SOW_(FINAL).docx

Indian Affairs Office of Indian Economic Development Division of Economic Development Statement of Work (SOW) Background/Purpose The Office of Indian Economic Development, Division of Economic Development is the lead Agency on behalf of the Department of the Interior (DOI) implementing the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act (NATIVE Act) signed into law in September of 2016. The Act identified the Department of the Interior and the Department of Commerce as the lead Federal Agencies to implement the Act with the assistance of an organization with a demonstrated record in tribal communities of defining, introducing, developing, and sustaining American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian tourism and related activities in a manner that respects and honors native traditions and values. An organization was identified through a Memorandum of Agreement between the DOI and Commerce in 2018 and after Congress appropriated funds to the Office of Indian Economic Development (OIED) a cooperative agreement (CA) was established March 7, 2019 between the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the recipient (organization or entity) to “formalize a role for the organization or entity to serve as a facilitator between the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce and the Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations –

(a) To identify areas where technical assistance is needed through consultations with Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations to participate fully in the tourism industry; and

(b) To provide a means for delivery of technical assistance to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations in collaboration with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, and other entities with distinctive experience, as appropriate. (The Federal Government maintains a government-to-government relationship with tribal governments; therefore, the above statement refers to a facilitation between the Federal agencies and the tribal and Native Hawaiian tourism industry points of contact).

In addition, the Act calls for the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce to coordinate with the organization or entity to develop metrics to measure the effectiveness of the entity or organization in strengthening tourism opportunities for Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations. The Act states the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Commerce shall each submit to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report that describes (4) the effectiveness of the entity or organization based on the metrics developed. These metrics were developed and approved on August 15, 2019.

The Division of Economic Development is issuing this RFQ to engage an organization or contractor that has experience working with Federal funds and programs. This contract will provide the Division of Economic Development an audit / assessment of the CA recipient to better measure the recipient’s capacity to carry out the scope of work in the CA and accomplish the defined workplan deliverables and metrics, as well as budgeting and reporting as required by recipients who receive Federal funds. The contract will also provide a breakdown of funding sources and staff allocation specifically related to the use of federal funds under this cooperative agreement.

Per the CA agreement, the Bureau will perform periodic organizational assessments of the Recipient to include:

· Analysis of effectiveness of websites and database of tribal tourism contacts

· Staffing

· Board Development

· Tribal Outreach

· Collaborations with academic institutions

Scope of Work The purpose of this requirement is to evaluate and provide an assessment of the items as defined by the CA Scope of Work for this recipient including those listed below to provide a clear understanding of the capabilities of the recipient to fulfill the objectives as stated in the cooperative agreement and work plan.

· The Recipient will coordinate with the Bureau and Commerce to establish metrics such as capacity building and workforce development, …etc to measure the effectiveness of the Recipient in strengthening tourism opportunities.

· The Recipient shall establish and maintain an indept database of existing tribal and Native Hawaiian tourism programs representatives and programs as a federal resource to inform program and resource development and delivery.

· Recipient shall provide a comparison of actual accomplishments to the Scope of Work established for the period including a computation of the cost per unit of output where the output of a project can be quantified

· Detailed performance information on the activities conducted, including outcomes, direction, next steps, quality assurance follow-up and analysis of data collected.

Additional assessments include measurement and statistics to analyze funding sources, staff allocation (percentage of time spent per salary amount) as related to the use of federal funds allocated under this specific cooperative agreement and other funding sources.

Audit reports are not clear in that federal funds are provided as one amount. This assessment should also seek information to determine federal and non-federal revenue sources as listed on the audit report; there are multiple agencies who have awarded funds but these funds are not defined separately.

Assess the recipient’s ability to understand Federal funding requirements and processes for budgeting, drawing down funds awarded, travel, lobbying, and reporting.