

• Provide a brief summary outlining your familiarity with Deaf culture and the needs of Deaf/Deaf

Blind communities and demonstrated fluency in ASL.

d. Proposed Methodology and Work Plan

• Describe your approach to building the proposed conflict resolution and mediation system, including:

o Collaboration with the Board, VRNH, and Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

o Development of procedures for accessing navigators, fact-finders, and mediators.

o Methods for identifying and preventing conflicts of interest.

o Creation of job descriptions and a fee structure for each role.

o Timeline and process for system development and handoff.

e. Training and Communication Plan

• Discuss approach to training of Navigators, Fact-Finders, Mediators, and community stakeholders.

Additionally, outline your plan for collaboration with stakeholders.

2. Cost Proposal The Cost Proposal must address the following elements in a clear and organized manner:

a. Reasonableness of flat fee in relation to proposed scope and deliverables.

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