Release date: Oct. 29, 2019
Purpose
In January 2018, the “Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage” RAISE Family Caregivers Act was signed into law. The Act establishes a Family Caregiving Advisory Council (FCAC) and directs it to work with the Administration for Community Living (ACL) to create a Family Caregiving Strategy of recommended actions for the federal, state, and local governments, communities, providers, and others to take to recognize and support family caregivers. The statute requires a process for public input to inform the development of, and updates to, the strategy, including a process for the public to submit recommendations to the Advisory Council and an opportunity for public comment on the proposed strategy.
The ACL is the lead federal agency for this initiative, which is described on its website. With generous funding from The John A. Hartford Foundation, the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) has established the RAISE Family Caregiver Resource and Dissemination Center to support the work of the FCAC and to engage in broader information dissemination, technical assistance, and related activities.
NASHP is releasing this Request for Proposals to organizations that have a proven record in organizing, facilitating, and summarizing listening sessions and/or focus groups in this field or a related-topic area. NASHP is supporting this series of public listening sessions, starting in calendar year 2020, to assist ACL in its effort to engage with members of the public, families and family caregivers, diverse stakeholders, and other individuals and entities with an interest in understanding and supporting the multi-faceted needs of family caregivers across the age and disability spectrum.
Project
To gather public input to inform the Advisory Council, there will be two primary activities:
- ACL will publish a Request for Information in the Federal Register for public input on up to three specific questions (with short word limits).
Scope: We expect up to 1,000 responses from the public to these three questions.
Timeline: Q4 2019 for the Request for Information, followed by a 60-day time period for responses in Q1 2020.
Task for contractor: To catalogue and analyze up to 1,000 responses resulting from the Request for Information in Q1 2020.
- Based on the responses from the Request for Information, the contractor – along with input from ACL and NASHP – will identify the participants and content of the 2020 listening sessions. The contractor will handle all tasks – invitations, agendas, phone – or web-supported conference calls, facilitation, and meeting summaries – for in-person and telephonic listening sessions.
Scope: This project will run from Jan. 15, 2020 through Dec. 31, 2020, with an option for an additional two years of work. We expect the contractor to hold a minimum of 10 and up to a maximum of 15 listening sessions in calendar year 2020. We anticipate that most of the listening sessions will be phone- or web-supported conference calls to reach family caregivers and other stakeholders around the country. However, we do expect to hold listening sessions in-person for participants, who are located in Washington, DC. This project will NOT cover travel expenses.
Timeline: A one-year contract for 10 – 15 listening sessions. The contract may continue for two more years, but that work is not the subject of this RFP.
Task for contractor: Contractor will identify and reach out to listening session participants, oversee logistics, facilitate meetings, and develop short summaries of key themes from in-person and phone- or web-supported listening sessions. For in-person meetings in the DC area, the contractor can expect that meeting space will be provided by either NASHP or ACL and will not need to be a part of the contractor’s budget.
Request for Proposal
By Nov. 30, 2019, please submit a detailed memo including the following:
- Scope of work that details how your organization will approach the tasks outlines below, including seeking regular input and direction from the RAISE Act team;
- Your organization’s subject matter expertise and experience in convening and facilitating listening sessions/focus groups;
- Project personnel and qualifications;
- 1-year work plan; and
- Corresponding 1-year budget and budget justification for following tasks:
Task 1: Request for Information Responses:
- Cataloguing and analyzing up to 1,000 responses resulting from a Request for Information to three questions published in the Federal Register.
- Creating a synopsis of themes and findings from the responses.
Task 2: Listening Sessions
- Identification, outreach, and convening of individuals representing key stakeholder groups pertaining to the RAISE Act;
- Development of discussion guides, agendas, and any ancillary materials for participants;
- Meeting facilitation;
- Development of meeting summaries and key themes; and
- Logistics and technical support for in-person meetings and phone- or web-supported calls.
How to Respond
Proposals (and any questions) should be submitted to Wendy Fox-Grage at by Nov. 30, 2019 and should be no more than five pages in length. We expect to notify the successful contractor by Dec. 20, 2019.
